Saudia Business Class Boeing 787 Review (AMS-JED): What A Stellar Flight!

For the next sector of my Four Seasons Yacht via Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia adventure, I flew Saudia’s Boeing 787-10 business class on the 5hr20min flight from Amsterdam (AMS) to Jeddah (JED). I must admit, this was perhaps the flight of the trip that most exceeded my expectations. My Saudia business class flight was absolutely phenomenal, and in particular, the food, service, and amenities impressed.

Prior to this flight, it had been years since I flew Saudia business class, though past flights definitely left a lot to be desired. I had heard that Saudia has been improving in recent years, but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this good… it felt like flying a completely different airline!

This is truly a world class soft product, with the obvious caveat being that the airline is “dry” (doesn’t serve alcohol). Before anyone yells at me, let me emphasize that I try to judge airlines objectively, so this isn’t at all a political statement about Saudi Arabia, but instead, just a reflection of my flight experience.

How I booked my Saudia business class ticket

I redeemed Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles for my Saudia business class itinerary. Specifically, I booked the following for 85,000 Flying Blue miles plus $301 in taxes & fees:

7/28 SV214 Amsterdam to Jeddah departing 3:55PM arriving 10:45PM
7/29 SV1056 Jeddah to Riyadh departing 1:00AM arriving 2:45AM

Let me emphasize that this isn’t actually a particularly good redemption value, though I did earn those Flying Blue miles with a 25% transfer bonus. So why didn’t I booked through Delta SkyMiles or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, which are also in SkyTeam, and (in theory) have lower redemption rates? Well, for whatever reason, they didn’t see award availability on the Jeddah to Riyadh connecting flight, while Flying Blue did. So that made the math work in favor of Flying Blue.

For what it’s worth, I booked my ticket around two weeks before departure.

Saudia business class lounge & boarding

I had booked a separate economy ticket on KLM from Dubrovnik (DBV) to Amsterdam the morning of my Saudia flight. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to check-in online (I believe it’s because they need to verify visas for Saudi Arabia), which was sort of annoying.

So I headed to the check-in desk around three hours before departure, as it opened. Check-in was chaotic, unfortunately — not due to any fault of the staff, but it just seemed like a lot of passengers struggled with queuing, and several people in front of me seemed to have issues with their tickets, were trying to argue for an upgrade, etc.

I then spent some time in the KLM Crown Lounge, which I reviewed some time back, so I won’t be reviewing it again this time around. It’s a solid lounge, and a nice place to kill some time. My flight was departing from gate F4, just a short walk from the lounge.

Boarding was scheduled for 3:10PM, 45 minutes before the anticipated 3:55PM departure. I headed to the gate quite a bit early, and saw the Saudia Dreamliner parked there, in the old livery.

The inbound flight arrived on schedule, so I’m not sure what happened, but boarding was delayed substantially. The crew only boarded at 3:20PM, and then the actual boarding process started at 3:40PM. They first boarded those needing extra time, which seemed to be about half the plane, though after that boarding did get underway.

Saudia 787 business class cabin & seats

I boarded through the second set of doors, where I was greeted by an exceptionally friendly flight attendant, and pointed left. I was on the most stretched version of the Dreamliner, the Boeing 787-10, which has quite a bit of space between the first and second set of doors.

Rather than dedicating that entire space to business class (as most airlines do), Saudia only has 24 business class seats (in six rows), and then has an economy section immediately behind that, with 36 seats (in four rows).

Saudia’s 787 business class consists of Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats, which are your typical, off the shelf reverse herringbone seats. This is a solid hard product — it’s not cutting edge nowadays, but I also can’t imagine anyone would complain about these seats. Saudia is expected to introduce a new business class product soon, so I’m curious what the airline comes up with.

If you’re traveling with someone, you may prefer to select one of the pairs of seats in the center. This is better than being seated separately, though it’s still a little tricky to easily communicate in reverse herringbone seats, given the separation and angle.

Meanwhile most passengers will prefer selecting one of the window seats, so they have both aisle access and a view out the window.

I assigned myself seat 6A, the window seat in the last row on the left side.

When it comes to seat features, there’s a console to the side of the seat, with an entertainment controller, headphone jack, and AC and USB-A charging ports. There’s also a literature pocket there.

Part of the counter to the side of the seat can be raised to expose an enclosed storage compartment, which is large enough to store things like headphones, a passport, phone, etc.

The tray table folds out from underneath the entertainment system, and it can easily be slid forward and backward, so that you can even get up while it’s extended.

Underneath the tray table is the footwell, which becomes part of the bed when reclined. The footwell here is a decent size, though also not huge.

On the aisle side, there’s also an armrest that can be raised or lowered, and that can also be opened, as it’s an enclosed storage area.

The last thing worth mentioning is that Saudia has individual air nozzles on its Dreamliners — yay, Saudia, because that’s way too rare on non-US carriers!

All-in-all, I’d say this is a well-rounded hard product. It’s not about to win any awards, but it does the trick, especially for a fairly short daytime flight like this.

Saudia 787 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Saudia’s 787 business class has 17″ seat back entertainment monitors, which is where you’ll find all the audio and video on demand. Saudia’s entertainment system is called SaudiaBEYOND, and I found the selection to be extensive, including a large number of movies, TV shows, games, music, etc. As you’d expect, there weren’t many graphic or controversial options in the system.

There was also of course the map feature, which I kept an eye on for much of the flight.

Here’s the bad news, though — the 787 I was flying on wasn’t equipped with Wi-Fi. Saudia is in the process of installing high speed Wi-Fi on its Dreamliners. The airline is partnering with Neo Space Group (NSG) on its NSG Skywaves service, but this particular plane didn’t have it installed. So that was a bummer, but within a matter of months, this service should be installed, as I understand it.

I was really impressed by how cabin manager Wael came around to each business class passenger to personally apologize for the lack of Wi-Fi, and explain that the airline is in the process of installing this service across the fleet (in addition to making an announcement for the entire plane).

Saudia business class amenities

The amenities in Saudia business class were incredible, especially when you consider that this was a daytime flight that wasn’t even long.

For one, there were both a pillow and blanket waiting at my seat, which had a cool design, and were also comfortable. The pillow was substantial, while the blanket was cozy.

There were also a pair of noise canceling headphones waiting at my seat, which were pretty good quality, and I liked the design.

Moments after settling in, the lovely flight attendant taking care of me, Cherine, came by to introduce herself, and to familiarize me with the seat. She also offered me a pre-departure drink of choice, plus my choice of a hot or cold towel. I opted for a lemon and mint juice, plus a cold towel… I love the towel presentation, how nice!

I was then presented with the menu for the flight, with Cherine explaining that Saudia has a full dine on demand concept, so I could order what I wanted, when I wanted.

Moments later, Cherine came by to offer me an amenity kit, which contained a dental kit, earplugs, socks, eyeshades, and a variety of toiletries from ELIE SAAB.

I was also presented with pajamas, which were in a bag with the carrier’s new branding, along with a pair of slippers. The pajamas were among the most comfortable pajamas I’ve been offered on any airline as of late, as I found them to be super soft and not scratchy.

Lastly, before departure, chef Ihsan came around with Arabic coffee and dates. The crew insisted I have three, since as he explained, having an odd number of dates (traditionally three) is a custom of Saudi hospitality and generosity.

What an impressive selection of amenities, especially for a flight of this length!

Saudia 787 departure from Amsterdam

Boarding took quite some time, as the flight was full, including every business class seat being taken. During this time I enjoyed listening to the boarding music, which I rank as being among the best of any airline.

Finally at 4:15PM, 20 minutes after our scheduled departure time, the main cabin door closed. We then began our pushback at 4:25PM, and a moment later, the safety video was screened.

Our taxi out to runway 18L was short, and by 4:35PM we were cleared for takeoff.

The seatbelt sign was turned off just five minutes after takeoff.

Saudia business class meal service

As mentioned above, Saudia offers dine on demand in business class, so I could dine at any point during the flight. My goal was to get a bit of a nap in on this flight (since I’d have a connecting flight in the middle of the night), so I decided to have lunch right away, sleep for a bit, and then have a snack before landing.

You can find the Saudia business class menu and drink list below.

Not only did the menu look great, but the entire service was exceptional. At Cherine’s recommendation, I had the “BelliNo” to drink, from “The Sparkling Collection” (it’s basically a non-alcoholic bellini). I appreciate how Saudia is at least innovative with its drink selection given that it’s dry, as there are also plenty of dry airlines (like EgyptAir) that just don’t try with their drink selection, and use it is as an opportunity to cut costs.

The drink was served with some warm mixed nuts, in a ramekin.

The service was nicely paced, and around 45 minutes after takeoff, a tablecloth was brought out, and then the first course was delivered. Of the three starter options, I chose the smoked salmon with red chicory leaves and saffron potatoes.

I thought this was spectacular, in terms of both taste and presentation. I’m not sure if the picture really does it justice, but the plating was truly restaurant quality. You also have to appreciate the warm and fresh-tasting bread, the high quality butter, and the olive oil and Tabasco. Continuing on the theme of exploring their non-alcoholic drink selection, I had the “Jukes 1 The Sparkling White” to drink with the meal.

My dish was cleared shortly after I finished, and then a few minutes later, my main course, plus a fresh set of cutlery, were brought out. For the main course, I went for the Saudi option, which was the chicken mandi, with roasted chicken, caramelized onion, raisins, and red dakous sauce. This dish was brilliant, and very flavorful. You probably can’t tell, but there was a ton of chicken under the rice.

Once that was cleared, I was offered dessert, and chose the sticky toffee date pudding, which was also very good, and beautifully presented. I had a cup of tea to accompany it.

At the conclusion of the meal I was offered a cold towel, plus a couple of chocolates on a plate.

The food quality, presentation, and service, were all absolutely stellar, and I can’t say enough good things about the experience, and how pleasantly surprised I was.

Saudia 787 business class lavatories

After the meal, I decided to check out the lavatories. Saudia’s Boeing 787-10 business class has two lavatories — one at the very front of the cabin by the flight deck, and one at the front right of the cabin, in front of the first row of seats. The lavatories were pretty standard for a Dreamliner, and had a few extra amenities.

One thing I’d note is that the crew refreshed the lavatories multiple times during the flight, down to putting the toilet paper into perfect triangles.

Saudia 787 business class bed

Once back at my seat, I decided it was time to get some rest, so I reclined my seat and put out my bedding. I found the bed to be comfortable, and the individual air nozzles helped with regulating airflow, and to avoid the feeling of being warm.

I fell asleep with just over 3hr30min remaining to Jeddah, as we were near southern Italy…

I had asked to be woken up a little before landing to have enough time to have a coffee and snack, and sure enough, Cherine woke me up with around an hour remaining, as we were over the Red Sea, meaning I got in a nice nap of a little over two hours.

Saudia business class snack

At Cherine’s recommendation, I had ordered a cheese and fruit plate, plus a cappuccino, as my pre-landing snack. While I was anything but hungry at this point, I figured I had to order something, for review purposes, of course. 😉 I thought this was all beautifully presented, and it also tasted great.

Saudia business class service

What impressed me most about my Saudia business class experience was the service, both in absolute and relative terms. Saudia’s flight attendants are primarily a mix of foreign women and local men. Going back a decade, I found service to be quite a joke — the foreign women were typically very professional, but the local men would just sit around in premium seats and be served by the other flight attendants, even ahead of passengers.

Heck, I remember that one time I flew Saudia first class, and they accused me of “stealing” the cabin manager’s seat, by sitting in my assigned seat (since apparently that was the cabin manager’s preferred seat).

This flight was simply a night-and-day difference, and had some of the best service I’ve ever had on any airline in business class. Wael was the cabin manager, and he was charming, engaging, and hands-on. He greeted each passenger upon boarding, was involved in the service, thanked each passenger at the end of the flight for flying with Saudia, etc. What an incredible ambassador for the airline.

Cherine was the flight attendant primarily taking care of me, and she was half Lebanese and half Egyptian. She could not have been lovelier or more professional. Not only was she kind, but she had impeccable attention to detail. For example, when I went to the lavatory, I even returned to find my blanket folded. Simply stellar service.

The inflight chef, Ihsan, was also fantastic. He did a great job with plating dishes, and also checked on each passenger to get feedback.

Service was really what most impressed me about the flight, and what most differentiated it from my past Saudia experiences. What a commendable transformation Saudia has had on that front.

Saudia 787 arrival in Jeddah

All too soon, my Saudia business class flight was already coming to an end. At 10:25PM local time, we began our descent from 33,000 feet, at which point the seatbelt sign was turned on. We had a pretty direct approach, except for the fact that we were approaching from the north and also had to land into the north, so that required flying past the airport and then turning around.

We ended up touching down at 10:55PM on runway 34R. From there we had a 10 minute taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 11:05PM, 20 minutes behind schedule.

At that point I bid farewell to the lovely crew, cleared immigration, headed over to the domestic departures area, and took my Saudia A330 business class flight to Riyadh.

Bottom line

Saudia’s 787 business class is perhaps the business class experience that has most exceeded my expectations so far this year. It had been years since I flew the airline, and back in the day, the experience left a lot to be desired. I had heard that Saudia has improved, but I wasn’t expecting to see such a change.

Saudia’s business class hard product is competitive, but nothing too exciting. What most delighted me was the level of service, as the crew working my flight was stellar. Thank you to Wael, Cherine, and Ihsan for their warm hospitality. I thought the food, non-alcoholic drinks, and amenities, were also great.

As I wrapped up this flight, I couldn’t help but be reminded that the real reason for my detour to Saudi Arabia was to fly Riyadh Air on the return. Little did I know that Saudia was an airline worth seeking out as well.

What’s your take on Saudia’s 787 business class?