Earlier, I wrote about how Delta plans to announce a return to Hong Kong in the coming weeks, with a Los Angeles (LAX) to Hong Kong (HKG) flight expected to launch in 2026. Here’s another interesting route update…
Delta plans to fly to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
JonNYC has the scoop that Delta plans to announce a nonstop flight between Atlanta (ATL) and Riyadh (RUH) in late 2025. We don’t yet know when the 7,283-mile route will launch, or what the frequencies and schedule will look like, but it seems that plans for the announcement are firm.
There’s also mention of the Atlanta to Tel Aviv (TLV) route resuming, but I think that’s a bit less interesting, as that’s a route resumption, and it’s also dependent on the situation in Israel stabilizing, which I wouldn’t consider to be a given.
Also going to announce ATL-RUH at the end of the year and ATL-TLV coming back (barring any more complications there)
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) July 12, 2025
We’ve known that Delta plans to fly to Riyadh, though until now, we had no sense of when it would be announced, and which exact route would be operated (though I think many of us could’ve guessed Atlanta). Roughly a year ago, Delta and Riyadh Air announced plans to launch a partnership.
Riyadh Air is Saudi Arabia’s ambitious new airline startup, which is expected to launch operations in late 2025. It’s logical enough that Delta would choose to fly out of Atlanta, as I imagine that Riyadh to New York (JFK) will be among Riyadh Air’s first long haul routes, so Delta would want to serve a complementary market, by routing people via its Atlanta mega-hub.
I get the long term vision, but I’m a little confused
Riyadh Air’s goals are clear — the airline is funded by the government of Saudi Arabia, and the intent is to increase connectivity to and from Riyadh, and to boost tourism, as part of the country’s long term vision. The argument is that Riyadh has been underserved for years, given the size of the population.
We’re seeing Riyadh Air establish partnerships with other airlines ahead of launch. In addition to Delta, Riyadh Air is also partnering with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic, so it’s pretty clear the “ecosystem” in which the airline is focusing.
The thing is, if Delta launches this route in 2026, how exactly will this make sense, given the carrier’s cost structure?
- Is Saudi Arabia providing significant incentives to airlines that launch service there? I can’t imagine that they aren’t, given the amount of new service we’re seeing all at once
- It will likely be a few years before Riyadh Air has a significant connecting network beyond Riyadh, given that an airline can’t become massive overnight
- Unlike American and United, Delta is really weak in the Middle East, and doesn’t otherwise have a “preferred” partner, meaning many points in the Middle East, Africa, and India, are without good connecting opportunities
- If Riyadh has actually been so underserved for a long time, why hasn’t Delta flown to Riyadh prior to this point?
I get the long term vision, once Riyadh Air matures. I’m just curious how this plays out in the short term, with limited connecting traffic, since this flight won’t exactly have low operating costs.
Bottom line
Delta is expected to announce a new route between Atlanta and Riyadh in late 2025, with the service presumably commencing in 2026. We’ve known that Delta planned to service Riyadh, though didn’t know out of which airport, or when the service would start.
I understand the long term plan for Delta partnering with Riyadh Air, though I’m curious how this works out in the coming years, with not much connecting traffic.
What do you make of Delta launching Atlanta to Riyadh flights?
