Saudi Arabia’s THC orders 12 Bombardier jets; options for 48 more

opinion

by Alasdair Whyte

July 27, 2026

The aircraft will be operated by The Helicopter Company (THC), a PIF subsidiary.

The Public Investment Fund Tower is Riyadh’s tallest skyscraper. It is also one of the most technologically advanced buildings in the world. It is triple glazed to reduce energy consumption and visitor access to all 80 floors relies on facial recognition rather than badges.

During the past five years many business aviation companies – manufacturers, operators and others – have gone to Saudi Arabia to ride its (slightly confusing) series of lifts to pitch aircraft or look for investment.

It paid off for Bombardier this week. PIF signed a letter of intent (LOI) for five Challenger 3500s, five Global 5500s and two Global 8000s. It also agreed purchase options for 48 more aircraft. The agreement was announced at the Farnborough Airshow. The aircraft will be operated by The Helicopter Company (THC), a PIF subsidiary.

PIF launched The Helicopter Company in March 2019. It was originally announced as a way of boosting tourism to the Kingdom as part of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s Vision 2030 programme. THC’s biggest business is emergency medical services flights.

The Helicopter Company operates more than 60 helicopters (from a much more modest headquarters in Riyadh). It buys a lot of new helicopters. In 2024 it signed an agreement with Airbus for up to 120 aircraft. It firmed up eight H145s at Farnborough this week. It did the same with Leonardo, signing an agreement for up to 130 helicopters in 2024 and firming up 11 AW139s this week. It would be no surprise if it also places an order with other business jet OEMs.

“As a portfolio of companies, THC was always poised to expand beyond rotary-wing aviation into fixed-wing operations,” said Arnaud Martinez, CEO of THC. “Our vision has always been to become the general aviation champion from Saudi Arabia to the world.”

Last year the company quietly changed its official name to The Helicopter & Private Jet Company to allow it to enter the business jet market, but it is keeping the The Helicopter Company as its main brand.

PIF already owned Alpha Star Aviation, Saudi Arabia’s largest business jet operator which dominates government flights. This appears to be merging with THC. The company says that its order reflects growing demand for private and general aviation, driven by Saudi Arabia’s expanding tourism sector, business activity and emerging destinations, such as the new Red Sea Global resorts.

“Every investment we make is guided by the same philosophy – to build an integrated aviation ecosystem that supports Saudi Vision 2030 through innovation, operational excellence and long-term value creation,” said Martinez.

It is no secret that PIF looked closely at investing in both Vista Global and Flexjet (which both have the right to operate domestic flights in Saudi Arabia). Instead, it has chosen to create what it calls a “national champion”. It is doing the same thing with Riyadh Air, its new airline (even though the country already has a state-owned flag carrier in Saudia, which is in the process of being transferred to PIF).

PIF is always ambitious. You just have to look at its mega projects like futuristic city Neom, Red Sea Global and Diriyah (the old capital that visitors to Riyadh enjoy visiting). But as the LIV Golf experiment showed, not all of these will always pay off.

THC is not looking to be a small domestic business jet operator. This order is the first part of its plan to compete with companies like Vista, Flexjet and Qatar Executive – even NetJets.

This means that a lot more business aviation people will be visiting the PIF Tower in the next few years.