Saudia business: FCO-CGK under 500 Euros one way
Jun 18, 2018, 9:48 am
#33
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: LHR
Programs: Ex-NWA Plat
Posts: 1,480
Any clue what the GVA KUL fares were last year? I am thinking of a spontaneous trip - KUL would be a better destination as there are numerous Air Asia destinations ex-KUL.
Jun 18, 2018, 6:55 pm
#34
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: 🇸🇬 🇭🇰 🇫🇷
Programs: Many
Posts: 4,749
The cheapest GVA-KUL with SV is now well over 2000 EUR.
They have killed all el cheapo fares involving narrowbodies except the MXP/FCO-CGK one.
Better act quick to use this one before it gets killed too.
They have killed all el cheapo fares involving narrowbodies except the MXP/FCO-CGK one.
Better act quick to use this one before it gets killed too.
Jun 18, 2018, 7:08 pm
#35
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: EY plat, TK plat, UA 1K, AF plat, AS MVP75K
Posts: 197
IST-KUL 750EUR OW and 1050EUR RT right now
Jun 19, 2018, 3:04 am
#36
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 367
I paid 865 euro GVA-KUL last February. Excellent experience. Would do it again without hesitation.
Jun 19, 2018, 4:48 am
#37
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 786
People..... just booze up in the lounges and sleep on the plane.
Oh and use these flight to actually go somewhere
Jan 7, 2019, 10:05 pm
#40
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: LHR
Programs: Ex-NWA Plat
Posts: 1,480
Reporting in after completing the Saudia business class trip.
Flights.
Europe to Jeddah and return.
Was comfortable. A320 with excellent legspace. Good food service. Nothing offered to drink with a meal (except water)
Good entertainment system for the short flight. Smiling happy faces for cabin attendants.
Jeddah to Jakarta and return
Excellent 777-300 hard product. Good cabin staff. No complaints.
Lounge in Jeddah.
Extremely long layover on the way back. 8+ hours.
The toilets were horrendously dirty. (At least they were not as horrible as the ones outside the lounge that were unusable.)
Temps must have been set to 12 degrees C. It was FREEZING. They could not help - saying that there were no temperature controls - and that people complained about this all the time.
Food: served promptly at 8pm. Pasta. Beef stroganoff. Desserts. Bland. Edible but thats about all I have to say.
What was shocking was that in the middle of the night, a Saudia representative came and started waking people up saying they were not allowed to sleep in the lounge.
I attempted to politely remind him he was randomly waking up people and not waking up some (call me crazy, but he was waking up non- Caucasian, non Arab people only...)
Losing my temper would have got me nowhere. Welcome to the authoritarian mentality of the middle east...
Airport
Its a bit out of the 1960s. A lot of warm staff, locals and migrant South Asian labor.
But not an airport you would ever want to remember. Two or three bad eating places in the waiting area (that had people sitting on the floor because there was not enough sitting space.)
Did not look very hygienic...
The new terminal apparently will open in Q2 to domestic flights and end of the year for full operations.
Then again, apparently they say this every passing year.
Bottom line - for 1000 Euros in business, 150% flying blue miles and one roundtrip getting you 100 XP points - I'd say it was worth it.
I just hope they change their flight schedules to allow for better connections on the return... aside from this and the nut in the lounge going around waking up people in the middle of the night - I'd say it was a good investment.
Flights.
Europe to Jeddah and return.
Was comfortable. A320 with excellent legspace. Good food service. Nothing offered to drink with a meal (except water)
Good entertainment system for the short flight. Smiling happy faces for cabin attendants.
Jeddah to Jakarta and return
Excellent 777-300 hard product. Good cabin staff. No complaints.
Lounge in Jeddah.
Extremely long layover on the way back. 8+ hours.
The toilets were horrendously dirty. (At least they were not as horrible as the ones outside the lounge that were unusable.)
Temps must have been set to 12 degrees C. It was FREEZING. They could not help - saying that there were no temperature controls - and that people complained about this all the time.
Food: served promptly at 8pm. Pasta. Beef stroganoff. Desserts. Bland. Edible but thats about all I have to say.
What was shocking was that in the middle of the night, a Saudia representative came and started waking people up saying they were not allowed to sleep in the lounge.
I attempted to politely remind him he was randomly waking up people and not waking up some (call me crazy, but he was waking up non- Caucasian, non Arab people only...)
Losing my temper would have got me nowhere. Welcome to the authoritarian mentality of the middle east...
Airport
Its a bit out of the 1960s. A lot of warm staff, locals and migrant South Asian labor.
But not an airport you would ever want to remember. Two or three bad eating places in the waiting area (that had people sitting on the floor because there was not enough sitting space.)
Did not look very hygienic...
The new terminal apparently will open in Q2 to domestic flights and end of the year for full operations.
Then again, apparently they say this every passing year.
Bottom line - for 1000 Euros in business, 150% flying blue miles and one roundtrip getting you 100 XP points - I'd say it was worth it.
I just hope they change their flight schedules to allow for better connections on the return... aside from this and the nut in the lounge going around waking up people in the middle of the night - I'd say it was a good investment.
Jan 8, 2019, 3:20 am
#43
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: OTP
Programs: AF/KL platinum, Turkish gold, QR gold
Posts: 1,572
In the last years, the cheap fares ex-MXP, FCO and IST have popped up and disappeared all the time. I think it's just a matter of patience before they appear again.
For those who are by the way interested in my trip report FCO-RUH-CGK, you can read it here and check pictures of the SV hard product, food, Riyad Airport and lounge etc.
Java in J: Indonesia With Saudia, Singapore and Garuda in Business Class
Until Jeddah's new terminal is fully operational Riyadh is by far a more pleasant and easier place to transit (although don't get your hopes up too high as it's still small and boring - Dubai it is decidedly not!). Yet as gottaluvNW remarked I would also do it again in a heartbeat for the right price as it's worth the Flying Blue XP - and I arrived in Asia well rested without any hangover
my biggest complaint was also the lack of pro-active drinks service! I can't wrap my head around why it's so hard to come around through the cabin and ask people what they want for a drink - even if all you have are juices and sodas.
For those who are by the way interested in my trip report FCO-RUH-CGK, you can read it here and check pictures of the SV hard product, food, Riyad Airport and lounge etc.
Java in J: Indonesia With Saudia, Singapore and Garuda in Business Class
Until Jeddah's new terminal is fully operational Riyadh is by far a more pleasant and easier place to transit (although don't get your hopes up too high as it's still small and boring - Dubai it is decidedly not!). Yet as gottaluvNW remarked I would also do it again in a heartbeat for the right price as it's worth the Flying Blue XP - and I arrived in Asia well rested without any hangover
my biggest complaint was also the lack of pro-active drinks service! I can't wrap my head around why it's so hard to come around through the cabin and ask people what they want for a drink - even if all you have are juices and sodas.
Last edited by Romanianflyer; Jan 8, 2019 at 8:54 am
Jan 8, 2019, 5:32 am
#45
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: OTP
Programs: AF/KL platinum, Turkish gold, QR gold
Posts: 1,572
The link is working for me..! Otherwise, here are the links to the individual installments:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30283523-post19.html - FCO-RUH on the narrowbody plane
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30288023-post20.html - RUH and the Alfursan Lounge
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30289540-post23.html - RUH-CGK on a Saudi widebody
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30283523-post19.html - FCO-RUH on the narrowbody plane
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30288023-post20.html - RUH and the Alfursan Lounge
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30289540-post23.html - RUH-CGK on a Saudi widebody