Saudia Airlines - Choose Carefully

[MangoKorat]

Mods, feel free to move this if its in the wrong place.

 

Flights being expensive I booked a split flight for my forthcoming visit - thinking I was saving a substantial amount. The split was using Saudia Airlines outbound from the UK and Qatar on the way back.  Not using Qatar both ways means foregoing my usual gold card entitlements on the outbound. I'm not being snobby - when you've had those entitlements for many years, having lounge access and not having to queue with 300 other people at check in really makes a difference but OK, I'll live with that this one time.

 

The stopover in Riyadh is quite a long one and a quick check revealed that I could get 3 hours of lounge access for £27 through Expedia - not too bad, or so I thought (its now gone up to £35). My Saudia flight arrives at terminal 4 in Riyadh and departs from the same terminal. The only lounge in that terminal is the Alfursan lounge which is for Saudia's first, business and gold members only.  When attempting to book the lounge access with Expedia, I noticed the Plaza Premium Lounge they are selling access to is located at terminal 2. So before booking I checked with the airline as to whether I could travel between terminal 4 and 2.  Not without a visa or an electronic visa waiver I can't and the cost of that is £45.

 

Before calling the airline I searched for an answer online but only came up with a lot of discusssion from people who had been told they could not go between the terminals without a visa and others who claimed they had done just that. However, as a result of that search I came across some Trustpilot reviews on the airline itself - they did not make good reading. To add to that there is no alcohol allowed on the flight and none in the lounges if I was prepared to fork out for one or could even use one.

 

So Saudia land you at a terminal where you cannot gain access to a lounge. You can't even use a paid lounge unless you are also prepared to pay for the visa waiver - seems very wrong to me.

 

That's my experience pre-flight, I'm hoping is doesn't go downhill from here - I'll just have to suck it up this time. The imposing of Islamic laws on international travellers had already made my mind up that this would be my first and last flight with Saudia but this latest thing over lounge access has sealed that decision.

 

There will no doubt be those amongst you who may have had a pleasant experience with this airline but I'm not expecting good things.  I've only travelled with either Etihad or Qatar for many years and this has confirmed why.

 

It just goes to show, check out an airline before you travel - 12 - 14 hours + stopovers is a long time, just be sure you are aware of any pitfalls before you choose an airline you're not familiar with. I normally review check any large purchase I make, god knows why I didn't on this occasion.

 

 

[stubuzz]

Dont worry. They will let you in even though you are not first/business class. However, there is a 4 hour limit.

[MangoKorat]

12 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

Dont worry. They will let you in even though you are not first/business class. However, there is a 4 hour limit.

Let me in to the Alfursan lounge? I read that somewhere online but the official website says nothing about it. Do you know the cost?

[georgegeorgia]

So to save all that ,you should of used business class like you always do 

But..no you wanted to save a few dollars and that's what happens 

[MangoKorat]

4 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

So to save all that ,you should of used business class like you always do 

But..no you wanted to save a few dollars and that's what happens 

1. I've never used business class unless I've been upgraded.

 

2. Saving money on flights allows me to visit as often as I do.

[georgegeorgia]

Maybe it does 

But I fly business class too and I do it for comfort,you only live once !!

[MangoKorat]

1 minute ago, georgegeorgia said:

Maybe it does 

But I fly business class too and I do it for comfort,you only live once !!

I'd rather visit more often thanks. Business class is great but its not worth 3 times the price in my opinion. Economy mixed with no queues and lounge access is perfecty adequate for me.

[stubuzz]

7 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Let me in to the Alfursan lounge? I read that somewhere online but the official website says nothing about it. Do you know the cost?

It's about 250 Riyals. If you booked directly with Saudi Airlines, there should be an option to add lounge access within the booing process/manage booking.