Overall we’re seeing airlines constantly upping their game when it comes to premium cabin hard products. One area in which we’ve seen this trend lately is with narrowbody aircraft, which is a trend I love.
Continue reading: Saudia Installing Flat Beds In A320 Business Class
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
@Lucky out of curiosity do you believe a dry airline can make it to five star level?
My question is why do they operate narrow-body A320s to these European routes instead of using, let's say, wide-bodies like A330?!
"My question is why do they operate narrow-body A320s to these European routes instead of using, let’s say, wide-bodies like A330?!"
Very simple ... currently, the load factor is still too low. If there are enough passengers they will switch to bigger aircraft.
The airline has stated that they will upgrade one plane per month over the next few months. The first plane (HZ-ASB) flew its first flight on Nov10 from RUH to GVA. They plan to upgrade a total of 7 planes first (HZ-ASA/ASB/ASC/ASD/ASE/ASF/ASG)
Saudia's motto is "Welcome to your world." "It should be "Welcome to OUR world: where we repress, torture and murder our people."
Saudia is own by a kingdom with one of the worst human rights records in the world. The country itself is responsible for the horrific murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Turkey and the imprisonment, torture and murder of its citizens at the Ritz-Carlton. No amount of gold bling or fancy airplanes is ever going to erase that or persuade me to support this airline in any fashion, including flying on its planes, visiting the country or even being part of its frequent flyer program. I made an error in signing up for their program and they will not remove me from it.
@Lucky I did not intend to yell at you for covering this news, which may be of some value to your readers. My initial post made me sound self-righteous, which I am. I own it.
no thank you, dont plan on flying them or visiting their country anytime soon...
So is this where the tyrant Mohammed Bin Sadism is going to torture his next enemies?
I will not fly narrow bodies for >2 hours so this is of not much use. Besides, I have some reservations with this country. Morally and ethically they are still about a few hundred years behind the rest of the world.
Amazing all these off topic reactions.... This is about flatbeds not about politics.
Good on them for that. It is still an uphill battle to gain a bigger market share. With Qatar Airways banned in KSA, they have a bigger market share going east. To Europe and The Americas, Air France has more attarctive prices. Too bad KLM doesn't fly to Riyadh (Dammam only, as far as I know). BA is as expensive as Saudia while Lufthansa has sales every few weeks.
As someone else mentioned, reaching five-star status as a dry airline will be tough; very tough. Sometimes, a glass of red wine with a meal or a few 'golden-throat-charmers' (Jack Daniel's) to help you sleep is a plus.
On the plus side, their baggage alloawnces are A+ and the cabin crews very helpful.
I don't care what other users think; i still fly Saudia and I have a JFK-JED flight upcoming in 12 hours times and happy to fly them.
I am not penalizing an entire nation for the actions of one.
I am disappointed in Saudia Arabia. But honestly this is a blog about air travel. And solely air travel. Yes, Saudia Arabia has done many bad things. But if you put aside all politics. Airlines should be judged as airlines, not judged as countries. I totally would fly on Saudia if it got me to my destination. Honestly people if you don’t like Saudia on purpose. You can consider yourself a true aviation enthusiast , because you let yourself put politics in front of the real picture.
We see they didn't want to create too much privacy so they can keep their eyes on same-sex couples.
I’ve flown on their old fashioned A320 to and from Geneva. Planes equipped with teal colored reclining seats in business class that is reminiscent of the 80s. I’ve avoided these flights like the plague. The upgrade to their A320 business class cabin is therefore very much welcomed & just might persuade me to fly their GVA-RUH or GVA-JED route again. Have to admit that Saudia’s amenities kits are awesome. On a recent RUH-CDG flight (services by a 777), a Furla kit for women was on offer and it included an iPhone charging plug.
For full experience, Saudia need to retrain their Cabin Crew which need
to be as good as SIA, EVA, GARUDA, Air ASTANA or QATAR AIRWAYS. Also Change their noise cancelling headphones to BOSE Quiet Comfort 35 and Non Alcholic Champagne :).