Saudi Arabia is close to signing a US$35bn deal with The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) to supply its new airline Riyadh Air, potentially placing Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) engines at the centre of the new fleet.
The deal is likely to include wide-body long-haul jets, such as the Boeing 787 and 777 jets, which can both be powered be by Rolls-Royce Trent engines, and could be announced by Saudi Arabia imminently, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Saudi Arabia already operates a national airline, though this flies to less than 100 destinations, of which roughly a third are domestic.
Its new airline, which it unveiled on Sunday, will likely look to compete against larger carriers like Etihad, Emirates and Qatar, therefore, boasting long haul jets from Boeing – both shoring up the airline’s order book, and its suppliers.
“Riyadh Air will be a world-class airline, adopting the global best sustainability and safety standards across its advanced fleet of aircraft,” Saudi’s public investment fund said.
It added the new fleet would be “equipped with the latest cutting-edge technology,” which, if powered by Rolls-Royce, could include Trent 1000 engines, already capable of running on a 50% sustainable fuel blend.
Rolls-Royce clarified it was committed to sustainable fuels, made from by-products like cooking oil and agricultural waste, earlier this month, adding it would look to prove this year that its Trent engines could run solely on the greener alternative, which emits 70% fewer emissions.