Riyadh Air has signed a partnership with global business and digital transformation company Sutherland to enhance the airline’s finance operations using Sutherland’s digital-first solutions.
As part of the collaboration, Riyadh Air will implement Sutherland’s advanced future-ready platform for finance solutions, dubbed Sutherland altra, to improve operational efficiencies and streamline its sales-to-cash processes.
The platform integrates revenue accounting, accounts receivable, and revenue assurance services.
Built on open-source technology, Sutherland altra is free from legacy code and features a microservices-based architecture, offering flexibility and scalability.
Its modules, altraPRA and altraAR, will help Riyadh Air streamline both revenue accounting and accounts receivable, enhancing the efficiency of its financial operations.
Sutherland MENA senior vice president and managing director Khaled Alsaleh said: “As the Kingdom transforms the travel and tourism industry, contributing significantly to GDP, we are thrilled to be part of this journey.
“With the global travel sector projected to surpass $11 trillion in 2024 and the upcoming King Salman Airport in Riyadh set to be one of the world’s largest, Riyadh Air is poised for remarkable growth.”
Through the partnership, Riyadh Air aims to develop digital-first finance operations with intelligent automation.
Established last year, Riyadh Air is expected to become Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier, with plans to serve more than 100 domestic and international destinations by 2030.
The adoption of Sutherland altra is expected to support these growth ambitions by offering real-time insights into revenue and receivables, enabling the airline to make data-driven decisions.
Riyadh Air chief financial officer Adam Boukadida said: “At Riyadh Air, we aim to be the world’s first digital native airline, and our partnership with Sutherland is a pivotal step in our mission to deliver this objective.
“Adopting world-class technologies, such as Sutherland altra, to optimise our financial processes underscores our shared commitment to innovation and excellence. We have a laser focus on our digital customer offering and this partnership with Sutherland will strongly support us with critical technological infrastructure to deliver on this promise.”
