Saudia Airlines Review

Here is a review of the flagship carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also known as Saudia Airlines. Member of SkyTeam since 2012, I was fortunate to fly on one of their Far East route between Singapore and Saudi Arabia on board the Dreamliner 787-900.

If you are a flight enthusiastic, you will know that using one of the best selling Boeing aircraft type: Dreamliner, things would not typically go wrong. In short, it was an enjoyable flight journey. The airline operates over 50 Boeing aircraft on its long-haul network, including the 777-300ER (Extended Range) and the 787-9 and 787-10 Dreamliner.

As Saudia airline continues its network expansion in Asia, there are news of it adding its fourth direct weekly flight from Jeddah to Singapore at the start of the winter timetable in November 2023. This marks a remarkable achievement and the volume expected between the 2 countries moving forward.

Flight SV836 departs Jeddah at 0125 and arrives in Singapore at 1530. The return flight (SV837) departs Singapore at 1700 and arrives in Jeddah at 2150.

Average flight time: 9 hours and 35 minutes

Service Level: 4/5 Stars 

In fact, just like another Middle Eastern carrier (Emirates), the crew proudly present the nationality of the crew on board, announcing to passengers that the crew for the day comprises from many countries. On the route from Singapore to Jeddah, the crew comprises of Romanians, Saudis, Indonesian, Filipino and even Malaysians. I like the fact that the airline assemble such an international team of cabin crew to better serve their customers who feels at home speaking to someone coming from their region.

Before take off, the crew distributed hot fresh towels and offer complimentary drinks. For a while, I thought I was flying on Business Class to receive such treatment. Being seated at the Economy section, I was pleasantly surprised to find the legroom  was huge and even could put my bag pack tucked nicely under the seat with still ample space for my legs.

Amenities on Board: 4/5 Stars  

Upon boarding, there were already amenity kits neatly placed on each seat. With the flight duration spanning more than 9 hours, I trust it is considered as a long haul flight hence the amenity kit comes in quite useful.

The aircraft lavatory were also constantly cleaned. Each time I entered, most of the time were usually sparklingly cleaned up. I entered the washroom 3 times during my 9 hour flight. Also, I love how the scent from the hand cream found in the aircraft lavatory.

Food on Board: 4/5 Stars

As the flight departs from Singapore at 1700H and only arrive at Jeddah, 2150H local time, we were served dinner 2 hours before landing to Jeddah. Food were superb if I could say.

Connection at Jeddah: 2/5 Stars 

I observed the travellers profile and it was easy to see that most of the passengers were heading to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage. However, there were a handful of travellers like us, using Jeddah as a transit point to connect into other Middle Eastern and Europe cities.

As Saudia expands its network and aiming to grow like all other airlines, it is looking at connecting passengers between Asia & Europe. Having said that, the airport do not seems to be ready in handling transit traffic. The peak time of connection happens close to midnight when flights arrive and passengers catching their next overnight flight into Europe or vice versa. There were not many shops in the transit area. Lounge selection were not great either and I had to make do with one of the airline lounge only to find basic amenities only. Chairs were not that comfortable but I trust we made do with what it has.

Long queues formed at the security check point area with many of them rushing for their next flight causing confusion and distress on travellers. I would say the management of traffic flow could be managed in a more co-ordinated way.

Overall, I would like to fly with Saudia Airline again if I am heading to Europe with  the fares being very attractive at time. However, here is a warning, make sure one have at least 3 hours in connection at Jeddah given the transit experience can be a nightmare.

By the way, I had my baggage delay for 2 days when I took my flight back from Amman to Jeddah and then to Singapore. The airline delivered my “lost luggage” fairly quick to my home but disappointed to say that the claims from airline took more than 3 months and as of now, I am still waiting for the refund amount. Repeated emails were sent but there were no reply on it. I had to call into the airline office and emails were subsequently reply.

Categories: Airline Review, Middle East Region