Riyadh Air Shows Its First Production 787-9 in Full Indigo Livery

October 5, 2026 — Riyadh Air (RX) has shown its first production Boeing 787-9 painted in the full indigo and lavender livery, a scheme the Saudi start-up plans to put on only about one aircraft in ten.

What happened

Riyadh Air published photos of the aircraft, registered HZ-RXAK, on October 4, 2026, after it left the paint shop. Air Journal reports the work was done at Boeing’s site in Charleston, South Carolina, and that delivery is expected soon. An exact delivery date has not been given: TBA.

Most of the airline’s fleet wears a second scheme with a pearl-white fuselage and indigo and lavender accents. The all-indigo design had been seen only on a promotional 787, N8572C, which appeared at air shows after the livery was unveiled in Riyadh in June 2023.

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The livery and the fleet

Fleet counts differ by source. Air Journal puts the current fleet at ten aircraft flying to 15 international destinations. Aviation A2Z, citing ch-aviation data, counts eight 787-9s delivered. Our October 2 story covered the airline’s plan to add four aircraft by year-end.

What it means for travelers

• This one is for the spotters. A new paint job changes nothing about the seats on board.
• The growth behind it is the useful part. Each delivery adds widebody seats out of Riyadh on a young network. New airlines often fly emptier planes while routes mature. That is a general pattern, not a figure Riyadh Air has published.
• Want to catch the indigo jet? Note the registration, HZ-RXAK. Its first route has not been announced: TBA.

Sources

• Air Journal — Riyadh Air dévoile son premier Boeing 787-9 de série en livrée indigo
• Aviation A2Z — Riyadh Air’s 1st Production Boeing 787-9 Debuts in Eye-Catching Indigo Livery