[2] Riau Airlines was established on 12 March 2002 and started operations in December of the same year.

It was majority-owned by the Provincial Government of Riau and some other provinces such as Lampung, Bangka Belitung and Bengkulu, as well as some cities and Regencies in Sumatera.

Riau Airlines was originally formed to connect cities within Riau, however, it expanded towards linking all major cities on Sumatra island, as well as serving Borneo island, Bali, and Kupang in Central Indonesia.

By the third quarter of 2010, the airline started to hit a financial crisis, which led the lay-off around 25% of its employee at the end of January the following year.

Maman Syaifurohman - Commercial Director: Revan Menzano After acquiring a Boeing 737-500 with 120 seat configuration in January 2011, Riau Air served the following:[8] At the times of operation, Riau Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft [9]