The Arabian Travel Market is going on at the moment, so we’ve seen several announcements from Gulf carriers. Etihad has revealed its new Boeing 787 interiors, FlyDubai has shown off its new Boeing 737 MAX business class, and now Saudia has unveiled its new narrow body business class product, which should look familiar.
In this post:
Saudia introducing VantageSOLO seats on A321XLRs
For some context, Saudia has 15 Airbus A321XLRs on order, which is Airbus’ new long haul narrow body jet. The plane is expected to enter service in 2024, and it’s an aircraft that many airlines are excited about, given the economics and range. In the case of Saudia, the airline intends to use these planes for destinations across Europe, the Indian subcontinental, and Africa, including Barcelona, Brussels, Milan, Rome, Dakar, and the Maldives.
The SkyTeam airline has now revealed what product passengers can expect to find on these planes. Specifically, Saudia plans to introduce the Thompson VantageSOLO product on its A321XLRs. These seats are fully flat and feature direct aisle access. Saudia hasn’t shared too many details about the new product otherwise, though you can find some pictures below.
It’s nice to see Saudia investing in its premium cabin product. It was only in 2018 that the airline started to install flat beds on narrow body aircraft, as the airline introduced the Collins Aerospace Diamond seat on A320s. Now we’re seeing the airline significantly improve its product.
Yes, this is the same product that JetBlue has
Saudia’s new business class product should look familiar, as the VantageSOLO seat is exactly what JetBlue selected for its new Mint product, found on all A321LRs and select A321neos. So you can expect the product to more or less be identical, except with customized finishes.
It’s worth highlighting that the cabin mockup that Saudia is using for its new business class cabin is of the bulkhead seat, which features a lot more space. JetBlue markets this as the Mint Studio, given how spacious the seat is, and it costs extra to assign the seat.
The standard business class seats, known as Mint Suites, are still great, though not quite as spacious.
This is as good as any narrow body business class product currently in service gets. However, it is worth noting that we’ll soon see some other pretty awesome products introduced. For example, I think Safran’s VUE product (debuting on FlyDubai Boeing 737 MAXs) might be preferred by many, given the reverse herringbone configuration.
Bottom line
Saudia has announced that it plans to introduce VantageSOLO seats on its upcoming Airbus A321XLRs. This is the cutting edge new narrow body jet with incredible range, so it’s logical that the airline would want to introduce a more competitive business class product as well.
Saudia’s new business class is identical to JetBlue’s new Mint product, aside from the finishes, so this is something to look forward to (well, assuming you want to fly Saudia).
What do you make of Saudia’s new A321XLR business class?
Excellent, well done SAUDIA! I love the outward orientation of these seats! With all that crapy "reverse heringbone seats" flying around, facing the wall, you never actually have a real window seat! Plus, I hate the fact that whatever screen I am watching or working on, everyone in the aisle can peek into my work. Actually no matter how comfy they are I always try to avoid these configs or airlines, so this outward orientation is a huge improvement!
Looking the images of the flydubai business class seat, it looks like half of the base cushion has been chopped off. Can't see that being a very comfortable way to travel for 6+ hours
Wondering if you’ll have the integrity to report on this or willfully ignore it :)
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/05/shift-saudi-arabia-welcome-lgbtq-tourists
NO alcohol equals NO thanks.
I'm with you. I'm not a big drinker but it's a part of the premium cabin experience for me. Dry airlines are a no-go; why would I want to fly almost 7200 NM from Riyadh to Los Angeles without a glass of wine? If you're a Muslim that's your business, and more power to ya, but I'm not. Many, many Muslims; and non-religious teetotallers; travel on other airlines without succumbing to the temptation of the demon drink.
Hard no.
@Pete
Why so judgmental?
One could say the same with Kosher meals on El Al. Per your statement.
Why would I want to fly almost 7200 NM from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles without bacon? If you're a Jewish that's your business, and more power to ya, but I'm not. Many, many Jewish; and non-religious teetotallers; travel on other airlines without succumbing to the temptation of the demon meat.
Thanks for photo of the enormous 1A.
Now can we see the actual cramped seats of 2A and the rest how it looks like.
That is some of the lowest quality photos for launching a new product I've seen. Harsh lighting, the seat in shadow. Whereas normal airline product photography is over the top in its production value, they really went the other direction here.
Thanks DENDAVE. Spot on. I was scratching my head trying to understand why the product looks so underwhelming. Looks like someone's kid took those photos with their hand-me-down phone.
Off topic. Boeing has ceded the single aisle, mid range & a good chunk of the wide body market to Airbus. What kind of company does that? One with absolutely NO direction or serious leadership. Good for Airbus. I actually like both manufacturers. I just wish that Boeing was not such a messed up company.
Boeing makes most of its money from a combination of US government subsidies and making WMDs. It effectively gave up on being a market leader in building planes a long time ago
Very astute observation. The commerical airplane division has been left to stagnate by reasons outlined above, while their weapons systems are selling like hotcakes. I'm sure that the Putinführer invasion of Ukraine had the execs and the board rubbing their hands together with delight.
Conversation in Flydubai office:
"Hey, we just reconfigured this plane, but I think we configured the seats the wrong way. All the A seats are on the starboard side, and all the L seats are on the port side."
"Didn't that airline Saudia say they wanted some planes?"
"Yeah?"
"Mind giving them a quote for this one?"
Wow... that's funny.