Riyadh Air London Launch: Booking the New 787-9 Business Class

British Airways is quietly retreating from the Middle East. They dropped Jeddah entirely and slashed their Gulf frequencies this quarter. Riyadh Air has capitalised on this exact moment for its London Heathrow launch. They are filling the void with brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and a heavily hyped business class product.

Because Riyadh Air is a non-alliance carrier, the standard UK playbook of defaulting to Avios will not work here. You have to get creative. Booking these flights requires flexible currencies like American Express Membership Rewards or Marriott Bonvoy points. Here at Points Uncovered, we have been testing the partner booking engines since the route went live. Here is exactly how to secure a seat in the newest cabin in the sky.

The BA vacuum and why Riyadh Air matters right now

Avios availability to the Middle East is tighter than ever in 2026. BA is focusing its resources on more profitable transatlantic routes, leaving UK points collectors fighting over scraps to the Gulf. Riyadh Air’s new London Heathrow (LHR) to King Khalid International (RUH) route is currently operating six times a week. This adds a massive chunk of premium capacity back into the London market.

Instead of joining Oneworld or SkyTeam, Riyadh Air has built a web of bilateral partnerships. They have tied up with Delta, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Saudia. This fragments the booking process. You cannot log into a single portal and see everything. You have to know which partner offers the best redemption rates and which ones actually have functional IT.

What to expect in the new 787-9 business class

The hard product is a generational leap over most of what currently flies out of Heathrow. Riyadh Air’s 787-9 features 39 Business Class suites in a 1-2-1 configuration. Every seat has a privacy door, wireless charging pads, and massive 4K screens with Bluetooth audio integration. It feels closer to a first-class footprint from five years ago.

They also include free high-speed Wi-Fi on all business class redemptions. This is a direct competitive response to BA’s recent, and highly controversial, Starlink rollout which still charges a premium on certain routes.

Here is the thing about Riyadh Air. It is a dry airline. Like Saudia, they do not serve alcohol onboard. If a pre-departure glass of champagne is a non-negotiable part of your business class experience, you will need to route via Doha with Qatar Airways instead. But if you prioritise seat comfort, massive screens, and fast internet, this cabin easily beats BA’s Club Suite.

How to book Riyadh Air using UK points

You have three main avenues to book these flights using UK credit card points. Some are exceptional value. Others require you to burn through a massive stash of points.

The Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles sweet spot

Do not sleep on Turkish Miles&Smiles. Booking Riyadh Air via Turkish costs exactly 47,000 miles for a one-way business class ticket from London to Riyadh. Carrier-imposed surcharges sit at roughly £340. That significantly undercuts the £500+ surcharges British Airways currently slaps on its Club Suite redemptions to the Middle East.

Getting Turkish miles in the UK is easier than you think if you hold the right hotel card. The Marriott Bonvoy UK Amex is currently offering a 60,000-point welcome bonus. Marriott points transfer to Turkish Miles&Smiles at a 3:1 ratio, and you get a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred. That means a single credit card sign-up bonus perfectly converts into 25,000 Turkish miles. Add a little everyday spending, and you are halfway to a one-way business class ticket.

Using Amex Membership Rewards via Singapore KrisFlyer

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer is an official Riyadh Air partner and their website reliably shows award space. But there is a massive catch for UK flyers. UK American Express cardholders transfer Membership Rewards to KrisFlyer at a 3:2 ratio. US cardholders get a 1:1 ratio.

Honestly, I’m not convinced the maths works for most people here. Because of that UK penalty ratio, a 60,000 KrisFlyer mile redemption will actually cost you 90,000 Amex Membership Rewards. You are bleeding value on the transfer. I would only recommend this route if you are cash-rich, points-heavy, and absolutely must fly on a specific date where Turkish shows no availability.

The Virgin Atlantic and Delta backdoor

Riyadh Air recently signed a strategic partnership with Delta. This opened up a backdoor for UK flyers. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members can indirectly access Riyadh Air codeshares on Delta tickets. Business class one-ways start at 85,000 SkyMiles, or the equivalent in Virgin Points when booking through the SkyTeam alliance network.

Delta’s dynamic pricing on its own metal is notoriously awful, but partner awards to the Middle East still maintain a loose award chart. It is not as cheap as Turkish, but Virgin Points are incredibly easy to earn in the UK, making this a highly accessible option.

Practical tips for finding reward seat availability

Finding the award space is half the battle. Riyadh Air is new, and partner IT systems are struggling to talk to each other properly. This is genuinely impressive but the small print is annoying when you sit down to actually book.

Search segment-by-segment. If you are trying to book London to Singapore via Riyadh, searching the whole route on partner sites will often error out or show zero availability. Search London to Riyadh first. Then search Riyadh to Singapore. Once you confirm the award space exists on both legs, you can piece it together.

Prepare to pick up the phone. While Singapore KrisFlyer shows Riyadh Air availability reliably online, Turkish Miles&Smiles is plagued by IT teething problems. You will frequently find phantom availability online, or the website will crash at the payment screen. Find the space using KrisFlyer’s search engine, write down the flight numbers and dates, and then call the Turkish Airlines contact centre to actually ticket the seat.

My honest verdict: Is it worth the effort?

The hard product is spectacular. The privacy doors are higher than Club Suite, the storage is better thought out, and the tech integration is flawless. Paying £340 in taxes instead of £500+ is a massive win for UK flyers.

The booking process is frustrating. Having to call Turkish Airlines and read out flight numbers like it is 2014 is not a premium experience. And the dry cabin will be a dealbreaker for a specific type of leisure traveller. But if you have a stash of Marriott Bonvoy points and want to fly the newest seat out of Heathrow, the 47,000-mile sweet spot is too good to ignore.

Next steps for your points strategy

If you are tired of the constant Avios devaluation and want to start building a flexible points strategy that opens up airlines like Riyadh, Singapore, and Turkish, you need to rethink your wallet. Focus on cards that earn transferable currencies rather than locking yourself into a single airline program. Ready to optimise your earning? You can explore more guides on Points Uncovered.