SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES   Passenger Reviews and Passenger Trip Reports

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  8 November 2009 : by Ziyad Khan   (Saudi Arabia)

RUH-JED Y class. The aircraft was refurbished B777. Seat pitch has been reduced in economy with 3-4-3 configuration but new leather seats are not that bad. Touch screens with AVOD. Hot snack served and gets full credit (as opposed to the cold one BAH-RUH with GF). Cabin crew were fine. Ground crew need to go back to training and learn basic customer service etiquette.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  24 October 2009 : by Jonathan Marshall   (Saudi Arabia)

RUH-KUL-RUH appalling service, I don't know how they get away with it. Flight delayed three hours leaving RUH, absolutely no explanation or attempt to apologize. When we get on board they decide that it is free seating, we sit anywhere (although we would have been more than happy with our original seating) then get told to move, when I complain a supervisor comes on, shouts at my family and I and than threatens to have us offloaded by the police. All in all it takes an extra hour to move everyone around and find enough seats (although even then some passengers appear to be seated in the galley the whole journey). Flight attendants have no concern whatsoever for safety, never checking seat belts or providing extensions for children. Plane (747-400) in a mess with bits falling off inside the cabin. Return journey we have 1 business class seat and 4 economy - better (ie. on time at least and good service in business) but very rude attendants in economy, demand my wife to prove we have booked the seats before serving a meal - only start backtracking when we realize that we also have a business class ticket. Although I am based in Riyadh I will try very hard never to fly Saudia again on international flights.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  24 October 2009 : by A Dron   (UK)

Heathrow - Jeddah - Riyadh - Heathrow. Check-in at LHR for lunchtime departure was instant - no queue. Boeing 777, 2x5x2 seating. Comfortable seats, decent legroom, economy about half- full. Newspapers offered (mainly Arabic), followed by soft drinks. Typical airline food. Seatback screen, but not AVOD - system had to be re-set twice by cabin crew early on, but otherwise no problems. Flight smooth, with the exception of a couple of Arab children running repeatedly up the aisles - fairly normal on MidEast airlines where parents rarely discipline their offspring. Major stroke of luck on arrival at Jeddah as I was attending a conference for which Saudia was handling many of the arrangements, so whisked through VIP lounge, passport stamped and into a taxi within 20 minutes of getting off aircraft. Jeddah-Riyadh, again a 777, an 80-minute hop. Aircraft packed, which made the serving of a full breakfast particularly impressive : full marks to the cabin crew. Not a lot of smiles from them, but understandable when concentrating on serving 300 people in such a short time. Riyadh-LHR another 777 but this time 10-abreast (3-4-3) and seats noticeably thinner and less comfortable. Felt as though there was around an inch less legroom, too, which made an appreciable difference. Cabin crew helpful: one FA volunteered that my seatback screen was not working and offered to re-seat me. Only problem was again children running around, and one little girl was actually standing on her seat as take-off started. Toilets acceptable. In all, a series of flights I would rate as better than average, and around 30% cheaper than British Airways.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  18 September 2009 : by Y Hamdi   (Saudi Arabia)

My family went to Khartoum from Jeddah. The trip is only one and a half hours long but it was a disaster. Check-in staff at the airport had no concept of client service. Check in itself took about one hour because the system was down. Once my wife and kids (one child and one infant) boarded the plane, they found that it was an old, leased 747. They were seated all the way in the back - tables and footrests were broken. The level of service was extremely poor. Unfortunately the Jeddah - Khartoum route is completely neglected by Saudia in terms of quality standards (even though they are profitable routes) and i can't wait for the free-skies policy to take effect so that the competition either forces Saudia to raise its standards or to disappear. For me, I have experienced similar problems on the Jeddah - Paris route and that's why I think that a three star rating is exaggerated - two stars maximum.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  10 September 2009 : by P Battershill   (UAE)

DXB to RUH. 20 minutes out of RUH, we are served a lunch box - Iftahar meal for breaking the fast. On landing all lunch boxes are still with passengers, tray tables are down, seat belts are not checked prior to landing. Safety is not a priority. RUH to DXB late afternoon flight. Still Ramadan. Just prior to take off cabin crew serve us dates and a glass of water - for breaking the fast. Cabin supervisor decided it was time. 40 minutes after wheels up they announce the breaking of the fast. Obviously no concern for safety standards as pax placed their tray tables down to put their water and dates on during take off. Where are the CAA safety inspectors when you need them.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  3 August 2009 : by D Houlihan   (Ireland)

LHR-RUH C class, I was upgraded and delighted to get it. About 14 passengers in Business class and 6 were children under the ages of 6 - who were let do what they wanted causing major annoyance to other pax. Parents didn't care less, and crew did nothing to stop them. Food was good, being Saudi no booze but plenty of other options etc, Avod available though choice not great! New seats lie flat seats in First, as are business - I see that in economy that was ere known for the 34" pitch is not any more - with 10 seats across instead of standard 9 across, and 31" pitch. Some staff work hard, male crew looked fed up and did little but chat amongst themselves. Overall Saudi are cheaper, they give a a strong 3 star product and service.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  9 June 2009 : by Mark Fulwell   (UK)

Having flown with Saudia for the better part of twenty years, I feel a certain fondness for the airline in spite of its many failings. Basically, the level of service you receive depends upon which sector you fly. Flights to and from Europe or North America are generally better in terms of equipment (B-777 or B747-400) and service than flights to the Indian Subcontinent or SE Asia. Over the years I've experienced various levels of service, from absolutely lousy to excellent. Don't expect five star service, even in First or Business Class. A 3 star rating is about right.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  20 May 2009 : by A Krier-Lanzaga   (Germany)

Economy Class FRA-RUH-MNL-JED-LHR. I bought my ticket for only 380 Euro as for my roundtrip ticket, so I did not expect anything good flying on SV. FRA-RUH (via JED) leg, and JED-LHR leg were both B777 aircraft. Cabin interior were old, but aircraft were clean, and they were spacious. Inflight Entertainment could have been better - but better than nothing! Flight attendants tried their best, although there is a big difference compared to other airlines. RUH-MNL I flew with a very old lady, a B747-300. No inflight entertainment, no musi, nothing, but spacious and clean aircraft. MNL-JED (via RUH) was on a bit younger B747-400 aircraft, this one had inflight entertainment (PTV's etc). The food was good quality and also in quantity. I must say the airline is a good 3 Star Airline. But still you should try to avoid long Stopovers in Jeddah.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  1 May 2009 : by Hani Alahdal   (Saudi Arabia)

I have been flying SV for many years, domestic and International, short medium and long haul. I feel that a 3 star rating is accurate. Poorly maintained (in terms of cabin amenities) aircraft, slow modernization initiatives and not beefing up their customer service persona makes it a disappointment to fly. Their major hub JED is a very sad and annoying facility (even with the recent upgrades) with RUH being a lot better but still below average. The airline employees lack the attitude of service for passengers let alone "customer" or "clientele". Their website is not a well rounded information resource nor is it truly up to standards for booking and checking in. Airport lounges are poorly staffed and have little to offer. FFP needs to be more in tune with other airlines. The most consistent advantage of SV however, would their good departure and arrival times mainly for international flights.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  27 April 2009 : by Jamal Hussain   (UK)

LHR-JED Return Economy. A satisfactory flight with on time departure. A rather old aircraft. Food must have been a week old - I felt sick after eating and decided not to eat on return flight. Staff not very courteous and seem exhausted. In the return flight, the foot rest was broken. The seats were loose, IFE does not work properly, screen was very fuzzy. Crew again don't respond to customers instead sitting in the back chatting amongst themselves.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  10 March 2009 : by Roy Clogstoun

RUH-DAM economy return on Saudia. Comfortable B777 used and both flights left on time. IFE was acceptable. Food average, except on return there was no choice. Main concern about the flight was the lax security procedures by Saudia staff. There was no checking by staff to see whether passengers had belted up. On the return flight when about to land many children did not have their seat belts on and mothers were just holding their babies. The staff were too busy selling duty free goods to worry about ensuring that passengers adhered to security procedures. On both flights passengers walked towards the entrance while the plane was still taxing to the arrival gates. However, on the return flight almost the whole plane stood up to walk to the doors when the pilot had to park near the airstrip as the flight had lost its landing gate to another aircraft. Announcements were only made in Arabic to get the passengers to sit down as it took about fifteen minutes to find another landing gate. Saudia is good value for money and the service is passable but the lack of security procedures is appalling.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  1 March 2009 : by R McCarthy

DXB-DMM-RUH-JED, Economy Class. The first two legs were in fairly new Embraer E170s, which were clean, comfortable and quiet. The flight attendants were quick and efficient, however I think the male flight attendants need to smile more - there was no warmth in their service. RUH to JED was in a Boeing 777, the standard of which was very poor. Seats reclined automatically (broken), footrests and tray tables wonky and the plane just had a feeling of uncleanliness about it. I also can't why check-in agents sit foreign men next to Saudi women and then push the passengers and flight attendants to sort it out themselves on board. They also tended to cram people together, when there were free banks of seats elsewhere. All flights were on-time, however, and there was nothing major to complain about apart from the above.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  20 December 2008 : by Michael Morrison

Manchester-Geneva-Riyadh-Jeddah. I arrived at check in early. There was no option to check in on line. My travel agent had asked for a window seat, but I was advised that no window seats were available. Question? If it is not possible to check in on line, and there were no window seats available as soon as the check in desk opened, how is this possible. I was given a centre aisle seat in front of the main screen that remained on throughout the flight, so no sleep was possible. Seat pitch was very poor, as was leg room and I question the Business Class ticket status as a whole. Food was acceptable. This carrier was the only available to get me to Riyadh for a business meeting. I am not looking forward to the return flight and will plan ahead next time in order not to fly Saudi Arabian.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  18 November 2008 : by Graham McMahon

JED-JFK in Business class. Flight operates on a 747; business is in the dome 2-2 layout. JED airport is hopelessly disorganized; security is onerous without being thorough. Saudia airport staff disdainful and unhelpful. Business lounge is basic and has no wifi; food in lounge was stale and cold; bathrooms filthy. Bus to all planes. Flight left 30 mins late. Seat pitch very poor in business, but good footrest. Be aware that you cannot get around your seat partner if you choose a window seat. Cabin staff (from Asia) attentive but young and disorganized (eg stategy of dealing with cabin baggage is to ask you to find a place in main cabin downstairs to stow it). Recurrent airing on the loud-speakers of islamic prayers is somewhat disconcerting. Four-course food service was surprisingly good and tasty with wide array of choices, though icecream was melted. Difficult to sleep with such a poor seat recline on this 13.5 hr flight. Choice and quality of breakfast (incl cereal, yogurts, pastries, hot and cold, western and Arabian choices) were good. Overall (other than JED experience), Saudia was better than expected, but falls significantly behind standard of major international carriers.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review :  13 November 2008 : by S Habib

LHR to JED. Excellent modern aircraft, on time. JED-DAC flight cancelled, had to wait another 4 days for flight. DAC-RUH-LHR. old 747, half empty aircraft. Arrived RUH in morning, waited another 14 hours before boarding our second flight to LHR. Very poor customer service, staff on ground can be unfriendly.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review : 18 October 2008 : by S Purnani

Customer Rating :  3/5

Paris to Jeddah via Rome and Madinah - the routing turns this into a horribly long flight and logic dictates that the next time I would seriously consider Air France direct flight. From Paris the flight was delayed, we never received a delayed announcement nor did the new timing show on the departure screen. The aircraft was a B777, we were seated at the back of economy with massive leg room. Paris-Rome sector we were served a hot meal, Rome-Riyadh, another hot meal. Riyadh-Jeddah we received a hot roll. Food quantity was great and quality even better, we were surprised. The cabin crew were helpful, responded to requests for extra water, coke etc The also handed out newspapers and magazines. I understand that Saudia will reconfigure the B777s starting this year, its about time, hopefully they wont follow the trend of installing 10 across seating in economy. Upon arrival in Jeddah, the airport is in a state of flux whilst renovations are going on in the baggage hall, this is the same reason why the business lounge isn’t available with complete facilities in the departure area.

SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES customer review : 11 August 2008 : by S Smith

Customer Rating :  3/5

Jeddah-Bahrain-Jeddah economy. Embraer 170 aircraft in good condition with adequate leg room. Both flights on time and arrived slightly early. Food OK if nothing to write home about. Newspapers handed out in economy. On the return flight I had to point out to the trainee stewardess that the life jacket pouch under the seat was empty, she laughed nervously and removed one from another seat but it had clearly not been checked. On arrival back in Jeddah the stewardess warmly welcomed us to Bahrain. Amusing!