Saudia banker på...

pep · 1 Maj 2024

En overraskende, eminent rejse igår fra Dar es Salaam til CPH via Jedda, Manchester, og London.
Første 2 ben med Saudia (revenue, economy), sidste 2 ben med BA award billet.
Godt hjulpet på vej med status i Skyteam og Oneworld gik det hele glat på trods af at jeg måtte ud og rode med baggage i Manchester, da Saudia i DAR ikke ville lable den hele vejen igennem til CPH. Tak til @Rebel for tipset til at finde denne SV retur billet til Dar (startende fra Milano). Flg. netop publiceret på SKTRAX

Saudia. Economy 9/10

Dar-Jedda-Manchester 30th April 2024. First leg on A320, 2nd on newer B787-10 Dreamliner. Both flights on time, and luggage delivered finely at final destination. Airbridges provided throughout. The trip was the return legs to Europe and was a bargain promotional purchase: paid some 240 Euro which proved extremely good value for money. Preordered (and got) the seats onboard that I wanted without further pay due to status in Flying Blue. Check-in easy and quick, although a bit underwhelming. In Dar airport, Saudia uses the new Twiga lounge in T3, a 3rd party lounge which is nice but with a bit meagre catering compared to other ne lounges in Dar. Hot food was sparse, and only one of six wines, a red Californian, was acceptable. No draught beer. The Jedda lounge is Saudia’s own, Alfursan, which is impressive, top notch with professional baristas and good dining. However, no alcoholic drinks offered, and on the day, they ran out of water for showering.

Service onboard impeccable. Good, hot meal services provided every +/- 4 hours interval, more frequent coffee and drink rounds. Amenity kits were given on both legs. They were of very decent quality, nicely decorated in a colourful Arabic them. FAs exhibit extreme courtesy, willing to help if any issue; focusing on passengers’ wellbeing. Amble, large seat space, better than most other airlines in economy. Large toilets, prayer areas and open spaces onboard gives a very ambient “business class” feeling onboard. IFE modern and competitive, including free set of earphones provided.

Frequent Flyer and Skyteam Priority perks given throughout, including seatblock if space available. Flyer miles and tier point instated quickly. Very Islamic oriented airline, including prayers at take offs. Alcohol search at boarding; no alcoholic drinks offered apart from Lounge in Dar; but not an issue. Will use them again. The airline impresses me and improves for every trip; service level become more and more consistent and genuine.

British Airways. Economy 6/10

Manchester to Copenhagen via London on 30th April 2024 Aircrafts were A319 and A320, respectively, both in decent condition. I arrived from Africa, and had to transit and change terminal to T3, which is very cumbersome and tedious. Check-in was quick, easy, and professional, got my desired seats due to silver status at BA. From T3 I had to go through one of the worst security checks ever encountered, fragmenting almost every item in my carry-ons. Their Escape Lounge in T3 is quite decent, particular beer choices and prosecco sparkling wine. Food was very poor, neither any savoury snacks nor meaty food at all. Good tarmac view. First flight was delayed, forcing me to catch the 2nd in LHR within ½ hour. However, I was informed clearly at gate upon arriving in LHR, assisting me on next gate and the airline managed to transfer the luggage in this extremely narrow timeslot. Onboard, only a mini-bottle of water and some bagged crumbs were given, fairly useless and superfluous. No IFE or WiFi. Annoying charity beggings from FAs on both flights are intrusive, annoying, disrespectful, and degrades the airline. Offerings onboard like discount carriers, except being pricier. Arrived final destination on time and so did my luggage.