I boarded through door L1, where I was greeted by the cabin supervisor and brought to my seat. Saudia's new 777-300ER first class cabin consists of a total of 12 suites, spread across three rows in a 1-2-1 configuration. You'll notice that there are no overhead bins, so the crew takes your bags as you…
Continue reading: Review: Saudia First Class 777-300ER New York To Riyadh
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
On your return Saudia trip you will really have to get some pictures of some of the IFE censoring, which is extreme to the point of amusing. They will often censor characters saying the names of alcoholic drinks, and any amount of visible skin on a woman's upper chest or shoulders will be blurred.
@ Ben. Please know I'm not shaming you since your job is first and foremost to review airlines. I am; however, concerned at flying Saudia. I'm a gay man, and married to my husband (13 years together), and knowing SA policy on homosexuality, well, it's scary. I'd love to visit the Pyramids, Petra, etc, and my heterosexual friends who have done so, have all cautioned me. My husband and i don't display PDA, because that's not us, and i do think the more LGBT people that travel, the better the world will be, but i still can't allow myself to fly the Gulf carriers or SA. we live in Columbus, OH....14th largest city in USA, and the largest per capita LGBT population jn the midwest. i also recognize the other side....if LGBT people stay away from certain countries, we leave our LGBT brothers and sisters alone. I continually hope that you, and other LBGT bloggers bring more awareness to those more closed places.
It's all very brown and beige. A bit too 1975. Better than Emirates bling though.
@christiaan
How about doing it the other way around? Why not go to these places, experience them yourself and try to find out if reality is similar to what you are told?
By refusing to engage with these "closed places", you're being as "closed" as they are.
@christiaan
I think you should read the following post regarding Ben's thoughts on the subject.
https://onemileatatime.com/countries-gay-illegal/
@Aziz because for the LGBT community, the concern in some of these closed places isn't that people might not be friendly or the resorts may not be sufficiently posh, but that one's life might be in danger. Obviously generally that's a concern anywhere, but far more so in Middle Eastern countries. (Say what you will about the USA, but when I'm flying home to Mississippi, hardly a hotbed of tolerance, prayers aren't playing in-flight and I can have a drink or two.)
"Oh flight attendant, please pass this note up to the pilot, thank you..." = not something I would be inclined to say during any flight going anywhere.
@Aziz
How about looking the potential government sanctioned punishments for gays and lesbians (despite the fact they officially do not exist). Fines, imprisonment, flogging and death. I suspect if your let your freak flag fly there, that will be the last time. Screw those medieval, backward zealots and I'm sure the Westboro Baptist Church is jealous. The crew has to put more than your carry-on in the closet on that flight.
@Lucky, did you have the date smoothie? It looks like it - that drink is freakin' incredible.
Thank you @Aziz for those wonderful words of wisdom.
@christiaan -
For twenty and some odd years, I have been working in the Middle East (mainly in the KSA) as an openly gay man. I will always be so thankful to have had this extraordinary opportunity. This is such a magnificent part of the world. And I can assure you that I have always been treated with kindness and respect, whether it be in Jordan, UAE, Egypt, Iran, Iraq or the KSA. It might surprise you to know that gay communities (though closeted) do exist throughout the ME. Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon an obviously gay cafe in Tehran! Well, it was obvious to me but the morality police apparently had no clue. And there has always been discrete pockets of gaiety on the corniche in Jeddah.
As @Aziz suggested, please come and see for yourself!
I understand you liked the chef and the food tasted good, but I just don't know how you can say that was good plating...
Imperator, please check your privilege. If you were an "openly gay" Saudi man, you'd be hanging in the gallows right now.
I wonder if they're like supposedly other dry Muslim airlines that allow you to bring on a bottle of wine?
Sorry, not sure where else to point this out...
Lucky, have you heard that Air India has been cleared for privatization?
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-40435922
Stupid question:
What has happend to Emirates new Boeing 777 Business Class config. It should have been implemented November 2016, but I have never seen a real on flight review of it! Are there any issues?
I am not gay, but my business manager in my medical practice was openly gay...He and his partner took a leave of absence from our office in order to go to Saudi to catalog the royal art collection for part of the royal family. I was worried about what might happen to them, but they were unconcerned....(I was brought up in the middle east so It isn't like I don't know the landscape, and our office was in Key West)...Anyway, 6 months later they were back. They had a wonderful time and said there was no problem what so ever. Most people did not realize that they were gay, and they also said that gay bars flourished, but most people had no idea.....so who knows? Maybe we all should go and open up our eyes....and, BTW, Last time I saw Petrossian caviar on a flight was many years ago on an old KLM World Class flight....which they haven't had that class at all. The attendants came around and asked if we wanted the caviar either Russian or French style...made me laugh back then, and now.....and it was wonderful, and virtually unlimited....
@christiaan - I lived in the Middle East - in the UAE - for a number of years as an openly gay man. It was a wonderful experience. The locals are all accepting of it, there was no issue. My company that I worked for was extremely gay, and there was gay all around. I think if you tried going to these places you'd be pleasantly surprised. One of my co-workers was gay, and our company in the UAE sponsored his partner to come over and got him a job there too. Now, of course, there will be no pride parade and there is always a degree of modesty, but I never felt like I couldn't be myself.
@William - the prayer that is played prior to the departure on Saudia, Etihad, etc, is simply a prayer offering safe travels. It is a nice thing they do prior to take off, nothing more, nothing less.
If one has to boycott Saudia and Saudi Arabia, it should be for exporting their fundamentalist brand of Islam which led to 9/11.
I wonder how many women are among that "diverse" group of chefs... As a blonde-haired, blue-eyed lesbian who presents as "femme," I think I'd be very nervous to fly Saudia and travel in the Middle East (which, honestly, is really sad). Maybe one day. In any event, I truly appreciate having these reviews to read. Thanks!! 🙂
"and they also said that gay bars flourished"
There are no bars of any kind in Saudi Arabia, gay or otherwise, since booze is illegal. There might be some coffee shops and cafes that might be popular with gay people, but it's more of a secret kept among gay people (given that all F&B establishments are divided into family/women only and men only sections, it would be hard to tell what was popular with gay men and what isn't).
Unless your manager meant to say Dubai and you got it confused?
"Now, of course, there will be no pride parade and there is always a degree of modesty, but I never felt like I couldn’t be myself."
Well, that depends on what your definition of being yourself is...as open as the UAE is, and it's Dubai the most, a level of discretion compared to parts of Europe and the US is advised.
"As a blonde-haired, blue-eyed lesbian who presents as “femme,” I think I’d be very nervous to fly Saudia and travel in the Middle East"
Why? If you're nervous about being a lesbian, all you need to do is be discreet and keep a low profile. If you're nervous about being blond-haired and blue-eyed, that is a different issue altogether.
@Christian It's important to understand the difference between official policy and the reality on the ground. Arabs are obsessed with image. Everything's for show. But then there's what really goes on. After living in Saudi for five years, I'd have to say it's possibly the gayest place I've ever been. One of those cases of not reading a book by its cover.
Horn was the booking process? Were you able to book online with Korean or did you have to call, hold tickets, do that route.
@christiannn
Seriously you need to get a life.
Condoning ben for travelling saudi air cause of his lgbt status.
Its cause of peoples narrow mindiness like your living your pathetic life afraid to travel cause of your beliefs. Get a life.
Gay hate crimes exist in america period!
Ive travelled to every arabic country except somalia and sudan and NEVER had a problem!
And im a faggot!
I love my life and i love my travels.
@Lucky How was the mushroom soup temperature ?
Was there a dubbed Arabic version of Big Bang Theory ?
Would you sell that Saudia luggage tag for 40 bucks ?
Saudia is impressive. It's not easy to improve to such degree in a very short time, especially in a country where it's really difficult for things to be made properly. Saudia was known to be a very inefficient job factory for lazy people, pretty much like some European airlines, and the last thing I would have believed is to see it becoming a real airline offering a quality product.
There is one problem they can't overcome though: it's the 2-3 hours at immigration (in the best case) that you'll get regardless of your class of travel.
@ tunis - sadly I don't have the vacation time, but I do agree that being gay is the best, ha! Stay safe. 🙂
Hard pass. "Dry" airline for a 12 hour flight? Because they feel the need to impose their morals on their paying customers? And, I agree with others - it might be nice to take a public stance against airlines like Saudi, which come propped up from governments that treat minorities in their countries so unbelievably poorly. Why not focus on travels to more accepting locations and on more friendly carriers? You have a wide audience, people would notice.
@JC, I too would take a pass on Saudia or any dry airline for a 12 hour flight. And I don't think I'd be keen on visiting and spending money in such a barbarous country that at best enables and at worst sponsors terrorists.
That said, I don't think Saudia is "imposing" anything on their customers; rather they're catering to them. I have no problem with KSA or the airline being dry, prohibiting women from driving, barring other religions in their country, public floggings, or any myriad bass-ackwardness they practice. It is, after all, THEIR country. It has a culture, and the airline is an extension of and representative of that culture.
That said, in the US, we too have an authentic culture. While some smugly believe we have no culture, or that some sappy version of "pluralism" is our culture, that's not true. The more I travel, the more I recognize the distinctiveness of American culture as something worth preserving.
I wonder what people do when they hang out at the onboard bar on a dry airline. Must be some fun times, doing shots of orange soda etc. I laughed at your comments about the censoring of movies and TV, I can't imagine living in a country that repressive. Combine all that with the public beheadings and floggings, along with the subjugation of women and you've got the same sort of society that Margaret Atwood wrote about in The Handmaid's Tale. If you haven't seen the HULU TV series of the same novel, check it out. It will give you the willies.
Everyone is still yammering on about dry airlines. So you don't drink for 12 hours, or 18 hours or even 24 hours. Big deal. You'll survive. I promise.
As for the food, I'd have to agree with an earlier post that although I don't doubt that is tasted good, it doesn't look terribly exciting. The rice looks like is came straight out of a tray.
Sure, Josh, you can go without drinking for 12-24 hours but when the competition does offer that option that makes for a clear differentiation in service. Further, for a premium product, some would value the option to sip a nice wine, etc. with their meal(s). Look, a "dry" airline has less to "offer" in the way of food and drink when an entire category is prohibited.
Funny to see they serve crap Hershey chocolate in first class on Kingdom of Darkness Airways.
@Bgriff since I'm from Riyadh, I usually fly with them and I just watch the movies for the censorship....it could turn Terms of Endearment to the funniest movie ever created.
Just wanted to note that onboard chef is also available on flights to Paris and London (in addition to the US routes). Not sure if it's available on the Toronto route.
Hi Ben
Are you kidding me? Are you in trouble with Saudis who are making you say this? Wasn't it in 2016 that you rated them as the worst premiere class?
https://onemileatatime.com/saudia-bad-service/
I noticed that you also conveniently skirted around the experience at Saudi airports and their rude security staff as well as arrogant male Saudi flight attendants who give the impression that they are doing you a favour by just getting up in the morning to be on the flight.
That is also part of the total flight experience. Please don't misinform people.
Saudi is the worst airline in the world and their airports rank among the worst in the world, Jeddah North Terminal being the worst, with South Terminal bringing up the second worst.
Besides Bedding, I think they should invest in Noise Cancelling Headphone for First Class too.