Is it Saudi airlines Boeing 747-400 safe?
 

Saudi Boeing 747 fleet is an average of 22.7 years old.

Is it safe to fly with this bird?

How are the 747-400 serviced? Are the birds in acceptable shape?


Considering to fly ex Europe to Manila. From Riyadh, Jeddah to Manila airplane is Boeing 747-400.

I read bad reviews about transfers there, services in the airport and in the air.
My main concern anyway is SAFETY in the air.
Can anyone give me any additional information?

Round tickets ex Europe to MNL are (many days) 300-500 eu cheaper than with next cheaper airline. Where is the trick?
Hope is just the "service" :D not a safety issue :confused:.

Relatively old 747 fleets are not exactly unusual. KLM has a fleet of 22 747-400s, 4 of which are over 24 years old, another 4 which are over 23 years old. In total, 15 of the 22 are older than 20 years.

How does Saudia service their aircraft? Presumably to the same standard as most other airlines - it is not in the airline's interest to cut corners or skimp on safety. Saudia are not on any blacklists to the best of my knowledge. And I presume you haven't heard any recent reports of Saudia aircraft falling from the sky.

I think that, in general, accidents involving aircraft are usually caused by reasons other than the age of an aircraft and/or the quality of servicing anyway.

It's probably a bit naive to assume that a cheaper price can only be explained by shocking safety standards. When I last looked at pricing a Saudia ticket from Europe to Manila, there was an unavoidable and very long layover on at least one leg. Bear in mind that you may not be able to enter the country, so you would be facing a gruelling wait at the airport. You may also have to apply for a transit visa - and ladies travelling unaccompanied by male relatives are not eligible for such visas afaik.

Flying even the unsafest airline is probably a lot safer than many things people do daily without any hesitation, such as driving a car, smoking, crossing a busy street, etc.

Johan

I think the majority of the Saudi 747's are on wet lease. IE operated by another airline.

Saudia is in skyteam, not exactly a 3rd world airline.

There's a 747-400 that I've often seen at JED in Saudia livery with clearly legible 'THAI' under the shoddy paint job they did on the bird. From the land of :) to the land of :( !

Saudia Safety
 

First time poster: I fly 35K/yr on Saudia. While the interior maintenance can be lacking or non-existent, the mechanical servicing is top notch. From what I hear, Lufthansa services their planes in Saudi Arabia. I asked several pilots who live in Saudi and they have no reservations about flying on the planes. I prefer the 747 due to the higher cruise speed and sometimes better routes (due to 4 engines)

I have flown SV 744 many times and they are very safe and in quite good shape.

not sure if you have already flown...

while I agree with the comments by other posters, I think in your situation it is probably better that you choose another airline.

if your immediate thought is that cheaper fares = compromised safety then it is not worth it to be worried about your aircraft for such a long flight. every bit of turbulence, every bump and you'll be worried. and that's not gonna lead to an enjoyable trip.

But the 747-400 fleet is operated by another airline, not Saudi. So you are already taking another airline.

Just to get to my point straight from my experience: SV maintenance is quite excellent matching legacy carriers like LH or BA.

I think the SV 744 operates on MNL route is their own metal not chartered.

However, the downside of SV is its customer service onboard. It is BAD :td: especially in economy class.

I used another airline already.
But reading the new comments here Saudi seems "ok".
Next time (maybe) I will try Saudi :)

In term of safety, SV is safe!

Seats are ok, but the on board service is below average and alcohol is prohibited.

Some further 744 questions:

Are the 744's refurbished inside? Is there any plan to? How long will they stay in the fleet. I've noticed that they now have leather in Y and have added a facade to make the seatbacks look more like the 777s...is that complete on all 744s? Also, is it true that they sell the upstairs C class as Y on some flights?

thanks