- Introduction: A Quick Jaunt On Saudia, Jet, And Tunisair
- Review: Korean Air First Class Lounge New York JFK Airport
- Review: Saudia First Class 777-300ER New York To Riyadh
- Review: Saudia First Class Lounge Riyadh Airport
- Review: Saudia First Class 777-300ER Riyadh To Dubai
- Review: Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights
- Review: Marhaba Lounge Dubai Airport
- Review: SkyTeam Lounge Dubai Airport
- Review: Jet Airways Business Class 737 Dubai To Mumbai
- Review: The GVK Lounge Mumbai Airport
- Review: Jet Airways First Class 777-300ER Mumbai To London
- Review: Yotel London Heathrow Terminal 4
- Review: SkyTeam Lounge London Heathrow Airport
- Review: Tunisair Business Class A320 London To Tunis
- Review: Sheraton Tunis
- Review: Tunis Airport Lounge
- Review: Tunisair Business Class A330 Tunis To Montreal
Saudia 22
New York (JFK) – Riyadh (RUH)
Friday, June 9
Depart: 5:00PM
Arrive: 12:05PM (+1 day)
Duration: 12hr5min
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 3L (First Class)
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 board, and stores them in the closet.
Saudia 777-300ER first class cabin
The bones of the seat are almost identical to those on Garuda Indonesia, except the Saudia first class cabin is an extra row. That means Saudia’s first class cabin takes up the entire space between doors one and two, which is a huge space (Garuda has two rows of first class and then two rows of business class between doors one and two).
Saudia 777-300ER first class cabin
I had assigned myself suite 3L, the window seat in the last row of first class.
Saudia First Suite
I thought the suite finishes were gorgeous, and while the tones were fairly neutral and agreeable, they did a good job mixing up colors a bit.
Saudia First Suite
Saudia First Suite
Those traveling together will want to select the two center seats, which have a wall that can be lowered or raised depending on your preference.
Saudia First Suite
Saudia First Suite
Saudia First Suite
In terms of the seat itself, in the very back right of the seat was a compartment which could be used to store things.
Saudia first class storage
This also had the entertainment controller, headphone jack, USB ports, a water bottle holder, and the power outlet.
Saudia first class entertainment controls
Saudia first class power outlet
In front of that was a small monitor at the side of my seat where all the seat functions could be controlled.
Saudia first class seat controls
Then there was a long counter of sorts, which could be raised to take out the tray table.
Saudia first class counter
The tray table was massive, and could be folded over in half. This is also perfect if you want to dine with someone else, since the suite has a buddy seat, so there’s plenty of room to serve two people at once.
Saudia first class tray table
On the left side of the seat was a reading light as well as an individual air nozzle, which I really appreciate, given how hot many airplane cabins tend to get.
Saudia first class reading light & air nozzle
Waiting at my seat on boarding was a pillow and blanket. My assumption was that there would be a more substantial blanket later on, but there wasn’t. The pillow and blanket were both a decent size, though were scratchy.
Saudia first class pillow & blanket
Headphones were also at the seat on boarding, and were fairly basic — I used my Bose headphones.
Saudia first class headphones
Moments after settling in, the individual crew members came by to introduce themselves. Taking care of me was Lejla from Bosnia, Hanane from Morocco, and Chef Ali from all over the world. No joke, all three of them were absolutely fantastic. They were friendly, attentive, and charming. In fairness, though, there was only one other passenger in first class (who was observing Ramadan), so I basically had a crew of three to myself.
Lejla started the service by offering me a hot or cold towel — I chose a hot towel.
Saudia first class warm towel
I was then offered a drink, and selected a lime juice, which was served with mixed nuts.
Saudia first class pre-departure drink and mixed nuts
Chef Ali came by my seat and we had a long conversation. He was a fascinating guy, as he was born in Bahrain, grew up in New Zealand, lived in the UK, and has now lived in Saudi Arabia for quite a while. It was fascinating to hear his story.
Saudia first class chef, Ali
The onboard chef concept is pretty new for Saudia, and they only offer this service on longhaul flights to Los Angeles, New York, and Washington. Ali presented me with a beautiful leather folder that had “The Suite” written on it, and said he’d come back in a bit to discuss the menu in greater detail with me.
Saudia first class leather folder
Inside the folder was a pamphlet describing Saudia’s new first class service, the menu, as well as a luggage tag.
Saudia first class leather folder
Saudia first class luggage tag
Here’s the description of the Saudia Suite amenities in the binder:
About 10 minutes later, Chef Ali returned to go over the entire menu with me, explain that I could eat what I wanted when I wanted, etc. On top of that, I was impressed by the degree to which the meal could be customized. Not only was there an extensive menu, but I was asked exactly how I wanted everything prepared.
At 5PM the cabin door was closed, at which point the captain added his welcome aboard, and informed us of our flight time of 11hr20min, and cruising altitude of 34,000 feet.
10 minutes later we began our pushback, with an Aeroflot 777 off our right side, which brought back fond memories of my Aeroflot flight from Los Angeles to Moscow.
Aeroflot 777 JFK Airport
As we pushed back the prayer and safety video were screened.
Saudia pre-flight prayer
By 5:15PM we began our taxi, and passed an Air France A380 and Alitalia A330.
Air France A380 JFK
Alitalia A330 JFK
After a roughly 10 minute taxi, we found ourselves at the end of a very long takeoff queue for runway 31L. At this point the captain came back on the PA to explain the situation. I was amused that he started every announcement by referring to passengers as “folks,” which was a cute touch. “Good afternoon folks, your captain, we just have about 30 planes ahead of us, so it may be another 30 minutes before we are cleared for takeoff. For those fasting, you can expect to break your fast about 2-2.5 hours into the flight. I appreciate your patience.”
Line for takeoff at JFK
After quite a wait we were close to the front of the line.
Number three for takeoff
At 6PM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 31L.
Taking off JFK
Taking off JFK
We had a long takeoff roll and then a smooth climb out — what a gorgeous afternoon it was. There were even some views of Manhattan off the right side.
View after takeoff from JFK
View after takeoff from JFK
The seatbelt sign was turned off five minutes after takeoff, at which point I checked out the area behind the first class cabin, where there was a walk-up bar, as well as the two first class bathrooms.
Saudia 777 first class bar
Saudia 777 first class bathrooms
The bathrooms were a decent size and nicely designed.
Saudia 777 first class bathroom
Saudia 777 first class bathroom
Saudia 777 first class bathroom amenities
Once back at my seat, Lejla and Hanane came by to offer me some Arabic coffee, as well as dates and chocolate.
Saudia first class Arabic coffee, dates, and sweets
I was then offered an amenity kit and pajamas, both of which were designed by Porsche Designs, as well as a sleeping kit.
Saudia first class pajamas, amenity kit, and sleep kit
The pajamas were stylish and high quality.
Saudia first class Porsche Design pajamas
Saudia first class Porsche Design pajamas
The kit looked almost like a Rimowa amenity kit.
Saudia first class Porsche Design amenity kit
It had Acca Kappa toiletries, as well as some things I haven’t seen in other kits, like a lens wipe and charging device.
Saudia first class amenity kit contents
Saudia first class Acca Kappa amenities
In addition to the amenity kit there was also a sleep kit, with things like hand sanitizer, foot cream, pillow mist, and an aroma stick. I haven’t seen that before…
Saudia first class sleep kit
Once I had been given all my amenities, the cabin supervisor Mamdouh came by my seat to welcome me onboard. He was a super nice guy, and unlike my previous Saudia flight, there were no shenanigans here.
Per my request, the meal service began less than 30 minutes after takeoff, so I could maximize sleep. Here’s the explanation of Saudia’s onboard chef program:
Here’s the drink list:
And here’s the dinner menu:
Since I wanted to experience the product as much as possible, I went all out in terms of what I ordered. Lejla did a great job setting my table and always clearing things, while Ali presented me with each course. First I was brought an empty personal breadbasket, and then they came around with a tray that had a big selection of bread. I chose some garlic bread, pretzel bread, and pita bread.
I started my meal with a chicken and mushroom cream soup, which was excellent, and beautifully presented.
Saudia first class dinner starter — chicken and mushroom cream soup
Saudia is a dry airline, so I figured I’d try my luck with one of their mocktails. Ali recommended the lime mojito, which I ordered. Much to my surprise, it was very good, and had a kick to it, despite being non-alcoholic.
On one hand I of course wish Saudia weren’t a dry airline, though in other ways I liked it. I wasn’t tempted to overindulge, and after dinner got a great night of sleep. So as much as it’s fun to “party” on a flight, being on a dry airline does help with arriving well rested.
Saudia first class dinner drinks — lime mojito and water
Next up was the caviar course. Impressively, Saudia offers Petrossian caviar. While the portion was small, the presentation was beautiful.
Saudia first class dinner — caviar
Saudia first class dinner — Petrossian caviar
Next up was the mezze, which wasn’t exactly traditional. I quite enjoyed it, especially the greek side salad.
Saudia first class dinner starter — mezze selection
Next up was the main course, which Ali nicely customized for me, with an Arabic preparation. It was delicious, and I thought the presentation was beautiful as well.
Saudia first class dinner main course — prawns
Lastly for dessert I selected the “chocolate lover’s” option, which included a decadent cake and some fruit. I had a cappuccino to go along with it, which I suspect may actually have been powdered. If that’s the case, that’s disappointing, especially for a dry airline (and if it’s not the case, they need to just improve the taste of them). 😉
Saudia first class dinner — chocolate lover’s dessert
The meal service was done about two hours into the flight, as the sun was starting to set (and presumably as virtually everyone else in the cabin was very hungry). Service throughout dinner was phenomenal. I had three crew taking care of just me.
Sunset enroute to Riyadh
Once the meal was done I asked to have my bed made, and in the meantime I went back to business class. Business class on Saudia’s new 777-300ER is in an excellent reverse herringbone configuration. This is a similar product to what I had when I flew Saudia’s 787 business class.
Saudia 777-300ER business class cabin
Saudia 777-300ER business class seat
By the time I was back at my seat my bed had been made. This is one area of the product that disappointed me. Saudia has invested so much in their new cabins, but doesn’t have proper bedding. The bed consisted of two pillows (one of which was scratchy), a very thin mattress sheet, and a scratchy blanket.
Saudia’s first class seat is pretty hard to begin with, so the bed was very firm.
C’mon Saudia, you’ve invested so much in this product, have a proper mattress pad and duvet, along with some plush pillows.
Saudia Suite bed
Saudia Suite bed
Shortly after I got in bed, there was a PA indicating that people could break their fast — “ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for Iftar. May Allah accept all our good deeds.” Flying Saudia during Ramadan is fascinating. We had about nine hours remaining till arrival in Riyadh, so I browsed the entertainment selection, starting with the airshow.
Airshow enroute to Riyadh
The entertainment selection was quite impressive, with dozens of movies. There were also quite a few sitcoms, though it mostly seemed to be older episodes. Do keep in mind that all the entertainment is heavily edited, given that this is a Saudi Arabian airline.
Saudia entertainment selection
Saudia entertainment selection
Saudia entertainment selection
Saudia entertainment selection
I also connected to the inflight Wi-Fi. Minutes before takeoff I got an email with a code for free Wi-Fi, which I guess they offer first class passengers. That’s impressive.
Free Wi-Fi on Saudia
All passengers get 20MB of Wi-Fi for free.
Saudia Wi-Fi
Here’s the pricing beyond that, which is pretty reasonable:
Saudia Wi-Fi pricing
My free Wi-Fi pass came with 1024MB of data, which should last just about anyone for the entire flight.
Saudia Wi-Fi limit
While the pricing was reasonable and I appreciated the free Wi-Fi for first class passengers, Saudia uses OnAir, which I find to be the worst Wi-Fi provider. So it was painfully slow, unfortunately.
As I watched a couple of TV shows, I couldn’t help but notice how drastic the mood lighting was. I appreciate when airlines have mood lighting and use it, though I still think the ideal setting at night is “off,” rather than something that looks cool but isn’t necessarily soothing.
Saudia cabin mood lighting
Saudia cabin mood lighting
Before going to sleep I briefly checked out the snack bar behind first class, just to see what was there. There was whole fruit as well as some packaged snacks. I believe the bar setup is much more extensive for longer flights, but for a quick overnight flight this was more than sufficient.
Saudia first class snack basket
Saudia first class snack basket
I fell asleep with about eight hours left to Riyadh, and got a solid six hours of sleep. I woke up about two hours before arrival, as we were over Egypt.
Airshow enroute to Riyadh
Airshow enroute to Riyadh
View enroute to Riyadh
Within five minutes of waking up, Lejla was at my seat to see if I wanted anything. I ordered a coffee and some bottled water.
Saudia first class coffee & water
I was also asked when I wanted to have breakfast, so figured I might as well have it fairly soon. The breakfast menu read as follows:
Service began with a delicious smoothie.
Saudia first class breakfast — smoothie
After that my table was set, and I was offered a selection of croissants and pastries, along with a fruit plate, with melon, watermelon, pineapple, and grapes.
Saudia first class breakfast — fresh fruit
Next I was offered a gorgeous parfait.
Saudia first class breakfast — yogurt with granola
Saudia also offers made to order eggs in first class. I asked for scrambled eggs well done. What great presentation!
Saudia first class breakfast — scrambled eggs
I was full at this point, but Ali insisted that I try the masoub, which he described as a sweet Arabic breakfast. I’m a sucker for any sort of Arabic dessert, so couldn’t resist. It was incredible. As explained on the menu, masoub is a sweet breakfast made from ripe bananas, ground flatbread and cream, and it’s served with dates, nuts, and honey. It was so good.
Saudia first class breakfast — masoub
At 11:55AM the captain made another announcement, informing us that we would be landing in about 35 minutes. He seemed like a super nice guy, and in addition to thanking everyone for flying Saudia, he made another announcement I’ve never heard before. “I’ve received a note from a passenger thanking me for the great service from the cabin crew, but it is them and not me who should be thanked. I would like to thank the entire cabin crew for their service, they did a great job flying to New York from Riyadh and I will make sure the feedback goes to the concerned department.”
He took a lot of pride in his job, and that’s something I have a lot of respect for.
We began our descent at around noon, at which point I just gazed out the window until our arrival. During the descent the cabin manager, chef, and two flight attendants all came by my seat to thank me for flying Saudia.
View approaching Riyadh
View approaching Riyadh
View approaching Riyadh
It’s actually only on the descent that I discovered that Saudia has a pretty high resolution nose camera on their 777s, which was cool to look at. We touched down on runway 33L at 12:30PM sharp.
Nose camera landing in Riyadh
Our touchdown was the smoothest imaginable, and from there we had a 10 minute taxi to our arrival gate.
Taxiing Riyadh Airport
Taxiing Riyadh Airport
Riyadh Airport terminal
Saudia 777 Riyadh Airport
EgyptAir A330 Riyadh Airport
Oman Air 787 Riyadh Airport
We pulled into the fairly quiet terminal at 12:40PM, and a few minutes later I was off the plane.
Arrival gate Riyadh Airport
Saudia first class bottom line
It would be an understatement to say that Saudia exceeded my expectations. What a pleasant surprise. Saudia has gorgeous new first class suites with great amenities and excellent catering. Furthermore, the crew on my sector was excellent.
There are certainly some areas where they could still improve — they could have better bedding, better hot beverages, and I do wish they didn’t have OnAir Wi-Fi, but I guess that’s tough to change at this point. But overall I found Saudia’s first class to be excellent, which I wasn’t expecting.
Saudia was recently rated by Skytrax as the world’s most improved airline, and I can see why.
Looks like an amazing flight.
Besides Bedding, I think they should invest in Noise Cancelling Headphone for First Class too.
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...
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.
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.
@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.
Funny to see they serve crap Hershey chocolate in first class on Kingdom of Darkness Airways.
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.
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.
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...
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.
@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...
@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.
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.
@ tunis - sadly I don't have the vacation time, but I do agree that being gay is the best, ha! Stay safe. :)
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...
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.
@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 ?
@kate
join me in algeria September this year followed by Ethiopia.
@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.
Horn was the booking process? Were you able to book online with Korean or did you have to call, hold tickets, do that route.
@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.
"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...
"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.
I'd rather fly QSuites on the A380. :)
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!! :)
If one has to boycott Saudia and Saudi Arabia, it should be for exporting their fundamentalist brand of Islam which led to 9/11.
@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...
@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.
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...
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....
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?
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
I wonder if they're like supposedly other dry Muslim airlines that allow you to bring on a bottle of wine?
Imperator, please check your privilege. If you were an "openly gay" Saudi man, you'd be hanging in the gallows right now.
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...
"with an Arabic preparation"
Which is...what, exactly?
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...
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!
Not sure I could fancy the "Traditional Foul" !
@Lucky, did you have the date smoothie? It looks like it - that drink is freakin' incredible.
@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.
"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 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.)
@christiaan
I think you should read the following post regarding Ben's thoughts on the subject.
https://onemileatatime.com/countries-gay-illegal/
@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.
It's all very brown and beige. A bit too 1975. Better than Emirates bling though.
@ 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...
@ 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.
@Antonio
Lucky booked this with Korean Air SkyPass miles.
was this a cash booking or was it booked with miles?
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.
Wow.