Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s digitally native new airline, is joining forces with travel technology provider Ink Innovation with the aim of delivering a next-generation air travel experience – one designed from the ground up for flexibility and convenience.
At the heart of this collaboration is a shared ambition: to set a new standard for what air travel can be in a world shaped by e-commerce, cloud computing, and travellers’ expectations.
“Ink is a key partner to Riyadh Air and continues to foster innovation at every step of the journey,” said Tony Douglas, CEO, Riyadh Air. “As a like-minded tech-innovator, it is an ideal collaborator as we aim to provide an outstanding digital experience for our guests at their first travel touchpoint.”
Riyadh Air and Ink Innovation are implementing a full Delivery Management System aligned with the IATA Modern Airline Retailing (MAR) model. The platform lets you manage and interact with orders in real time, without outdated systems that rely on PNLs or PNRs. This puts travellers in charge of their journeys. Passengers will be able to make changes on-the-go, add services mid-trip, and connect with third-party content in one streamlined experience. Instead of static, pre-booked trips, travel becomes modular, personal, and responsive.
“What we’re trying to do with Ink is offer a brilliant service to our customers,” said Peter Bellew, Chief Operating Officer, Riyadh Air. “For me, our customers are the guests who travel on the aircraft, as well as the teams who work at the check-in desks and departure gates at airports. If they see our system as easy to use, straightforward, and highly reliable, they will be happy to work on their flights and offer even better service to our customers.”
By leveraging mobile-based operations and cloud-native architecture, Riyadh Air teams can respond instantly to passenger or operational needs, whether a last-minute seat change or managing disrupted flights without the drama typical of legacy systems.
The broader ambition goes well beyond the airport terminal experience and check-in upgrade. Ink and Riyadh Air have built their system to connect travellers to hotels, airport transfers, local experiences, and multimodal transport like rail. It is designed to support upselling, cross-selling, and personalised service delivery, all aligned with the modern expectations of today’s traveller.
“We are developing a platform that aligns perfectly with the Modern Airline Retailing model,” said Shawn Richards, CEO and Co-Founder, Ink Innovation. “Our vision for travel is about empowering passengers much more than they are today. We believe that travellers will want the ability to change, enhance, or remove parts of their journey with ease. Right now, that’s not possible.”
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