Riyadh Air and Singapore Airlines have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the the 80th International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Dubai.

The MoU will address the opportunities of cooperation between the two airlines. They include interline connectivity, codeshare agreements, reciprocal benefits for frequent flyer programme members for both airliners, cargo services and customer experience.

This agreement will give Riyadh Airlines access to the South East Asian and Pacific markets including Australia and New Zealand, while Singapore Airlines can set foot into the Middle East market.

This is the first of many strategic partnerships as Riyadh Air will partner with major players in the different markets worldwide.

The Saudi carrier has not started operating as of yet, but has already signed partnership agreements with Saudia, Turkish Airlines and Air China.

It remains to be seen whether the airline will join an alliance or if it will play it solo the same way Emirates does. In any case, interline and codesharing agreements have become a common practice outside of airline alliances.