Review: Saudia Business Class 777 Colombo To Jeddah

I see that your Arabic coffee was full to the brim. Recently on an Emirates flight in First, the FA explained that it's polite to fill it half way, and keep refilling, which she did - and that when your host wants you to leave, they fill it full and then don't refill. Maybe they were trying to tell you something.

And are you really shocked about how the male crew treated the female crew?

"We had a smooth touchdown in Jeddah at 8:40PM. From there it was a short five minute taxi to our arrival stand. It wasn’t until then that I realized just how much of a dumb Jeddah Airport was. They don’t have any gates, so it’s just a bunch of planes at remote stands.

The seatbelt sign was turned off around 8:15PM."

Lucky,
I wouldn't make the excuse that because of the working conditions, she could be rude to the passengers. I have flown Saudia from London to Jeddah Business Class a few months ago, my flight crew were very nice. She was being rude for the sake of being rude. I think the security check on the plane is only flying from colombo, it never happened to me so.....

Wait until you fly El Al, Lucky.
As they say, you get what you pay for!
BTW how much did your ticket between CMB and MAN cost?

Dates placed directly on the tray table? You know that is one of the most disgusting and germ infested places on a plane, right?

The prayer room isn't at the back of the business cabin. Past the curtain I see an economy seat.

I've noticed that they've replied on twitter to your previous post regarding this flight. Did they try to get in touch with you at all?

As bad as the flight was, knowing that they care and tried to get in touch would be nice to know.

Next time you plan to fly SAUDIA, try to avoid Jeddah, unless of course the new airport is open by then, or you plan to visit the city which is really beautiful.

@ Alvin -- Good catch, thank you. Fixed.

@ Santastico -- Indeed, it disgusted me as well, but I wanted to get a picture. So I wiped it down with the hot towel before placing it down. Not that it's perfect, but it was the only good way I could come up with to get a picture.

@ bill -- Fixed, thank you.

@ Rahul -- The business ticket cost ~$700.

@Lucky: Oh, as long as you didn't eat it then it is OK. 🙂

Lucky,

Just out of curiousity what stops you from asking a FA why the male FA's were served meals that you were not able to choose?

So my question got the same treatment as the call button.

Ah, well....

Lucky; you'll need to try El Al or fly into TLV because the security there is top notch AND its carried out with service..

Oh goody, I'm looking forward to the next instalment (I'm writing from Riyadh).

I'd like to point out something just to kind of flesh out what you've written about the male staff. Even if by some miracle Saudia were aware of your blog and the appalling service, and they promised to do an investigation, I promise you NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN. There's probably nowhere on Earth with less accountability than Saudi Arabia. Those male attendants may or may not be related to someone important, but the crucial thing is they may be, and that's why nothing ever happens and no one's ever accountable.

There's this phenomenon called "wasta" in the country, which roughly equates to "influence" (although one Saudi said "croneyism" would be a better translation). And because no one knows who's connected and who isn't, nobody ever tries to make anybody accountable. Saudis just don't get fired, and they aren't really even required to perform a job (they've only recently been required to have one).

As I've said before on this blog, I like Saudis. The ones I know are polite, and the sense of humour here is great. But if there's one thing that characterises the country for me it's a lack of accountability.

There's a lot that can be done without alcohol during a meal. There's a restaurant in LA called Trois Mec (you should try it if you haven't yet). They have a non-alcoholic pairing with the prix fixe menu that they offer. It's really cool, and it's nice they have that option for people who don't drink.

Hi Ben. I have a silly question. What is with Colombo, and its being such a popular transit point? You are always using it for your travels, but when I see your posted pictures of the place all I see is jungle. Why do so many airlines fly there?

Seems like "typical" Arab culture to me. Loud, obnoxious, indifferent. Ohh, and lets not forget that women are always to serve the man, even if he is an on-duty flight attendant.

What an unpleasant cultural experience. Makes me glad I live in the West.

The only reason I enjoy flying El Al is the fact that the head of airport security and management at Ben Gurion Airport is a very good family friend who travels and stays with us at our home at least once a year.... other-wise the flight (both the hard and soft products) are sparse.....

However, Israel as a country is one of the most developed, interesting, and enjoyable places that I have visited and lived in...

@Lucky:

"For these type of seats the foot cubby is generally larger for window seats, though I didn’t rally find that to be the case by very much in these seats."

I think you meant to say 'really' instead of 'rally'

Great trip report! I would hope that those flight attendants got fired or someone took action and complained...

How did you transit (i.e. clear the security to go into departure area from arrivals), without your boarding passes for the Saudia flight?

I thought the transit process will be covered in this post, but I think it is not really stated clearly.

@cinti lingus:

I don't know about other but I would to get away from idiots like you.

They usually deploy this bi-class 777-300ERs (sans First Class) also on long-haul routes like JED-MNL and RUH-MNL, since that market is where many Filipino workers come to Saudi Arabia to work. And Saudia is actually in the process of reconfiguration, they now have four types of business class: two type of angled-flat seats on the 777 (2-3-2 and 2-2-2), this type of Diamond seat, and the Super Diamond seat on the 787. And believe it or not, they are actually improving their Economy class. From 3-4-3 on the 777, going back to 3-3-3 which you saw here, with even bigger IFE screens.

Saudi in general is going through a phase where for the near first time they are running out of money faster than they are making it through sale of oil.

The population has not been prepared and nor has it even had a focus on service (bedioun traditions aside). I have also flown the airline and there have been issues which I peg to inexperience. As the economy and workforce is forced to adapt there will need to be changes to the culture in terms of attitude and service.

Look it's no coincidence that the most friendly people in the GCC are from Oman and Bahrain. They needed to be because they work all manner of jobs from taxi driver and up and had to adapt to keep visitors coming whether Arab or foreign.

I hope that someone reads this at the airline. The issue is they has a captive customer base thanks to Mecca/Medina. However the corporate culture needs to survive if they want to maintain their standard of living.

@Not Suprised

Please keep enlightening us with your ignorant, bigoted views...

"it’s no coincidence that the most friendly people in the GCC are from Oman and Bahrain"

That is true. I'd probably add the people from Dubai there as well (not all the people from the UAE, just Dubai).

I think you just had some really rude FAs. I'd had some who tended to be friendly. Even if they weren't quite as polished as FAs you'd find on other airlines, they tended be polite and would smile. And I've even had some decent male FAs too on Saudia.

I love Saudi Arabia as country after living there but for me Saudia is the worst airline I've been on in the world. I actually prefer to fly economy on Saudia because when I fly business I can't help but feel it's a waste of money. So un professional. I've even seen pilots allow their friends (passengers) in the cockpit which as far is a sackable offence on most airlines. The cabin crew also smoke in the cockpit.

Thanks, Lucky, for your trip report, including the transfer experience at Jeddah. Saudia is constantly offering cheap business class fares in the region. After the became a SkyTeam member I inreasingly had difficulties justifying not to fly them ... your report certainly helps me, in this sense.

@ Aziz -- They haven't otherwise gotten in touch, no.

I always wonder why the photos of towels are *after* use and not when they're still nicely rolled up...?

@ V -- Because typically they don't give them to you rolled up. They hold them out with tongs, already "undone."

Haha, gotcha, it just looks funny to have used towel pictures 🙂 Though I find it to be half and half in business and usually given on a "plate" in first.

You really need to live/grow up and interact with folks in Saudi to understand why the flight attendants are the way they are.

Service westward from Saudi Arabia is very different to the service eastward from Saudi Arabia - that is the sad truth

I love your reviews. Its very honest and just feels like the way I would look at things. Keep up the good work and pass on many more such information to those who may be travelling on such flights for the first time.

I am baffled with the fact that you had a supervisor and never brought any of your comments about the male flight attendants? I am a seasoned flyer, and that kind of behavior should at least be informed to superiors on duty, especially when women are getting the short end of a humiliating stick.
You are right to call the service horrible. Again I am baffled at your complete lack of compassion towards the female flight attendants.
Makes me question whether I should continue reading your blog. Sad.

I'm late to this review, but was considering purchasing LAX-DBX via RUH. It was a bargain to book in J via SkyMiles. This review definitely scared me straight. Absolutely appalling. Both the service and the treatment of the female cabin crew. Luckily, I was able to find availability on LX via ZHR instead for little more.

If you honestly consider Israel to be one of the worlds most developed country’s you clearly haven’t been very many places