Saudia Airlines?

[fosterscik]

Has anyone any experience flying with Saudia airlines? DW and I will be flying later this year to Jakarta from the eastern seaboard. The cheapest option for business class (with lay flat seats) is to fly from IAD to CGK with Saudia. Unlike other Arab airlines there is no alcohol on board and it doesn't get great reviews for on-board service and food but for $5.4k round trip (for both of us) vs $9.8k on Turkish, it seems very tempting. It's not an airline I knew about until I saw these great prices and although I like being pampered as much as the next guy the main reason I'm interested in business class on long haul flights is the lay flat beds. Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[USGrant1962]

Wow - we just booked exactly that flight! We're going to Borneo and Bali for scuba diving in August.

I have no experience with them except that their website is very wonky. My payment wouldn't go through after trying different CCs, browsers, blockers off, and calling them. In the end the only way I got it to work was using a VPN. And it still won't take my Delta frequent flyer numbers - the site just hangs when you try to enter them.

But for that much savings the aggravation was bearable.

 

[fosterscik]

Too bad it's not sooner - you could have given us a review before we booked
We're sailing on a 2-week liveaboard in the Banda Sea (MV Pindito) in late September and then travelling to Australia for an extended stay. We will probably leave our scuba gear at Jakarta airport (We checked bags there last year over a 4 week period and it worked well).
It sounds like it will be fun making a reservation with Saudia, but hopefully it will be worth the aggravation.

 

[Sunset]

Wouldn't it be funny if they have separate sections of the plane for men and women, I don't think they do but never flew with them.

In Greece a few decades ago, we went to a big dinner party. It was surprising to us, that all the women sat in one area and the men sat in another, even wives sat away from their men. This was the same for everyone.. Not what I was used to as a different culture.

 

[W2R]

Wouldn't it be funny if they have separate sections of the plane for men and women, I don't think they do but never flew with them.

In Greece a few decades ago, we went to a big dinner party. It was surprising to us, that all the women sat in one area and the men sat in another, even wives sat away from their men. This was the same for everyone.. Not what I was used to as a different culture.

My family went to a big party like that, maybe 60 years ago in our travels overseas. I was a teenager and thought that was the coolest idea ever! No guys to ruin our girlish fun. My brothers liked it too, because they felt freer to use foul language and discuss borderline acceptable topics with no worries about offending any women.

We asked our parents why parties weren't like that in the US! Our parents just told us that's not customary here.

 

[Stwicky]

I think you'll be quite satisfied. The Saudia fleet is reasonably young and can be nice. I've flown with them multiple times, albeit relatively short hauls. Plus, Saudi is working hard to market itself as tourist-friendly. And with Saudia being state owned I suspect this is one of the reasons that they've entered the market at an attractive price point. Enjoy and report back.

 

[Sometime Soon]

I have had a bunch of flights from Dulles to Riyadh on Saudia, but not in business class. My experiences have been uniformly very good. All the flights I took were uncrowded and the staff very attentive. I hear that at some times of year, such as at at the end of Ramadan, they can be crowded.

 

[fosterscik]

I think you'll be quite satisfied. The Saudia fleet is reasonably young and can be nice. I've flown with them multiple times, albeit relatively short hauls. Plus, Saudi is working hard to market itself as tourist-friendly. And with Saudia being state owned I suspect this is one of the reasons that they've entered the market at an attractive price point. Enjoy and report back.

Thank you! I will be sure to update once we get back (it'll be a while...)

 

[fosterscik]

I have had a bunch of flights from Dulles to Riyadh on Saudia, but not in business class. My experiences have been uniformly very good. All the flights I took were uncrowded and the staff very attentive. I hear that at some times of year, such as at at the end of Ramadan, they can be crowded.

Thanks for the reply. It helps a lot to know you experienced attentive staff. That seemed to be one of the biggest complaints online. It's always difficult interpreting reviews - it's much more likely people post complaints than praise.