Saudi Arabian Airlines

LHR-RUH afternoon flight. Used Saudi Airlines due to increased legroom and sensible flight times. Pleasantly surprised by the experience - seats narrow but flight wasn't full so managed to share 3 seats between 2 of us. Food was fine - while I normally like a G&T on a flight I can survive without one! AVOD etc was okay. Immigration at Riyadh was very quick despite warnings from colleagues - obviously not many other international flights coming in at that time. After haggling the taxi to central Riyadh was SAR80.

MXP-JED-DAC DAC-RUH-MXP. Departing flight 2 hours late from MXP and then wait more than 6 hours in JED for connection flight without any information. Nobody knows when the fly or what to do. If you ask someone nobody answered. Very bad staff behavior and information desk don’t know anything. It was hell on returning flight. The flight was late at DAC airport. At RUH waited more than 12 hours for the connection flight. Staff say that departure will be in 1 or two hours but not any exact hour so that they don’t need to allow hotel room for the passenger. I missed my next flight from MXP to ARN and train from ARN to home. Avoid the flight if you don’t want to waste time and money.

RUH-DXB. Airline's website would not accept credit card info; reservation made through the airline's toll-free number (the prices on the website were incorrect anyway). There was a quick security screen before check-in at RUH. As I was about to place my luggage on the belt a worker told me that he would do it. After it went through the scanner he rolled it about 30 feet to the check-in line. All of this took about a minute. I tipped him a dollar US which was the only small bill I could find quickly. He informed me that this was inadequate so I dug into my carry-on and found a bit more. This was very irritating. Other passengers also were annoyed by this and an elderly Saudi passenger who joined me in line used his cane to send his "helper" away when he requested additional tip. Check-in was quick and went smoothly. Boarding was not announced; it just happened. There was "open boarding" in coach (meaning seat assignments were ignored). Seat pitch was very good. Food surprisingly good. Flight attendants were efficient on this short flight and sufficiently friendly. The flight left and arrived on time.

LHR-JED-LHR. Check in at Heathrow very slow arrived 4 hours before as requested checked in 1 hour before - had to run to the aircraft! Problem was staff were dealing with LHR-RUH-LHR flight and both flights were overbooked. Staff at Jeddah terminal have big attitude problem. Staff on the plane do not assist with seating so if someone has taken your seat you have to co-ordinate everything and get the passenger to move yourself.

I have travelled from London and back six times between London and Dammam sometimes via Jeddah and sometimes via Riyadh because our company policy is that we must. Jeddah is a lousy experience. It took so long to clear passport control that I got bumped from my connecting flight and had to buy a ticket from another airline. The transfer desk is a clamouring horde and you have to fight your way to the front. No information is given out at Dammam Airport either in Arabic or English as to departure gate numbers. Flights are labelled "free seat" at the last minute even when you've got your seat number and Saudis like to play musical chairs so that you aren't sitting next to their womenfolk or so they can sit in family groups. The ticket sales staff are rude and indifferent and lack the language skills necessary for the job. The ground staff likewise. They invariably start shouting at you if you express any disagreement with them. On my last flight back to Saudi from London my booking was cancelled and I had to go through my company's travel section to get it reinstated.

Frankfurt to Riyadh A320-200. The allocated lounge (sky lounge of Korean Air) is large but of minimal facilities and at the furthest point away from the SV gate in T2 concourse E). Boarding was efficient despite no line for J class passengers. Better in flight service than the outbound flight but nothing really personal. Lunch selection was not available and fruit juices were not fresh (although advertised as such). IFE operational but with little selection way below other carriers. All products I was interested in to buy on sky sales were not available (found out that the aircraft was not restocked for 48 hours prior to the outbound flight). This lack of consistency and attention to detail make SV an unfavorable airline particularly if you are planning to travel as a premier customer.

Riyadh to Frankfurt A320-200. Check in : terrible Y class passengers pushing themselves to the J class line as if there were a line - the location is filthy with dirty carpet and luggage tags everywhere. No web check in available for international flights. Boarding disorganized no priority boarding for J class passengers. Cabin with good temperature although utilization of a single aisle aircraft was disappointing for this 6 hour flight. Seat Leather good pitch and width but the leg support failed to extend properly. Staff service automated masked faced service non welcoming un-professional when attempting to answer question on lack of IFE. Breakfast was Y class quality in plastic container. Snack acceptable. Drinks basic. IFE operating but not loaded with anything (not even the safety video) the Flight attendant didn't do it manually. Very disappointing experience not of business class standard. SV continues to be so inconsistent.

RUH-LHR return Business. Outbound the business and first class check in is mobbed by economy passengers asked several staff to be checked in as I was in business class and told to wait - after 45 minutes I demanded to be checked in as flight was closing to be told by the same Saudi staff I didn't you realise your were business class. Flight out fine Asian staff friendly and obliging the Senior walked around the cabin with a scolding look on his face. Return much older aircraft seats dirty and did not recline food dreadful cabin looked filthy staff cold rude and didn't care less that 3 kids running around the cabin actually slapping other passengers as their parents did not care what they did. The final straw IFE not working. Airline gets worse every time I fly with them no more.

JED-CAI on all economy A300 - one of my worst travel experiences ever. Departure was set for 3:45 am however plane was delayed on the ground for 1.5 hours and we ended up departing at 5:15 am. Delay apparently due to the fact that they left some luggage in the terminal. During the wait aircraft was hot and sticky and air conditioning was giving out hot air despite the 38C outside temperature. Cabin crew couldnt' be bothered to reassure passengers shrugging shoulders and showing no signs of care at all to complains. Water and refreshing tissues were eventually distributed but the ordeal was unbearable. Seats were small uncomfortable and ripped at parts. There was no inflight entertainment not even in-flight magazines.

My wife was booked Riyadh to Bangalore travelling alone and booked in business class. We arrived at the airport at 0100 hrs and completed check in. She was given a boarding pass which did not mention the number of the Gate from which to board. When I asked the man at the counter which gate we should go to he waved his hand dismissively and told me to go to immigration. When my wife went to immigration she was told the flight was cancelled and referred back to the airline. We came back and asked a Saudi Airlines employee; he told us the flight would leave at 1300 hrs. I asked him why this information was not communicated to us earlier as we had provided our mobile numbers at the time of booking. I also asked why this was not told to us when the boarding pass was issued. There was no satisfactory response to my questions. We reached our home at 3 am and returned to the airport at 11 am. There was no indication at the airport of when the flight would leave or indeed which from which gate passengers should depart. The staff of Saudi Airlines were of no help at all. The plane finally left at 2 pm. On board my wife found that her seat would not recline and she had sit upright for 5 hours. Though Saudi Airlines advertises vegetarian Indian food for flights to India there was no vegetarian meal available. Not only is the service deplorable but staff are brusque and unhelpful. We choose this carrier because it is the only one that has a direct flight from Riyadh to Bangalore. Perhaps we should start flying other carriers even if it means a transhipment because their staff may be more competent and helpful.