Riyadh Air

Riyadh Air is Saudi Arabia's new flag carrier, built from scratch around a Riyadh hub and positioned at the premium end from day one. It launches on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, a long-haul widebody chosen to connect the Kingdom to Europe, Asia and beyond, and it arrives with a striking lavender and indigo brand rather than the usual airline blues.

Because the carrier is brand new, there is no legacy fleet dragging the standard down. Every aircraft is a current-generation Dreamliner with a modern cabin, and the seat choices in front of you reflect a deliberately premium three-tier layout on the flagship fit rather than the patchwork you find at older airlines.

The launch fleet is the 787-9, flown in two cabin fits. The flagship three-cabin version pairs a lie-flat business class up front with a dedicated premium economy and a long economy cabin behind it, aimed at the marquee long-haul routes where the full spread of cabins earns its keep.

The second fit is a two-cabin 787-9 with lie-flat business and economy only, no premium economy in between. It suits routes where the middle tier is harder to fill, so the aircraft carries more economy seats and a tighter set of choices for travellers weighing the step up from the back.

Business class on both 787-9 fits is a proper lie-flat product, the seat you want on any overnight sector, with direct or near-direct aisle access depending on the row and the calm of a forward cabin. It is the clear reason to pay up on a long flight, and the front rows behind the nose tend to be the quietest of a quiet cabin.

On the three-cabin flagship, premium economy sits as a real middle tier: wider seats, more pitch and more recline than economy, without the lie-flat price. Economy on both aircraft is a current Dreamliner cabin, which means better cabin pressure and humidity than older widebodies and a smoother ride on a long day.

For a long overnight, business class is where the money goes, and on the flagship the premium economy cabin is the sensible compromise when lie-flat is out of reach. In economy, aim for the forward rows of the cabin away from the rear galley and lavatory cluster, and treat the bulkhead rows as a trade: more foot room but fixed armrests and no seat-front stowage for takeoff.

On the two-cabin fit there is no premium economy to fall back on, so the choice is starker between the lie-flat and the best economy rows. Window seats away from the wing box give the cleanest views on a Dreamliner, and the rows just behind a galley wall can carry more foot traffic than they look on a map.