Press Release: Riyadh Air launches PriestmanGoode-designed cabins

Riyadh Air, the airline that aims to become the world’s most forward-thinking carrier, launched its first cabin interior this weekend. Transport design consultancy PriestmanGoode was selected by Riyadh Air back in 2022 to design not only the interiors of its inaugural Boeing 787-9 fleet, but the very essence of its brand.

The requirements set for the new onboard experience was clear: to establish Riyadh Air as a premium carrier, built around three core pillars: Comfort, Technology and Longevity. Every element of the widebody design needed to reinforce these principles. At the same time, the brief was to capture the airline’s ambition to be a strong global competitor and bring the world to Riyadh, and Riyadh to the world.

“Unlike existing carriers with decades of brand history to observe, Riyadh Air was starting from a blank slate,” said Ben Rowan, Director at PriestmanGoode. “This was both an opportunity and a challenge: the freedom to shape something entirely new, but also the responsibility to create a design language that would resonate with passengers and stand the test of time.”

“Adding to the complexity was an ambitious 18-month timeline. This is a standard timeframe for a low-customised cabin, but Riyadh Air required a bespoke cabin design, custom materials, and innovative features,” added Rowan.

“This involved an agile and reactive approach, adapting our process to meet the needs of a new airline while maintaining a commitment to excellence. PriestmanGoode was well placed and experienced to accept this challenge.”

To begin the design process, team members from across PriestmanGoode’s multiple in-house services immersed themselves in the culture of Riyadh, capturing the essence of the culture by visiting and exploring the city. The team delved into resources from the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism to ensure the designs were rooted in the local heritage, but with a modern vision for the future.

As part of their role as brand guardian, the design team worked to ensure that every visible and invisible touchpoint seamlessly expressed Riyadh Air’s identity.

A unique design feature of the cabin is the Canopy Twist, a sculptural shape inspired by local architecture. This design element serves as a unifying symbol across the airline’s ecosystem, blending heritage with modernity.

The Canopy Twist is integrated in surfaces across the Business Class suites and Premium Economy, as well as through textiles, brand panels and in the livery graphics, bringing consistency across the airline’s identity. The Canopy Twist helps to create a more private and personal space for Business Class passengers.

It also functions as a structure for light projection with a seamless link between scenario lighting of the cabin and with the seat, enhancing depth and detailing, and reminiscent of Kafd architectural elements that illuminate the city of Riyadh at night.

The majority of materials integrated into the cabin were custom-designed, including a unique single coat self-texturing pearlescent paint by Mankiewicz on the canopy that reflects light and enables easy, on-wing maintenance.

PriestmanGoode’s Colour, Material and Finish (CMF) team developed a custom fabric with Rohi for the Economy class dress cover featuring a distinctive flip design, incorporating an indigo base with peach and lavender threads that change shades depending on the angle of view and follows an iridescent theme that also features in the paint finish on the aircraft livery.

Central to the design was a commitment to passenger comfort. PriestmanGoode introduced a bespoke topper to enhance seat comfort in both Business Class and Premium Economy classes, supported by Lantal as the supplier partner for Business Class and Premium Economy dress cover fabrics.

Through rounds of iterative prototyping, PG refined and perfected the design within the required project timeframes. The team used 3D printing and foam spatial mock-ups to test comfort and ergonomics in multiple workshops, layering foam and wadding while experimenting with various fabric sizes.

Lighting mock-ups and collaborative workshops with the team at Boeing were also crucial for testing colors and materials. This collaborative process involved close partnerships with the client and suppliers, such as Safran for the Business Class Suites and Recarco for Premium Economy and Economy, Bucher for brand panels, and Mankiewicz for coatings, ensuring every detail was meticulously crafted.

Other supplier partners in this program include: Botany Weaving, Muirhead, Tapis, Schott, Amsafe, Beadlight, AMAAN, Sekisui Kydex, Isovolta and Schroth. PG remained as part of the team through manufacture to ensure the design intent was fully achieved.

“Our work for Riyadh Air highlights PriestmanGoode’s unique capability to launch a new airline, with design from the ground up, pushing boundaries where feasible, and identifying scope for innovation in what is always a limited space,” says Rowan.

“Our in-house services across strategy, design, branding, colour material and finish; and visualisation converge, and have created something that definitely meets — and hopefully exceeds— Riyadh Air’s ambition as a bold new airline in the aviation industry.”

“The reason we chose to work with PriestmanGoode was simple, you align with our thinking, our values and our commitment to creativity. What you’ve delivered is quite frankly, exceptional. This partnership is the perfect marriage and we’re delighted to be working with PG. You bring genuine creativity, professionalism, and a results-driven approach. You work hard and you deliver quickly — that’s everything we respect, ” added Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air.

Riyadh Air aims to touch 100 cities around the world by 2030 and have also embarked upon a program to bring an additional fleet of up to 60 A321Neo aircraft to their fleet, with support from PriestmanGoode.

All images criedeted to PriestmanGoode/Riyadh Air

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