Review: Saudia B777 Business Class, Dhaka to Jeddah

 

Saudia B777 business class, Dhaka to Jeddah

Trip to Casablanca, Uzbekistan and Dhaka flying Saudia Business Class

Flight: SV809
Departure time in Dhaka (DAC): 12:50
Arrival time in Jeddah (JED): 16:45
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300 (HL8346, 6.5yrs old)
Seat: 5A (moved to 5L)
Duration: 6h 55m
Date of flight: October 17, 2025
*This is an SAS award ticket, Business Class flight #298

Video on YouTube



Dhaka International Airport Terminal 1, Check-in

As a business class passenger, I went to check-in counter B1 to be helped but the queue was long. I was asked to come forward since those in front of me were economy class passengers who were just using the line as it had been empty earlier. The check-in process went smoothly and I was given my boarding pass all the way to Manila.

Balaka Executive Lounge

After security, I went straight to Balaka Executive Lounge, one of the many lounges on the 2nd floor of the terminal. This lounge is managed by InterContinental Dhaka so it is one of the better lounges at the airport.

Aircraft, Boeing 777 (HZ-AK16)

This Boeing 777 is about 13 years old.

Boarding, Gate 6

Security check is done by the gate.

I left the lounge an hour before boarding and had a look around the shops in the terminal, before heading to the gate. Security check was done by the gate although liquids are not to be taken out, just the laptops and electronics. Boarding began at 12:20pm although there were 2 lanes side by side in the passenger bridge on the way to the aircraft that priority boarding did not really feel it was being implemented.

Business Class Cabin

The business class cabin has a total of 30 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration from rows 1 to 5. On this flight, half of the cabin was full.

Seat 5A

My seat 5A is a window seat. I would eventually change to seat 5L.

Personal screen, headphones, bottle of water and spacious legroom.

Storage

Seat controls

Headphone socket, privacy divider

AC power outlet

Foldable tray table

Foldable tray table

The blanket was thick enough.

Pillow

Noise-cancelling headphones

Pre-departure Beverage

Moments after settling in, I was offered some hot towels.

I had the dates and banana smoothie and it was very good 😋 I initially asked for the antioxidant drink but was told that they do not have it on all routes.

Dates were also offered to go with the Saudi coffee.

Saudi coffee and dates

Amenity Kit

I asked the flight attendant if they were offering amenity kits on this flight was told that they do not offer them on flights to Bangladesh and India because the fares for these 2 countries are low. Fair enough 😉

Wifi


There was no wifi on this flight, which is understandable.

Movies

I would say that the movie selection is good but could be better. Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways definitely have better movies to offer.

From the movie selection, I ended up watching "Final Destination: Bloodlines".

Take Off

Around 1:38pm, we were airborne.

I am pretty sure Turkish Airlines (and others) always served their mixed nuts together with some drinks 😉

Dining

Menu card

Drinks list

I had the Arabian meal consisting of lamb mandi, muhammara, salad, Arabic bread and linzer torte. The meal was really good.

I ordered a cup of cappuccino which was served with a Patchi chocolate 👍

Hot towel

Lavatory

There are 2 lavatories both of which were located in front of the cabin.

Lavatory 1

Lavatory 2

The lavatories had the Saudia branded hand lotion and hand hygiene.

Time to Sleep

Unlike the flat beds on my Saudia flight from Casablanca to Jeddah last week, the seats do not really turn into flat beds.

Drinks before Landing

I was offered something to drink before landing and chose a cup of karak tea, again served with a Patchi.

When I did not see apple juice on the drinks list, I asked one of the FAs and was told that they only serve fresh juices in business class ie orange juice and lemon mint. She was kind enough to get me one from economy class though. I also had a bottle of mineral water before landing.

Landing in Jeddah Airport

We landed in Jeddah Airport at 5:10pm and reached our gate 9 minutes later.

Jeddah Airport

CONCLUSION

Unlike the wonderful business seats I had on Saudia's B787 from Casablanca to Jeddah last week, the seats on this flight were outdated and were starting to show its age. The IFE system is no longer that responsive. Sadly, there was no wifi nor amenity kit. Fortunately, the crew on this flight were fantastic, two of which were from the Philippines (Teresa and Farsana) so I really felt like I was at home. They were apologetic of the shortcomings on this flight and which I really appreciated. To all the crew on this flight, Shukran 🙏


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