DUBAI, May 7 (Reuters) - Riyadh Air could announce an

order for narrow-body jets within weeks, while an order for

larger wide-body jets will be placed later, the airline's chief

commercial officer said on Tuesday.

The Saudi start-up carrier plans to launch operations in

June next year with Boeing 787 wide-body jets it previously

ordered but has for months said it would also order narrow body

jets.

"It should be done within the coming weeks," Vincent Coste

said when asked about the status of the order, adding that the

airline was under "no real pressure" to make an announcement.

Asked if an agreement had been finalised with either Airbus

or Boeing ( BA ) for the narrow body order, he said

discussions were in progress, without disclosing the planemaker.

Riyadh Air, which is owned by Saudi sovereign wealth fund

PIF, last year agreed to buy 39 Boeing 787 jets with purchase

rights for an additional 33 of the wide-body planes.

Coste said the airline would start selling tickets in

January and launch its first flight six months later in June.

Riyadh Air would launch on average two new destinations a

month until 2030, with the airline flying to around 10 mostly

international destinations by the end of 2025, he said in an

interview at the Arabian Travel Market tourism fair in Dubai.

Saudi Arabia's government is launching Riyadh Air as part of

a wider, ambitious economic transformation of the country to

diversify the economy away from oil revenues and create jobs.