Flynas

RUH-JED return. Check in a breeze no queues staff efficient but a few smiles would not go astray. Boarding quick new A320 with 29-30" pitch. Interior clean new looking pay for service was good value if not limited. Flight on time and bags on the belt within 5-10 minutes. Both flights full and cheep and cheerful at only 390 riyal about 70 euro - cannot go wrong with this service especially with no hidden extras (bags go free no issue with hand luggage etc). One negative was the safety on landing but I think it s just a middle east thing - why do passengers get up and start taking bags etc from the bins when the pilot has not turned of the seat belt sign at the stand? Cabin crew do not ask people to sit down.

RUH-JED. Another good flight with Nas Air. The flight left on time was not too crowded and an emergency-exit seat was definitely appreciated. The Arab and Eastern European cabin crew made an effort to seat us comfortably serve promptly collect rubbish and smile throughout. While the plane was old (it seemed to be a second-hand ex-Spanish Airbus) it didn't have the tired feeling of many other discount carriers.

RUH-JED. Flight cancelled before hand but only told when arrived at the airport at 5am for 6.45am departure. Promised seats on 10am flight but refused to check us in when we tried at 9am as there were "no seats" customer service policy seems to be to lie and then go off duty and let someone else sort it out! Rude and clearly incompetent not sure they know how to run an airline.

JED-RUH with one of the new Saudi discount carriers Nas Air. I had booked a super-cheap airfare for about USD $30; unfortunately I did not read the fine print and after the cab driver taking me to the wrong terminal at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah I ended up being five minutes late for the 45 minute boarding time... and Nas has a strict 'on-time' policy. I was a bit annoyed that five minutes seemed to make the difference between my getting the flight and not but I guess I agree with the rule in general. As a result I ended up having to return to my hotel in Jeddah for another night and booking another flight the next day. This one wasn't so cheap - but still quite reasonable at about USD $90. When I finally did fly I thought the airline was good for the price. The older Airbus 320 needed a new fit-out; the seats were tatty and overall the cabin looked quite old. The seat pitch was very bad but I have experienced that on other discount carriers like Jet2 and easyJet so I expect that. The stewardesses seemed to take forever to get to me with their drinks and snacks cart (all for purchase) but then seemed to whizz past a whole few rows without even offering us anything to eat or drink! Very odd. Luckily I caught them on the way back. The stewardesses otherwise were reasonably friendly I have flown Saudia before and thought that Nas Air attendants were nicer. The level of English of one of them wasn't so good but I noticed that they were Arabic speakers - which I don't think is the case with Saudia. All in all I thought that the airline was okay - I would fly them again for the price they are charging.

JED-RUH with one of the new Saudi discount carriers Nas Air. I had booked a super-cheap airfare for about USD $30; unfortunately I did not read the fine print and after the cab driver taking me to the wrong terminal at King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah I ended up being five minutes late for the 45 minute boarding time... and Nas has a strict 'on-time' policy. I was a bit annoyed that five minutes seemed to make the difference between my getting the flight and not but I guess I agree with the rule in general. As a result I ended up having to return to my hotel in Jeddah for another night and booking another flight the next day. This one wasn't so cheap - but still quite reasonable at about USD $90. When I finally did fly I thought the airline was good for the price. The older Airbus 320 needed a new fit-out; the seats were tatty and overall the cabin looked quite old. The seat pitch was very bad but I have experienced that on other discount carriers like Jet2 and easyJet so I expect that. The stewardesses seemed to take forever to get to me with their drinks and snacks cart (all for purchase) but then seemed to whizz past a whole few rows without even offering us anything to eat or drink! Very odd. Luckily I caught them on the way back. The stewardesses otherwise were reasonably friendly I have flown Saudia before and thought that Nas Air attendants were nicer. The level of English of one of them wasn't so good but I noticed that they were Arabic speakers - which I don't think is the case with Saudia. All in all I thought that the airline was okay - I would fly them again for the price they are charging.