Saudia Has Onboard Chefs And Caviar In First Class?!

I have been living in Riyadh for the past 5 years and have travelled a lot with Saudia (Saudi Airlines), mostly domestically and have tried their business, first and Al Bayraq products. I have seen a big transformation of the company these 5 years. Service was really bad before, but it always depends on what you compare it to, if you compare it to Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad is is awful yes. The inflight service has become better over the years, and that is because of the hiring of foreign FAs, but I have had an amazing service from a male Saudi FA coming from Rome in economy class few months back. It is random but it is getting better for sure. Saudia is trying to compete with the other Gulf carriers because it has the money, the support and the biggest religious travelling event (Hajj) in the world. It transports millions of passengers in less than a month, renting airplanes from many airlines in the world, even aircrafts that haven't properly been branded for Saudia. As for the RUH airport, it is an airport that opened in 1983, hence was built in the late 70's, early 80's. It's not the best airport in the world but it is functional, clean and all the lounges are being renovated or have already been. The new domestic terminal 5, which also serves the Al Bayraq service (Premium First - Private Jet Flying from Saudia) is brand new, it opened in 2016. There are no stores or many conveniences but it is getting there. I agree with @Aziz that this country has done a lot in a very short amount of time. I am Greek, grew up in the US so my mentality is very western and I was very critical at the beginning for many matters here. It is very different to be outside and comment on various issues, LGBT, women and more, and it is very different to experience living in this country. I believe that Saudi itself and Saudia are going to progress a lot in a short amount of time.

@Aziz .... you said "don’t forget that for the past century the US has been responsible for more deaths than the rest of the world combined." Sorry, that is demonstrably false. Utterly false. World War 2, started by Germany, cost somewhere between 60 and 80 million lives, most at the hands of the Germans, Russians, Japanese and Chinese. Communist governments during the 20th Century killed something on the order of 80-100 million of their own citizens, notably in Russia, China, Cambodia, North Korea. But certainly not limited to those four countries. Also, I've traveled in KSA, UAE in the recent past. KSA is by no means comparable in its treatment of women, gays, or individual liberty to the UAE. I would prefer that this remain a travel blog, but lets also tell the truth.

Ben, I've traveled on Saudia and been to both major airports. Riyadh airport is better, but don't expect anything too great. The Saudia Lounge had good food, but was not spectacular, and don't remember a F section. (I was in J.) Jeddah, as you realize, is a dump. 'nough said. One of my trips was on Saudia, and I had a great experience in J, even though a weak hard product at the time. F looked spectacular, and that was before the upgrades. With all this said, I've absolutely loved my two trips to the Kingdom. I have experienced extremely warm hospitality and can't wait to go back. Yes, I know many don't like the politics there, and neither do I, but I love the people. People are people no matter where you go, and most people are inherently good.

@Nakoia The same could be said about flying any of the US airlines, don't forget that for the past century the US has been responsible for more deaths than the rest of the world combined.

@Nakoia have you checked that any of the petrol or jet fuel your travels may have caused to have been consumed wasnt from Saudi Arabia? No. Ergo you are also evil