Saudia Airlines
 

Hi guys,

Has anyone flown with Saudia Airlines before? I've just booked my flights to go back to the UK for Christmas and the flight prices are ridiculous...

The Saudia flight comes in around 1800dhs which is less than half of direct flights (does mean I have to make a stopover in KSA to bring the total journey time to around 10 hours)

I gauge it's a dry cabin (not too fussed) but what's been the experience for any of you?

Also regarding visas, there wouldn't be a problem going through KSA on a connecting flight?

Cheers,
Al

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Ask Jam25 - he normally connects through Amsterdam I believe and always gets a good price.

There must be better options than going via KSA.:blink:

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Can't be that bad surely lol

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

I do indeed. I regulary fly through Amsterdam on KLM, sometimes having an extended stopover and sometimes not. KLM are generally in the 2,400 - 2,700 kind of range.

If for some reason they are higher then I bite the bullet and fly BA.

I did hear that Emirates are reasonable at the moment.

All that said, if you are looking at Christmas then they are always going to higher rates.

I take it you are checking a few of the multi carrier search engines, Expedia, Kayay etc.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

I've flown Saudia a few times on intra-Saudi flights and they were fine. Generally their terminals are much better than the non-Saudia terminals at the big Saudi airports. They are a member of Skyteam so will have had to meet whatever minimum standard requirements attach to that - albeit bearing in mind that may be what is acceptable in the US....

If the price is that good I would have no qualms - just double/triple/quadruple check that you can do all your connections in Saudi (Jeddah or Riyadh?) without having to pass immigration. I'm sure some of the Saudi-based posters can further enlighten you on their international service.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

I am prejudiced since I was an employee of Saudia 1996-2002. I thought flights were ok.

Once on board it is usually fine although boarding can be a bit chaotic. No booze on board so there are no ghastly, unruly drunks. No chance of meeting certain posters from here on board !

They are very competitive price-wise. Flying vas Jeddah there is an opportunity to overnight in the Airport Hotel without the need to clear immigration controls.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

It's via Riyadh on the way to UK (3 hours stopover) and Jeddah on way back (2 hour stopover)

Assuming this will be all ok?

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Well, it's not going to kill you.

Both airports (for Saudia) are OK - you can get a half decent coffee in both. Jed immigration is a disaster (Riyadh is fine) but hopefully you will be able to skip all of that.

The in flight movies are cut to shreds.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Depends. If you don't care, then go for it? But by asking I assume you do care a little bit, so surely for the sake of a few hundred dirhams, to arrive in the UK slightly more relaxed, not having to have sat next to someone like Scot47 etc it's worth it?

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

:rofl:

We have flown KLM for past 18 months, a lot cheaper than EK and better service.

For me, the start of the holiday is arriving at the airport and I like a couple of drinks on the flight.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Never tried KLM, but hear alright things. Bonus for me would be they fly from Amsterdam to Southampton (I believe) which would be mighty convenient but probably still slower than just going direct.

Whilst I only pay for my own flights, I am comfortable with the EK prices (bearing in mind my start point is LHR not DXB)....but if I had a family, I'd be thinking long and hard about how much they cost...

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

For Christmas, we are saving around 5000dh using KLM to Newcastle instead of Emirates. There is a 90 minute stopover in Amsterdam which isn't bad for the sake of £1,000

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Yeah, exactly.

That covers the car hire, petrol, insurance and bits for Xmas and New Year

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Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Emirates but for 4,000 aed or so, I can't justify it.

As I said to the missus (who's flying Emirates for Christmas back to Scotland), if somebody offered me a few hundred quid to fly a more inconvenient route on a less reputable airline, I would take it!

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

I think you'll be fine. You can probably call a Saudia office here to verify that there will be no immigration issue but I'm pretty sure they couldn't offer this if there were any issue. The only thing to consider is what if your onward connection gets cancelled and you are marooned in a Saudi airport for a day or so? I'm not sure that it would be any worse than Schipol (except no bar) in fairness.

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Hugely different, a few free days in Amsterdam would be ace. 20 mins and your in the city centre...... and what a city it is!

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Internal flights are a bit rubbish, but international are fine. food is okay and service is good. Normally have filipino crew.

Obviously no booze.

On the plus side, quite often the flights are not very full, so you can stretch out.

Jeddah has a very bad reputation as an airport.

Riyadh is okay, and immigration has improved loads over the past few years.

Take a book. There isn't much to do at the airport.

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God forbid that you have to sit next to Scampo or one of his lot !

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Jeddah's (deserved) reputation is due to the main terminal though it has improved a bit. The Saudia terminal is much better. In any case, all that has to do with the check-in, security and immigration formalities that presumably a connecting passenger will avoid.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

One of my lot?
Come on, let us finally get some context around why you dislike me so much. :thumbup:

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Riyadh to Jeddah with Saudia for day trip business meetings used to be horrific when I used them. Riyadh airport at least was somewhat organised, Jeddah (at least when up to 2012) was just one massive concrete apron with almost zero air bridge transfers.

Common to have flights cancelled, overbooked seating, and just general shambolic organisation. There was even a case of Saudia being investigated for serving donkey meat! Yum yum :lol:

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Been in KSA for almost ten years, and Saudia is always my preferred airline. Prices are pretty reasonable, food is good enough, but most importantly as I'm a tight Yorkshireman, I usually fly Economy, and their seats are the most comfortable - more width and greater leg room, so always find it easy enough for a 6/7 hours direct to LHR.

Films are watchable, but the airports are dull - not much to do at all. Duty Free is shockingly bad - dates, perfumes and chocolate really, thats it.

Knocks BA into a cocked hat IMHO. Had the misfortune to fly with them a few times - delays, crappy worn out planes and even more weary looking cabin staff.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

I agree. I've done KSA-UAE several times and they were great. KSA-Cairo was one of the funniest flights I've ever taken with all the Egyptians stealing everything that wasn't screwed down: the blankets, cutlery, trays, you name it, they even asked me to contribute.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

I'd go along with that. BA do seem tired and worn out in comparison.

Just the only thing is the booze. I don't mind no booze flying to Saudi, but leaving I want to have a few.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

I'd go along with that. BA do seem tired and worn out in comparison.

Just the only thing is the booze. I don't mind no booze flying to Saudi, but leaving I want to have a few.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

BA are awful nowadays but don't forget, they're not going to use their best and newest for KSA are they.... :lol::lol:;);)

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Aircraft or crew....

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Maybe I'll never find out for myself.

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Saudia's customer service (both ground and air) comes nowhere near close to any of the ME3 carriers if thats your benchmark. But if you are getting a great fare then tone down your expectations of human respect and just Welcome to your world! it for the length of the boarding/flight time.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Hey all,

Quick one - do you need a transit visa for a stopover in KSA for 1-2 hours?

My flight stops in Riyadh for about 2 hours on way there and about the same on the way back via Jeddah.

A few colleagues mentioned that I'll still need a transit visa to go through :huh:

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Pretty sure that no transit visa is required. To change planes in Jeddah you do not need to go through immigration. You stay "airside". It is also possible to overnight in the Airport Hotel without going through immigration.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

That should be double checked as some countries require you to have a transit visa even if you never leave the plane and it's just a stop-off. I'm painfully aware of this because my partner and I were denied boarding to an EK flight to Auckland (in business class) because my other half required a transit visa for Australia where the plane stopped en route (though you had to look very hard on the EK booking site to even realise that it stopped in Oz). Neither of us had any idea this could even be a requirement and EK certainly didn't indicate at any point that it might be something to check even though it impacts citizens of their home country.

We managed to rebook for later that day on Cathay (in cattle class) through Hong Kong which had no such restriction even though we had to change planes there. It turns out that it only takes about an hour for an Oz visa to come through online as we discovered later when arranging a trip to Oz - in fact his visa was faster than my ESTA though it cost a lot more...

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

It probably depends on nationality. there is a publication - now online - updated monthly which explains all the convolutions of requirements for visas etc. Cant remember the name. It is 15 years since I worked in the Saudia Training centre.

Any competent travel agent can advise.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Are you referring to Timatic?

It's hard to find definitive information anywhere and the travel agent haven't been responsive...

From what I can gauge it looks like you can spend up to 12 hours in the airport without the need for a visa but we will see tomorrow

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I always found the check-in staff at the Saudia desk were knowledgeable about visas etc - and capable of checking the up-to-date regulations.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

and also capable of refusing to issue you with a boarding pass because you don't meet the requirements. Terrific.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Similar situation happened to an American mate going to NZ via Australia. He arranged for a multi day layover in Sydney and checked in at the airport without realising Americans also needed to get the ETA because he'd gone to Australia years ago when it wasn't required. Nothing on the airline's website said anything about Australia requiring the ETA even from western countries. The QA staff couldn't check him in but told him very directly to apply for the visa NOW and he went to the airport computer centre and filled out the online application, paid via credit and 20 minutes later when he was in the queue to rebook the ticket for the next day or so, the email comes through with the approval. So he went back to check in and managed to get on the plane. Said it was the most nerve-wracking and bizarre experience ever and said it felt like Australia just wanted the money because the approval was immediate and the ETA automatically added to his passport number in the airline's computer system.

Re: Saudia Airlines
 

Here's the current info on transiting Australia

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/Lega/...ough-australia

The USA is even worse, you either need to do the ESTA/VWP process, or get a proper (not just transit) visa in order to transit there.

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Saudia do not fly to Oz !

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This happened to me when I attempted to fly out of Japan to Australia (transit) about 6 months after they decided all Brits needed visas. We managed to apply online and have our visas approved just as check in closed. Not fun...