My husband and I are safely home. Our bags, all 3, arrived safely with us. Big relief. 

Four weeks ago, we flew to London, my first trip abroad since 2019. I had written then that there were almost no seats and sky-high ticket prices on the 10 airlines that we had looked up. With no choice at all, we booked on Saudia Airlines.

I/we had reservations. We had never flown on this airline. It was never on our radar. Hence, I did what I usually do. I googled various websites. I shouldn’t have, not before flying. Passenger reviews were brutal. Frustrations and laments ranged from ‘Scandalous,’ Do yourself a favour – never fly this airline again,’ ‘Good seats everything else mediocre at best’ and ‘No customer service for Saudia.’ Yikes. On two other sites, it received average customer ratings of between 3.4 to 5. Unfortunately, it was out of 10. Yikes, again.

My misgivings were further heightened when I called up the local office about downloading the Tawakkalna App, particularly for transit passengers. The app is Saudia Arabia’s version of our Mysejahtera. I got a brief ‘No’ with no effort to provide even a cursory explanation. Yikes, again.

With negative perceptions and trepidation about the airline, I psyched myself to have no expectations. Expecting nothing is better than expecting something and getting nothing. It made sense to me despite the rather hefty airfare. I also prayed and made a vow for our safe two-way passage plus our luggage.

It also didn’t help that there was so much bad news related to travel, baggage backlog and shortage of ground staff at Heathrow airport. We were flying into Terminal 2. Photos of distraught passengers and baggage strewn all over the floor compounded matters. Plus, there was a planned rail strike on the day we were to arrive. The strike forced us to suffer a £65 surcharge, on top of the normal fare, for a cab to take us away from Heathrow to my mum-in-law in Kent.

Flight day arrived and this was what happened. In the early hours of 21^st June, we boarded the aircraft to London via Jeddah. The minute we sat in our respective seats, not together, but one in front of the other, we were presented with a choice of fruit juices. We could have pineapple, orange, mixed berries and/or apple. Unimaginatively, I had orange juice but it was yummy. We were served dates. Arabic coffee poured out of a long and narrow spout coffee pot was also offered. This I declined.

We both had an envelope with personalised Saudia masks, sachets of sanitisers and wet ones. Then came his and hers Missoni toiletries bags. Maroon for the ladies and blue for the men. After take-off, the very attentive and polite stewardesses came around with menus for meals. We could have what we wanted, when we wanted. There was a fine selection of appetisers and mains. My chocolate raspberry cake was delicious. And, Patchi chocolates, the really expensive ones that cost an arm and a leg. No beer or alcohol but mocktails and an array of drinks were provided. It didn’t seem to matter even to my husband who likes his beer, and wine, now and again.

All through the flight the service was on par with the many other top airlines. It was also well-organised on the ground in Jeddah. The only ‘new’ to us was the separate security checks for women and men. The airport terminal was sprawling with numerous gates. Not as many shops and restaurants like in Dubai airport. It could do with more. Thumbs-up to the Alfursan lounge. I have no clue what the savoury spread was as I only had eyes for the dessert cabinet. It was brimming with bite size cakes and chocolates. And, muffins, cookies, Arabic cakes plus hot chocolate. Heaven.  

It was equally comfortable and efficient from Jeddah to London. We had adjacent seats. With loads of leg room, varied reclining positions as well as back and leg massage functions. Ample storage. Watchable movies. Generous food. The added bonus was we landed on time at Heathrow. Our bags arrived soon after amidst the sea of passengers’ bags etc that were lying sadly on the floor. First journey completed – nicely and successfully.

The return flight, I’m happy to write was also comfortable and efficient. One hitch. Saudia departed from Terminal 4 instead of 2. We had no access to its lounge, which we were told, would be ready for passengers the following day. Hmm… One small quibble. Absence of menus. The courteous stewardesses read out, explained what was on offer and wrote our orders in notebooks. The service and food were still fabulous.   

Based on our experience, I’d give Saudia Airlines a 9 out of 10. Would I recommend it? Yes, in a heartbeat, if not for the niggling reviews.