The second national airline in Saudi Arabia intends to place an order for the purchase of new aircraft before launching its first flights in early 2025, the CEO of the company confirmed to AFP on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Riyadh Airlines , which was officially launched on Sunday, announced that it had placed an order for 39 long-haul 787 Dreamliners and raised the possibility of purchasing an additional 43 aircraft.

The order is part of a larger agreement that includes the other national carrier based in Jeddah, with a total of 121 aircraft.

Thus, it is the fifth largest order in terms of value received by Boeing, and the White House estimated it at about $ 37 billion.

"These aircraft are now being assembled in the United States and delivered to us on a schedule that allows us to be ready to enter service in early 2025," Tony Douglas, former president of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, told AFP.

The new carrier intends to submit "other orders during the year" to build a "large" fleet that would allow it to "launch flights to more than 100 destinations," according to the CEO.

On the possibility of concluding contracts with Airbus, the CEO of Riyadh Aviation praised the advantages of the European aircraft manufacturer, saying that "the same strict measures and certainly the same global manufacturers will be on the table" when issuing future tenders.

Saudi Arabia is pursuing ambitious aviation goals as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's wide-ranging "Vision 2030" reform, including more than tripling annual air traffic to 330 million passengers by the end of the decade.

The fledgling company aims to make the capital, Riyadh, an international aviation hub, to compete with regional hubs such as Dubai and Doha.

And last November, Saudi officials announced plans to build a new airport in the capital, which is supposed to accommodate 120 million passengers by 2030 and 185 million passengers by 2050.

Some analysts note that the regional market is "saturated", but argue that the two Saudi carriers, compared to their competitors Emirates Airline or Qatar Airways, have the potential to count on a domestic market of about 35 million people.

The CEO of the company said, "Riyadh Airlines will be an international, regional and national airline even within Saudi Arabia itself, and therefore we will reach all points of the network."

"This is the kingdom's declaration of intent. It's the sign of Riyadh. It's about making the hub in the capital and enabling the kingdom to better communicate with the world and, just as important, improving the world's connection to the kingdom," he added.

"The company is expected to contribute to the growth of the non-oil gross domestic product of the Kingdom by a value of up to 75 billion riyals ($20 billion) and to create more than 200,000 direct and indirect job opportunities," the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.

About 73,000 people applied for the job Tuesday night through the company's website, according to Douglas.