Riyadh Air Business Class Boeing 787 Review: A Sleek, Luxurious Flight

For the next sector of my Four Seasons Yacht via Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia adventure, I flew Riyadh Air’s Boeing 787-9 business class on the short six hour overnight flight from Riyadh (RUH) to Madrid (MAD). This was without a doubt the flight of the trip I was most looking forward to, given that Riyadh Air is brand new, and has promised an amazing passenger experience.

For a newly launched airline, I thought Riyadh Air offered a really solid experience, much better than its “age” suggests. The carrier’s cabins are absolutely breathtaking, and the food and amenities were very high quality. The crew was also friendly and well intentioned, though service was too slow for a flight of this hour — I trust that with time, crews will gain more experience, and improve there. Lastly, the one disappointment I had with the flight was that the Wi-Fi simply didn’t function, and I feel like the communication around that could’ve been better.

All things considered, I had an excellent flight, this is one of the most well executed airline startups we’ve ever seen, and it’s going to be fascinating to see this carrier grow over the coming years.

How I booked my Riyadh Air business class ticket

As of now, there’s no way to redeem points for travel on Riyadh Air. While the airline has its Sfeer frequent flyer program, and also eventually plans to have loyalty collaborations with carriers like Delta, Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, points redemptions aren’t live yet.

So when I set out to fly Riyadh Air, I tried to find the cheapest business class flight to Europe that I could. That’s how I landed on a flight between Riyadh and Madrid. Specifically, I booked the following flight for $1,602:

7/31 RX531 Riyadh to Madrid departing 2:00AM arriving 7:55AM

I credited the flight to Riyadh Air’s own Sfeer program, since partner points earning isn’t yet live. The only other thing I should mention is that I reserved a regular business class seat, since I just booked a standard business class fare.

During the booking process, I had the option of assigning a front row “business class plus” seat (which Riyadh Air markets as “Business Elite”) at a cost of 2,500 SAR (~663 USD). That struck me as being rather steep for a short redeye, so I didn’t buy up.

Riyadh Air business class lounge & boarding

In a previous installment, I reviewed the Riyadh Air Hafawa Lounge, which is the carrier’s flagship lounge at its hub airport. It’s a phenomenal facility, among the best business class lounges in the world.

My flight was departing from gate 205 at Riyadh’s Terminal 2, just a short walk from the lounge.

Boarding was scheduled for 1AM, a full hour before departure, though in reality, boarding started at 1:15AM, with business class passengers being invited to board first.

Boy was I excited to get onboard that beautiful Dreamliner!

Riyadh Air 787 business class cabin & seats

I boarded the Riyadh Air Dreamliner through the second set of doors, where I was greeted by the friendly crew, and directed left into the business class cabin. Before making the turn, I took a quick look in the other direction, and saw the gorgeous premium economy cabin — damn, this is one sleek plane!

Riyadh Air’s 787 business class cabin takes up the entire space between the first and second set of doors. It consists of 28 seats, spread across seven rows, in a 1-2-1 configuration. Before even talking about the details of the hard product, I just have to acknowledge how insanely stunning the finishes are.

Riyadh Air has the prettiest Dreamliner cabins I’ve ever seen, with the most high-end finishes. Design wise, Riyadh Air knocked it out of the park.

Riyadh Air’s 787 business class product is based on the Safran Unity platform, which I rank as being among the best business class seats in the world, and certainly among the best staggered configurations.

Japan Airlines was the launch customer for this seating type, with the carrier’s Airbus A350-1000s being equipped with these seats. However, not all seats between airlines are created equal — Japan Airlines’ version of the seat is pitched at 51″, while Riyadh Air’s is pitched at 45″, so expect the former to feel much more spacious than the latter.

To cover the very basic stats beyond the 45″ seat pitch, Riyadh Air’s 787 business class seats are 22.5″ wide, convert into 78″ flat beds, have 52″ privacy doors, and feature 22″ 4K OLED monitors.

Anyway, let’s start with the front row Business Elite product, which comes at an extra cost. The idea is that these seats take advantage of the extra space at the bulkhead, so they’re a lot more spacious.

If you’re traveling with someone, you may prefer the pair of center seats, which have a partition that can be raised or lowered.

Meanwhile solo travelers will prefer the window seats. However, it is worth pointing out that the Business Elite window seats are closer to the aisle rather than closer to the windows, which isn’t ideal (since usually in this configuration I like to be as close to the windows as possible).

Now let’s take a look at the rest of the cabin. The center seats are staggered, and the seats in even numbered rows are further from one another, so these would be my least preferred seats in the cabin. That’s because they neither have the benefit of allowing you to sit close to a companion, nor do they have the benefit of being by a window.

People traveling in pairs who actually want to sit next to one another will want to select the center seats in odd numbered rows, as these are “honeymoon” seats, so you can enjoy the flight together. But worry not, if you’re traveling alone, there’s still a partition that can be raised for privacy.

When it comes to the seats at the windows, seats in odd numbered rows are closer to the aisle, while seats in even numbered rows are closer to the windows.

The seats closer to the aisle are good, but not my favorite.

Meanwhile my preferred seats are those that are closest to the windows, and that’s because they offer the best views outside, and it’s also easiest to get cozy when you’re reclined, since you’re not right next to the privacy door.

I assigned myself seat 6K, the window seat on the right side in the second to last row of the cabin.

When it comes to seat features, there’s a tray to the side of the seat, as well as an enclosed storage area, all of which is very nice-looking.

The storage space is a pretty good size, and underneath it you’ll find the AC power outlet, two USB-C outlets, a USB-A outlet, as well as the jack for headphones. There’s no wireless charging, but I don’t find that to be much of a loss anyway.

There’s a small panel next to the seat with pre-set options, allowing you to recline your seat, bring it upright, etc.

With this seat, the tray table is stored underneath the entertainment monitor, so it can be extended at an angle, and then flipped 90 degrees.

The privacy door at this seat is easy to use. It’s locked for takeoff and landing, but during the flight it can manually be slid either forward or backward.

The footwell in this configuration is a good size, and I’ll talk a little more about that when I cover the turndown service and bed.

There’s one more unique feature of this product, which is that these seats have integrated headrest speakers, so that you can watch entertainment without using headphones, by having the audio play in your headrest. This is of course an innovative concept, and it’s something you’ll also find on Japan Airlines’ A350s.

The entertainment system lets you select your mood lighting at the seat, which is also a cute touch. The aircraft tech really is great.

Now to end on a negative note, Riyadh Air doesn’t have individual air nozzles on its 787s. Riyadh Air, what were you thinking?! You’re a brand new airline, and you didn’t install individual air nozzles? That’s a big advantage for Saudia, which does have air nozzles on its Dreamliners. It’s just so bizarre to me, because presumably it’s not like Riyadh Air is hard up for cash…

Anyway, all-in-all, Riyadh Air’s 787 business class hard product gets very high marks. I think this might just be my favorite 787 business class hard product out there. It’s definitely the prettiest.

Riyadh Air 787 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Riyadh Air’s 787 business class has 22″ 4K OLED monitors, with a selection of audio and video on demand. There’s also bluetooth audio, so you can pair your own headphones to the system.

The system had movies, TV shows, live TV, music, and games. The selection was good, with a good variety of movies and TV shows, though I do hope that over time the live TV selection is expanded to include more than one option.

There was also a map feature, which was highly customizable and responsive… great tech!

Perhaps the cutest thing of all, though, was how there was even a map feature specifically for kids. LOVE!

Now, when it comes to inflight connectivity, Riyadh Air has Viasat Wi-Fi, and it’s supposed to be free for all passengers who are part of the Sfeer frequent flyer program (which is free to sign up for).

Unfortunately Wi-Fi just didn’t seem to work at all on this flight. There was no announcement, or anything, but after takeoff I checked with the crew, and they were surprised to hear it wasn’t working, and promised to check. I didn’t hear anything back for a while, so I followed up again, and they said they let the pilots know, and they were resetting the system.

I then checked again later on, and was told that sometimes there’s just not connectivity in certain areas. I have a bit of experience with flying, so of course I know that connectivity is never consistent, and sometimes it drops. However, it 100% didn’t work during this flight.

While the crew was friendly, I do think they could’ve handled this better, both in terms of proactively communicating the issue, and following up with me, rather than me asking repeatedly, and ultimately getting a bit of a non-answer. Compare that to my outbound on Saudia, where the cabin manager personally apologized to each business class passenger for the lack of Wi-Fi.

Riyadh Air business class amenities

Riyadh Air sure knows how to shower you with amenities and gifts upon boarding. Waiting at each seat was a very nice amenity kit, which had a dental kit (with Marvis toothpaste!), socks, eyeshades, earplugs, and some products from Saudi lifestyle brand Kayanee.

There was also bedding, including a stylish pillow placed on the seat, plus a pouch with a proper duvet and pillow, both of which were lovely.

High quality headphones were also available at the seat, though with bluetooth audio plus the headrest speakers, perhaps this isn’t as important as on some other airlines.

The menu was at the seat upon boarding as well.

Shortly after settling in, the crew passed through the cabin with pajamas (or loungewear, technically) and slippers, and those were also in partnership with Kayanee. They were both great and high quality.

Later on in the boarding process, the crew passed through the cabin with pre-departure drinks, with the choice of a lavender mint mocktail, orange juice, or water, along with a warm towel. What pretty presentation!

At the end of the boarding process, I was offered some coffee and a date.

All-in-all, talk about a great collection of amenities, and a nice pre-departure service!

Riyadh Air 787 departure from Riyadh

Throughout the boarding process, I absolutely loved listening to the boarding music, which uses Riyadh Air’s brand sonic. I appreciate the attention to detail the airline had with this from launch.

I have to be honest, I was expecting this flight to basically be empty, given that Riyadh Air had only put tickets on sale weeks earlier. However, to my surprise, every single seat in business class was taken, and the loads in economy weren’t bad either (while premium economy seemed to be mostly empty). That’s impressive… or maybe there were just a lot of PIF employees as well? I’m not sure…

Anyway, by 1:45AM boarding wrapped up, at which point the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of six hours, and our cruising altitude of 40,000 feet. Impressively, he made the announcement in both English and Spanish.

At 2AM the main cabin door closed, and then at 2:05AM we began our pushback, which is also when the safety video was screened.

At 2:15AM we started our taxi, and we just had a quick taxi out to runway 33R, where we were airborne by 2:25AM. We had a smooth climb out, and the seatbelt sign was turned off within five minutes of takeoff.

Riyadh Air business class menu & snack service

Riyadh Air has a dine on demand menu in business class, and on this flight there’s a full breakfast menu plus an anytime menu. The crew had taken meal orders on the ground. One thing that surprised me is that the flight attendant suggested that most people have breakfast after takeoff and then the anytime menu before landing, which struck me as rather odd.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with recommending that or saying that’s what most people do, it just surprised me. At Emirates, you always have the light bites menu after takeoff on these flights, and then breakfast before landing, because that just seems logical.

The flight attendant also explained that the pre-landing service would take place 2.5 hours before landing, which is less than ideal on a flight of this length (on other Gulf carriers they can typically do the service under two hours before landing, and sometimes even closer to arrival than that.

Anyway, you can find the full Riyadh Air menu and drink list below (as you can see, Riyadh Air is “dry,” so doesn’t serve alcohol).

Anyway, my tablecloth was brought out around 30 minutes after takeoff, and then I was served what I had ordered 45 minutes after takeoff. I’m not meaning to nitpick here, but just be constructive, since this is an airline startup. If it’s going to take a while to deliver things, it would be nice if they brought out a drink with something like nuts first, and then brought out the food.

I decided to order the beef pastrami panini, and it was very good. The bread tasted fresh, and the contents were great too. Then to drink I had one of the signature mocktails, the “Saudi Cocktail,” which was sparkling apple juice with mint… served in a wine glass, even!

I also decided to have the dessert trio, featuring a chocolate cake, berry tartlet, and layered honey cake. It tasted as good as it looked, and I accompanied that with a chamomile tea.

Riyadh Air 787 business class lavatories

Riyadh Air has two business class lavatories on the Dreamliner, both of which are right in front of the cabin, with one on each side. The lavatories are huge by Dreamliner standards, and very nicely appointed, with a diffuser and special toiletries. Very well done, Riyadh Air!

Here’s one thing I noticed, which I couldn’t make sense of. It didn’t seem like there was any indicator at the front cabin bulkhead about whether lavatories were occupied or not. I’ve never seen an airline not have that, so I’m curious if I was just missing something, or what?

Riyadh Air 787 business class bed

After the snack service, the crew offered to prepare my bed, which consisted of a nice turndown service. Riyadh Air has very thick mattress pads in business class, among the most substantial I’ve seen, so that was great.

When it comes to cute little service touches, the crew also gave me a little pulse point oil, intended for pre-sleep relaxation.

I found the bed to be really comfortable, with excellent bedding, and a sufficiently large footwell. I will say that the seat felt tighter than the Japan Airlines A350 Safran Unity seat, but that’s to be expected, given the reduced pitch that this seat has.

I fell asleep with around 4hr30min remaining, as we were leaving Saudi Arabian airspace and approaching Egyptian airspace.

I was then woken up around two hours later, with around 2.5 hours remaining to Madrid, as we were approaching Italy.

That’s also the point at which the crew turned on the mood lighting, in anticipation of the next service.

Riyadh Air business class meal

Within minutes of waking up, the crew brought me a warm towel.

Around 15 minutes later, my table was set for breakfast… I was excited to see what the full Riyadh Air meal presentation was like, even if it was “only” breakfast (typically the least exciting airplane meal of the day).

The table setting was beautiful, with a bread basket, a nice butter and jam presentation, etc. The meal began with an amuse bouche, which in this case had mascarpone and orange. To drink, I had a date and banana smoothie.

For the first course, I selected the breakfast cold assortment, with za’atar labneh, marinated halloumi cheese, and shanklish. It was delicious, and nicely presented.

Then for the main course I had the scrambled egg shakshuka, topped with dukkah marinated feta, and garnished with coriander, fried onions and pomegranate seeds, and served with warm pita. This was really great, among the best egg dishes I’ve had on an airplane in a long time.

At the conclusion of the meal I ordered a cappuccino, which was served on a tray with some cookies. It was very good.

Riyadh Air business class crew & service

I was of course excited to see what service would be like on Riyadh Air. A few observations…

First of all, Riyadh Air has done an amazing job with hiring, probably in no small part thanks to how the airline has positioned itself as “cool,” like with the uniforms it has (referred to by CEO Tony Douglas not as “uniforms,” but as “fashions,” hah).

I find it interesting that many Riyadh Air flight attendants are from other Gulf carriers, ranging from Emirates, to Etihad, to Qatar Airways, and more. It’s rare that a Saudi carrier can poach people from those airlines, so that’s quite a testament to the perception people have of the airline. Beyond that, there were a variety of crew from other airlines. The crew on this flight was international, as you’d expect, with the flight attendants serving me being from the Czech Republic and Portugal.

All-in-all, I thought service on Riyadh Air was good, with the obvious caveat being that the airline only recently started flying, so I imagine there’s still a bit of an experience learning curve. All the crew members were extremely professional, enthusiastic, and obviously proud of working the airline. They all also tried really hard, and for the most part, provided very good service.

As I hinted at above, the one area for improvement is service speed. Especially on short overnight flights like this, speed matters. I thought the initial snack service was a little slow, but what I really found to be an issue is that the pre-landing meal had to be served 2.5 hours before landing.

As a point of comparison, I’ve found Emirates typically serves the pre-landing meal 1.5 hours before landing, without issue. On a short overnight flight like this, that makes a big difference. Admittedly some people just want to go straight to sleep on these short flights, but those who choose to indulge shouldn’t have to completely compromise on sleep.

I can’t figure out if this is Riyadh Air’s long term service plan, or if the service is only happening so early because the airline recognizes crews are still getting used to things. I’m sure with experience that will improve, but I felt a little like I would’ve gotten an extra hour of sleep on another airline.

Riyadh Air 787 arrival in Madrid

At around 6:30AM Madrid time, the captain was on the PA to announce that we’d be landing in around 45-50 minutes, and would soon start our descent. We ended up starting our descent around 6:50AM, and shortly thereafter, the crew prepared the cabin for arrival.

As we descended, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise… looking out an airplane window never gets old!

We approached the airport from the north, and ended up touching down at 7:25AM on runway 18L. We then started what ended up being a really long taxi. While the captain never made an announcement about it, I suspect our gate was occupied, so we were sent on a “tour” of the airport, if you will.

We ended up pulling into our gate at Terminal 1 at 7:50AM, still five minutes ahead of schedule.

On the way out, I managed to snap a picture of the Riyadh Air Dreamliner in daylight — what a stunner, and to think, this is the less pretty of the two liveries the airline has!

I quickly cleared passport control, and then took a flight to Zurich (ZRH) via Lisbon (LIS), in order to catch my SWISS A350 first class flight to Boston (BOS), which is where I’ll be picking up in the next installment

Bottom line

It’s great to finally see Riyadh Air taking to the skies, and the carrier’s 787 business class didn’t disappoint. The airline has gorgeous interiors, I’d say the nicest Dreamliner business class interiors that I’ve ever seen. The soft product is also great, ranging from the food, to the amenities.

As you’d expect for any airline startup, there were some quirks, though. The promised high speed Viasat Wi-Fi simply didn’t work. The service was also too drawn out for such an overnight flight, so they have to tighten up the service a bit. I imagine that with time, both of those issues will be resolved.

I think the one other thing that really surprised me about this trip is that Saudia’s business class is also excellent, and I imagine the airline is very much upping its game because of the competition from Riyadh Air. Obviously the cabins aren’t as pretty (yet — though Saudia has a new product coming as well), but premium cabin travel in Saudi Arabia sure has come a long way.

The last thing I’d mention is that obviously Riyadh Air is a dry airline. That’s not a big deal, given the laws of Saudi Arabia. However, for the purposes of attracting connecting traffic to the rest of the region, including Delta passengers, that’s something that some passengers won’t love. I mean, have you seen how those Delta elites out of Atlanta down Woodford? 😉

What’s your take on Riyadh Air’s 787 business class?