Review: Saudia Business Class, Jeddah to Islamabad

 

Saudia business class, Jeddah to Islamabad

Trip to Asia flying Saudia, Garuda & Turkish Airlines Business Class

Flight: SV722
Departure time in Jeddah (JED): 1:50
Arrival time in Islamabad (ISB): 8:50
Aircraft: Boeing 777 (HZ-AK15)
Seat: 2A
Duration: 5h
Date of flight: October 15, 2026
*This is an award ticket, Business Class flight #320

Video on YouTube



Al Fursan Lounge, Jeddah Airport

I had about an hour or so in the Al Fursan Lounge and decided to have some light food and take a shower.

Boarding, Gate A35

The flight was delayed and instead of a departure of 1:50am, boarding began at 2:30am.

Aircraft, Boeing 777 (HZ-AK15)

The 14-year old Boeing 777 upon landing in Islamabad Airport.

Business Class Cabin

The business cabin has a total of 12 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration.

The business class cabin was almost full on this flight with 10 of 12 seats taken.

Seat 2A

I chose seat 2A as soon as I had booked this trip and was glad with it. This is the same aircraft I flew with from Riyadh to Manila last year.

The new pillow and blanket were very comfortable.

The headphones and a bottle of water were already waiting at my seat. To the left of the seat are the reading lamps, headphone socket, etc.

Headphones

From the IFE controller, it is obvious that this aircraft has seen better days.

The seat turns into almost a flat bed just like the one I had from Riyadh to Manila last year.

Air-sickness bag and safety card

Welcome Drink & Towel

Moments after settling in, I was offered a hot towel and a drink (choice between lemon or orange juice). I asked for water and was told I had a bottle of water behind me.

Then came the usual Saudi coffee and dates.

Take Off

We took off at 3:46am.

Dining

The menu read as follows:



Saudia offers dine-on-demand so I asked to have my meal around 2 hours before landing. The usual mixed nuts were served.

For my main course, I had the chicken kabsa which was very good. It was served on a tray together with the hummus and dessert (date and tahini mousse) although I did not try them. I also had a cup of green tea.

I asked for a hot towel after the meal which was brought immediately.

Wifi

On this flight, wifi was not available.

Lavatory

The lavatory was spacious and had the usual Saudia branded toiletries.

Landing in Islamabad

We landed in Islamabad Airport at 10:02am, more than an hour behind schedule and reached our gate 7 minutes later.

CONCLUSION

I think that the destination is almost always important for any carrier, and the less important routes are often the ones that are delayed and has chaotic boarding. This flight to Islamabad is not an exception: the boarding area was small, flight was delayed and when boarding began, everybody just wanted to be the first ones to board. The Boeing 777 we flew with was more than 14 years old so the business class seats are dated. The personal screen and IFE controller are the old types. Luckily, the food served was good and the crew were fairly friendly. This flight was more or less like the Dhaka-Jeddah flight I took last year. The Singapore to Jeddah flight I took last year was the exact opposite, with an inflight chef, lovely amenity kits and seats that turn into a fully flat bed. Overall, this was not a nice business class flight and something I would try to avoid in the future. 

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