Flew ATH-JED-KUL the other day and wanted to provide some comments.
Contrary to what has been posted above about all flights moving to the new terminal on 12/20/2019 or early January, almost all long-haul flights (KUL, SUB, SIN, MNL, DPS, CGK, CMB, etc) still depart from the ancient terminal. Many Europe flights (including ATH) have been moved to the new terminal.
Our ATH flight arrived at the new terminal and we waited some 15 minutes for the airbridge. We disembarked, and walked to a transfer security checkpoint near our arrival gate. Quick visual scan of the onward BP by a very bored employee, superficial security check, and take an escalator upstairs, which spits you out next to the entrance of the lounge. The terminal was deserted, so all this took mere minutes.
The lounge is visually stunning, with cathedral-like (perhaps 80ft) ceilings. Pictures don’t do it justice, but here’s one anyway:
There was no wifi, and we inquired with a server and were told that this is only a temporary lounge. Apparently, officials found it too diminutive and will have it demolished. I jest; it will turn into the lobby of the airside hotel once the new terminal is fully up and running.
You will perhaps note from the picture that the lounge is deserted. After we sat for half an hour, an employee came over and inquired about our onward flight. She told us that she had turned away all ATH passengers, and that we should head to gate 30 and inquire about the shuttle bus to the ancient terminal, it might not run much longer. Reluctantly, we left the amazing lounge and walked to gate 30, only to find a bus loaded with the last stragglers from our ATH flight. The person manning the gate insisted that there is no regular bus schedule, and that this would indeed be the last bus of the night. As we didn’t want to be stranded in the deserted terminal, where even during this “peak” period we had encountered only the merest smattering of employees, and not the most motivated bunch at that, we boarded. The ride took just under 10 minutes, and then we waited 10 minutes for an empty boarding gate, where we were ushered right into the departures area. Then came a 4 hour wait in the ancient terminal.
Which is really an experience to be missed. The lounge is fine in the early evening, with good food and adequate sitting space (although no showers, nap rooms, or other facilities that might make a 4-8 hour stay more enjoyable). But as the midnight-2am departures approach, it gets insanely crowded, with insufficient seating and severely lacking sanitary facilities. The terminal itself is even worse than the lounge, with people sitting/laying/standing wherever possible. People complain about connecting at airports like FRA or CDG, but those are heaven compared to the old Jeddah terminal. It’s a pretty third world experience. Anyway, at some point boarding commences, and once you’ve pushed through the crowds to your gate, you end up on a bus, and then ultimately on the plane.
Quite in contrast to the 1* ground experience, the inflight experience is fantastic. The food is easily in the top 5 of all business class products, the 787/77W seat is great (especially for very tall people), and the service is quite personable (as far as female FAs from SE Asia are concerned; some of the male Saudis do very little, although to be fair, our purser did make the rounds serving coffee and asking whether we enjoyed the flight). The amenity kit is very high quality (Missoni, filled with Grown Alchemist products, different kits for male/female), and IFE usability and content are top notch. For under $800 RT, this is a steal, and likely will be an all-around 5* experience when the new terminal is fully operational.