Birmingham: Saudia Flight Status, Hub News & Discussion

[Scania1800]

Saudia aircraft seating according to SeatGuru.com -

Boeing 787-9 Seats:24 Business274 Economy

Boeing 777-200 Two Class Seats:14 Business327 Guest

Boeing 777-300 Two Class Seats:30 Business383 Guest

Note - I've only listed the 2 class aircraft and I have no idea of what 'guest' class is.
I've yet to see an official confirmation of the service. Time will tell.

777-200 isn't in the fleet anymore

 

[Nethercote2019]

B789 not too bad for cargo. Personally I have not used SV for cargo for a while (we follow instructions from our Clients and so if any Airline has fallen out of favor for whatever reason we don't use them). They do have quite a varied network so we shall have to wait and see what happens! If nothing else it is another option which we can offer to our Clients to consider. As I have previously said though once a service starts it is a case of use it or lose it!

CL44 thanks for your input & this make sense that people spread the word ….. also did your friendly rep mention Qatar?

 

[JENNYJET]

Now who wants a service to Jeddah? Other destinations may be available. A dry airline to a dry country added to the questionable regime
A seasonal service to accomodate the annual Hajj I can understand but Miami it is not........one is curious.

 

[JENNYJET]

Do they still operate the B748 freighter? If was not the pax version....

 

[Nethercote2019]

Are there good connections to India/Pakistan etc thru Jeddah ? As over the years we have had some less desirable airline/routes

 

[Ash]

Definitely something cooking. The SV booking engine used to push you onto their codeshare on AF via CDG, now it just returns "No flights found" for any date.

Looking forward to using this service as a frequent traveler on BHX-JED for work, the one-stop options via CDG/IST are very tedious.

I expect it will do very well, JED is well connected to India/Pakistan and Bangladesh and the new terminal facilities are excellent, a far cry from the old KSA I remember some years ago.

 

[A400]

Unless the Cargo Sales Rep that I met with Yesterday is mistaken (and if he is mistaken then all his sales calls yesterday and today were a waste of time). I can only advise what I have been told and pass anything on in good faith. However combined with the slot allocation and this meeting I feel fairly confident that they plan on starting a service!

Of course share information. And the info you’ve provided is interesting. However I think some people are thinking there’s a service when nothings been confirmed. I hope it comes to fruition but for now is just speculation.

Do they still operate the B748 freighter? If was not the pax version....

They had cargo 747-8s which have now left the fleet.

 

[juliet-fox-9]

Are there good connections to India/Pakistan etc thru Jeddah ? As over the years we have had some less desirable airline/routes

They serve 5 destinations in Pakistan and 10 in India. They also connect to Bangladesh and the Philippines. However, Qatar has a better range of destinations and (judging by online reviews) better service, so I hope we can get them back too.

 

[Timberwolf]

Looks like SV (Saudia) will be starting up 4 x flights per week using B789 BHX-JED from 1st June (according to a Sales Rep I spoke with yesterday). Good news for another Middle East Carrier starting up! No word as yet on what days the flights will operate. I dare say I will get this information closer to June.

Hopefully be officially announced very soon then.We have learnt nothing is ever nailed at BHX till they actually land. So many nearlies over the years.
Fingers crossed.

 

[CL44]

CL44 thanks for your input & this make sense that people spread the word ….. also did your friendly rep mention Qatar?

Different reps for each Airline so no mention of Qatar as it stands.

Of course share information. And the info you’ve provided is interesting. However I think some people are thinking there’s a service when nothings been confirmed. I hope it comes to fruition but for now is just speculation.


They had cargo 747-8s which have now left the fleet.

Quite agree with you, hence my comment further on that until metal and rubber are on the ramp it doesn't mean anything (or words to that effect)! However there are reps who if they told me it was raining outside I would still look out of the window just to verify. There are times in life when you need to trust what you are being told is true and accurate. Reps realise that if they say something that is totally BS then they will be called out on it and no one will trust them in future. Whilst I agree it would be fantastic to get an official statement from BHX about this we shall have to wait and see what transpires.

 

[Scania1800]

Qatar

Different reps for each Airline so no mention of Qatar as it stands.


Quite agree with you, hence my comment further on that until metal and rubber are on the ramp it doesn't mean anything (or words to that effect)! However there are reps who if they told me it was raining outside I would still look out of the window just to verify. There are times in life when you need to trust what you are being told is true and accurate. Reps realise that if they say something that is totally BS then they will be called out on it and no one will trust them in future. Whilst I agree it would be fantastic to get an official statement from BHX about this we shall have to wait and see what transpires.

Qatar *May* Return, however its not confirmed.

 

[Timberwolf]

CL44 thanks for your input & this make sense that people spread the word ….. also did your friendly rep mention Qatar?

Who does the rep work for, or have I missed that bit on the thread ?

 

[CL44]

Who does the rep work for, or have I missed that bit on the thread ?

The Rep works for the Company which sells cargo space on board the SV flights from the UK, so should be in a good position to know when services are going to start.

 

[Timberwolf]

Thank you. Keeping everything crossed they announce then..wish they would hurry up 🤣

 

[Coathanger16]

And then there's also this which helps (my bold and underline):

New Saudi Stopover Visa offers free hotel stay – Business Traveller

The complimentary visa is available for stays of up to 96 hours in the kingdom…

www.businesstraveller.com

The Stopover Visa will allow passengers to stay in the country for up to 96 hours, and will be automatically available through the airline’s booking platforms for all passengers traveling to their final destination on Saudia or Flynas airlines.

...

Holders of this visa will be also eligible for a complimentary one-night hotel stay during their stopover if they are flying using the country’s national carrier of Saudia.

 

[Timberwolf]

A usually good source now saying Saudia are not going to start from BHX, so I'm confused ?

 

[Scania1800]

A usually good source now saying Saudia are not going to start from BHX, so I'm confused ?

As long as their plane doesn't land at Birmingham nothings confirmed

 

[Timberwolf]

Agree entirely . So many nearlies at BHX over the years.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I think we've now arrived at that point commonly known as, 'let's wait and see'.

We've had one or two snippets (there are a couple more but it's not right for me to post them at the moment), so now patience is needed.

Frustrating but all will be revealed in the fullness of time 🙂

 

[IanFarquharson]

I think we've now arrived at that point commonly known as, 'let's wait and see'.

We've had one or two snippets (there are a couple more but it's not right for me to post them at the moment), so now patience is needed.

Frustrating but all will be revealed in the fullness of time 🙂

The suggestion more locally is SV is happening lots going on to make it happen.
But as Ray says cannot say too much at this point.