Red Sea Global (RSG), the developer behind The Red Sea and Amaala destinations, confirmed this week that it had launched Saudi Arabia’s first seaplane company called Fly Red Sea.
A subsidiary of RSG, the company has already operated its first flight. Fly Red Sea’s initial fleet will comprise four Cessna Caravan 208 seaplanes, each equipped with boutique luxury interiors.
RSG said that the fleet will expand to nine seaplanes by 2028 and is further expected to increase to more than 20 by 2030.
The plane will initially connect to two resorts in The Red Sea’s island including St. Regis Red Sea Resort and Nujuma, A Ritz Carlton Reserve.
Each aircraft can accommodate a pilot and up to six guests with luggage for guest transfers to water-based resorts. Alternatively, it can carry up to nine guests without luggage for tours across the entire destination.
Red Sea International (RSI) airport is the homebase of Fly Red Sea. A dedicated seaplane runway runs in parallel to the main terminal at RSI which will eventually encompass a dedicated seaplane terminal too.
RSG has also decided to fuel its fleet of seaplanes with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from the very start. It is also exploring the possibility of fully electric seaplanes, and is working with ZeroAvia to trial retrofitting Cessna Caravan Seaplanes with hydrogen-electric propulsion technology.
“As a pilot myself, I was deeply invested in the efforts to build Fly Red Sea. Our goal was to create a company that would allow us to maintain high standards across every guest touchpoint, that would give us the platform to explore technologies to reduce the aviation industry’s carbon footprint, and which would prioritise giving skilled, rewarding career opportunities to the Saudi people. Fly Red Sea achieves this on every level,” said John Pagano, group CEO of Red Sea Global.
Last month, SAUDIA, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia, became the first airline to commence scheduled flights to RSI. Initially, RSI has been opened for domestic flights to and from Riyadh and later Jeddah, before it expands to handle international flights from 2024.
(Image: Supplied by Red Sea Global)