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Eight Decades of Excellence: Boeing’s Journey in the Kingdom

A Boeing 737 aircraft (Boeing)
A Boeing 737 aircraft (Boeing)
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Eight Decades of Excellence: Boeing’s Journey in the Kingdom

A Boeing 737 aircraft (Boeing)
A Boeing 737 aircraft (Boeing)

President Donald J. Trump’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia spotlighted the enduring ties between the Kingdom and the United States, a relationship built on shared interests in economic development, security, and technological progress, said Asaad AlJomoai, President of Boeing Saudi Arabia, in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat.

According to AlJomoai, the visit reaffirmed the long-lasting strategic partnership between the two nations in critical areas including aviation and defense sectors, where Boeing is proud to have partnered with Saudi Arabia over the past eight decades.

From the first delivery of a Boeing DC-3 to the Kingdom in the 1940s, to the landmark 2023 order of 121 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, our relationship with the Kingdom reflects a deep, strategic alignment that has grown stronger with time, he said.

Fuelling a Bold Aviation Future

Today, our collaboration supports many aspects of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 - a bold blueprint to diversify the economy, empower youth, and position the Kingdom as a global hub for connectivity and innovation, AlJomoai said.

Saudi Arabia is rapidly emerging as an aviation powerhouse, driven by record-breaking passenger growth, historic aircraft orders, and visionary infrastructure projects, he added.

AlJomoai highlighted that the launch of Riyadh Air, the Kingdom’s new airline, alongside the expansion of Saudia, signals a national commitment to building a globally competitive air transport sector; between them, Riyadh Air and Saudia have placed orders of up to 121 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

This order will add to the 240 Boeing commercial airplanes that are already in operation across Saudi Arabia. Our partnerships also include leading lessors such as AviLease, which recently announced a direct purchase of 20 Boeing 737-8 passenger aircraft, with options for 10 more. With this agreement for up to 30 737-8s, AviLease becomes the first Saudi Arabian company to purchase the 737 MAX, AlJomoai noted.

These new airplanes will help advance Saudi Arabia’s sustainability targets and global connectivity ambitions, enabling service to over 100 destinations by 2030, and will be integral to aviation mega-projects including King Salman International Airport and the Riyadh Integrated Zone, he said.

Strengthening Local Talent and Industry

At the heart of Saudi Arabia’s aviation transformation lies a deep investment in people, innovation, and industrial capability, AlJomoai explained. The Kingdom is prioritizing advanced manufacturing, skills development, and technology - opening new doors for the next generation of Saudis to shape the future of aerospace, he added.

This momentum is already creating opportunities for a diverse and highly skilled workforce. Over the next 20 years, Boeing forecasts regional demand for nearly 250,000 aviation professionals, including 68,000 pilots, 63,000 aircraft technicians, and 104,000 cabin crew.

According to AlJomoai, meeting this demand will require a strong pipeline of local talent and a commitment to inspire and equip young people with the skills they need to lead.

At Boeing, we’re proud to contribute to this effort. One way we’re doing so is through ‘Pick Up Your Wings and Fly’, a regionally focused social media initiative designed to encourage young women to pursue careers in aerospace, AlJomoai said.

By featuring real stories from women across the aviation industry, the platform offers insight, inspiration, and practical guidance on education, training, and career development for Saudi women. The initiative was launched in Saudi Arabia this year in collaboration with our long-standing academic partner, Alfaisal University, he added.

Our partnership with Alfaisal University extends beyond this initiative, he noted. As a co-founding partner, Boeing provides engineering support, mentorship, and collaborates on hands-on projects such as designing a solar-powered vehicle for international competitions, helping equip students with the skills and experience to innovate on a global stage, AlJomoai affirmed. 

We also work closely with Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), the world’s largest women’s university, to promote STEM education and create meaningful opportunities for young Saudi women, AlJomoai added. Through joint initiatives, academic support, and research collaboration, we’re helping open doors for future leaders in science, technology, and aerospace, he added.

Future-Focused: Innovation, Technology, and Digitalization

AlJomoai noted that as Saudi Arabia accelerates toward Vision 2030, innovation, technology, and digitalization are taking center stage in the transformation of its aerospace and defense sectors. The Kingdom is making significant strides in building an indigenous aerospace ecosystem - one that not only meets national needs but also contributes to regional and global technological advancement, he stressed.

Boeing plays an active role in supporting these ambitions through long-standing industrial partnerships, he added. This includes our joint venture with Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), which sustains and supports military rotorcraft, contributing to local capability in defense maintenance and logistics. We are also working with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) to explore opportunities in manufacturing aviation-grade metals, as well as advanced plastics and resins, which are critical materials to support the Kingdom’s goal of developing a robust, local aerospace supply chain, said AlJomoai.

Our 15-year partnership with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) further underscores our commitment to innovation, AlJomoai said. Together, we’ve conducted research in areas such as artificial intelligence, advanced materials, computer modeling, solar energy, and industrial water treatment. This collaboration continues to support the Kingdom’s vision of becoming a global hub for research-driven innovation and technological leadership, he noted.

These efforts signal a broader transformation - moving from dependence on imported technologies to building homegrown capabilities and truly establishing Saudi Arabia as a global leader in aviation as both a travel and tourism hub, and as a center for aerospace design, advanced manufacturing, and digital innovation, he said.

Boeing is proud to have been an integral part of this transformation for the past 80 years, and we intend to be a trusted and dedicated partner to the Kingdom for many more years to come, AlJomoai concluded.

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Business

Oil Gains, Stocks Slip on Uncertain Mideast Peace Prospects

A fuel storage facility at Russia's main oil export hub in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk (Reuters)
A fuel storage facility at Russia's main oil export hub in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk (Reuters)
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Oil Gains, Stocks Slip on Uncertain Mideast Peace Prospects

A fuel storage facility at Russia's main oil export hub in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk (Reuters)
A fuel storage facility at Russia's main oil export hub in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk (Reuters)

Oil prices jumped while stock markets mostly retreated and the dollar firmed Thursday as hopes of a Middle East peace accord faded on conflicting headlines on the state of talks.

US President Donald Trump has described the latest discussions as being on the "borderline" between a deal and renewed strikes.

Pakistan's army chief was due in Iran on Thursday, Iranian media reported, with Islamabad mediating as Tehran examines a new US proposal to end the war, AFP reported.

"Markets pulled back across Europe as the waiting game to end the Iran war rumbled on," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

Wall Street's main indices also dipped at the open.

There were earlier big gains for technology stocks in Asia after chip giant Nvidia posted record quarterly revenue of $81.6 billion, blowing past analyst forecasts on the voracious demand for artificial intelligence hardware.

Sentiment was also boosted by Elon Musk's filing for a public sale of SpaceX shares, which could be the largest initial public offering in history as the rocket and satellite company seeks to raise up to $75 billion.

"This could be a blockbuster summer for IPOs with OpenAI also expected to list in the coming weeks," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

"How the market absorbs these new listings will be crucial for the future of the AI trade, as both companies are at the heart of the AI revolution," she said.

South Korea's benchmark Kospi index surged 8.4 percent, helped by Samsung Electronics shares after unions paused a 18-day strike.

Japan's Nikkei index ended with a gain of 3.1 percent.

But despite the group's profit growth, Nvidia shares failed to get a boost as they have in previous quarters, gaining 0.2 percent after trading got underway in New York.

With tech shares, whose staggering rises helped drive markets to record highs in recent months, now considered by many investors to be overvalued, investment analyst Bret Kenwell at eToro said there were worries that a pullback was in store.

"While geopolitical risks could still flare up, the more pressing issue appears to be macro-related," he said, pointing to the recent rise in sovereign bond yields and the prospect of central banks raising interest rates.

The yields demanded by investors to lend to governments by buying their bonds have peaked in recent days, indicating weakening confidence in their economies and inflation fears.

After tech gains in Asia, attention turned to US-Iran war developments and the potential fallout for economies on the continent, sending European stocks lower.

The EU warned Thursday that eurozone growth would be less than expected this year and inflation significantly higher than forecast, as the Mideast war and subsequent energy shock take their toll.

It came as a key survey revealed that business activity in the eurozone contracted further in May, weighed down by weak demand caused by a conflict.

British private-sector activity also unexpectedly contracted this month, marking the first decline in output in over a year, S&P Global added.

"The UK economy is facing a perfect storm, as rising political uncertainty adds to the growing impact from the war in the Middle East," said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

In other corporate news, French video game giant Ubisoft saw its shares plunge around 11 percent after it reported disappointing annual results and forecast further pain in the coming year.

The "Assassin's Creed" and "Rayman" developer had warned in January of the likely impact, with seven games cancelled and six delayed.

Business

flynas Says Direct Flights Between Riyadh, Milan Start Thursday

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
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flynas Says Direct Flights Between Riyadh, Milan Start Thursday

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)

flynas has announced the launch of direct flights connecting Riyadh with Milan, SPA reported.

Starting Thursday, the airline will operate three weekly direct flights between King Khalid International Airport and Milan Malpensa Airport.

Business

SpaceX Reveals Plans for What Could be Biggest-ever Initial Public Offering

FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk walks to attend the trial in his lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse, in Oakland, California, US, April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk walks to attend the trial in his lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse, in Oakland, California, US, April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo
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SpaceX Reveals Plans for What Could be Biggest-ever Initial Public Offering

FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk walks to attend the trial in his lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse, in Oakland, California, US, April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk walks to attend the trial in his lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion at a federal courthouse, in Oakland, California, US, April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo

Elon Musk announced plans Wednesday for one of the biggest stock sales ever by taking public a space company that is currently losing billions of dollars a year.

A filing shows that his SpaceX lost $2.6 billion from operations last year on $18.7 billion in revenue, and the losses kept piling up at the start of this year, too.

The prospectus did not put a dollar figure on the amount Musk hopes to raise, but various reports have put it at $75 billion or so.

SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has said the money will help finance projects to put people on the moon and Mars in its quest to make humans an intergalactic species as they face existential threats that could wipe out civilization.

“We do not want humans to have the same fate as dinosaurs,” the filing states.

The prospectus reads in part like a Hollywood fantasy version of the future, detailing in one section how part of Musk’s compensation will be granted only if he maintains “a permanent human colony on Mars with at least one million inhabitants.”

Short of that, the stock sale alone could make Musk, a major owner who founded SpaceX in 2002, the world’s first trillionaire. Forbes currently puts his net worth at $839 billion.

In addition to making reusable rockets to hurl astronauts into orbit, SpaceX has other businesses, some successful, some struggling — and with plenty of questions marks.

The document shows that Starlink, the world’s largest satellite communications company, is a big source of cash for the company, generating $4.4 billion in operating income last year. The business uses 10,000 satellites in low orbit to provide internet service to 10 million people in 150 countries and territories.

Among the struggling businesses are two Musk units that were recently acquired by SpaceX — his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and his artificial intelligence business, xAI.

Those purchases were blasted by some SpaceX investors as bailouts because they are big money losers.

The prospectus said its AI business lost $6.4 billion in operations last year.

The original SpaceX business, making rockets and staging launches, has been helped by massive government contracts, which raises questions that could come back to haunt the company. Given Musk’s close relation to the Trump administration, government ethics lawyers and watchdogs have asked if he has gotten special treatment to win taxpayer money and whether that good luck will run out once President Donald Trump is out office.

SpaceX has won contracts worth $6 billion from NASA and the Defense Department and other government agencies in the past five years, according to USAspending.gov. The company noted in its filing that a fifth of its revenue last year was from the federal government, The Associated Press reported.

Musk was the biggest donor to Trump’s presidential campaign and is still a big backer despite their sometimes rocky relationship after his stewardship of the government cost-cutting effort called DOGE early last year.

Like many corporate CEOs, Musk’s compensation will go far beyond his annual salary, which was $54,080 in 2025 and has remained unchanged since 2019, according to the filing.

The prospectus says stock grants for him would be sliced into 15 nearly equal amounts — 67 million shares each — and would vest only as the company achieves preset market cap goals. In addition to the Martian colony, SpaceX’s stock market value would have to reach $7.5 trillion for him to receive the full award.

He would get even more stock awards if SpaceX manages to get giant data centers the size of football fields in space.

The document shows Musk will be able to exert big control over the business.

It says he and certain other shareholders will receive shares in a special class of stock that gives them 10 votes for each share they hold. Those shareholders will be able, among other things, to elect a majority of the company’s board of directors.

“This will limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate matters and the election of our directors,” SpaceX said in a warning to prospective investors.

SpaceX will be able to pitch the offering to investors — in what’s known in Wall Street parlance as a “road show” — 15 days after making its prospectus public. In this case, that works out to June 4.