After flying from Paris to Colombo to Singapore onboard SriLankan’s A330 business class, it was time to head to Bali on Saudia’s 787 business class. Saudia began a fifth-freedom route between Singapore and Denpasar in 2025, being the second SkyTeam airline to do so, after KLM. I would’ve loved to compare these airlines head-to-head, though unfortunately the KLM flight didn’t quite work for my timing this time round (I’d love to review it on a future trip, though – they even deploy their new business class suites on this route).
Saudia’s business class is redeemable with SkyTeam carriers, and I was able to redeem this one-way flight with 21,500 Virgin Atlantic miles and SGD 65.20 (£37.7) in taxes. That’s a reasonable rate for a three-hour flight, especially considering I was guaranteed Saudia’s longhaul hard product onboard.
Overall, I found the flight to be good. Saudia has a pretty good seat, good amenities and great catering especially for a dry airline, though not all of their 787s feature their advertised high-speed WiFi (this one didn’t feature WiFi at all). Here are my first impressions, and I’ll share a full review in the coming months.
Saudia’s 787 Business Class Seat: Comfortable, But Not Fully Flat?
Saudia uses the Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seat in business class, which was one of the leading products before the introduction of doors in business class. The seat is still perfectly competitive for a longhaul flight, even though there are even more modern seats out there these days.
Saudia 787 Business Class Cabin
Compared to the SriLankan flight I’d flown over on, one thing I was struck by was just how much storage space there was in this seat. There was a large compartment under the side console, an area by your legs, and a third storage compartment inside the pull-up armrest as well.
Saudia 787 Business Class Storage
Here’s one major catch. When I reclined the seat, it wouldn’t go down all the way. I tried it with my seat 6L and thought it was a fault related to my seat, so I went to 5L (which was empty) so I could photograph that seat instead. Nope, same issue. The fold-up footrest does join together with the footwell in the seat in front, though the seatback doesn’t quite go fully flat. I also saw that lots of others had reclined into this almost-but-not-quite-flat position, which suggests that there’s a design flaw in these seats that prevents it from going flat.
This wouldn’t bother me personally even on a longhaul flight, though if you’re very sensitive to seat angles you’ll probably struggle here.
Saudia 787 Business Class Bed (?)
So this isn’t the best hard product ever, though definitely more than sufficient for a three-hour flight.
Saudia’s 787 Business Class Amenities: Good
Since this was a shorthaul flight, we weren’t offered an amenity kit. However, Saudia featured their longhaul bedding on this flight. There isn’t a mattress pad (which is fine considering the seat itself is quite comfortable), though there is a plush pillow and duvet, which were so much better than what I’d experienced on my preceding SriLankan flight.
Saudia 787 Business Class Duvet
While the headphones weren’t the most comfortable, they felt high-quality, and featured active noise cancellation.
Saudia 787 Business Class Headphones
Saudia has partnered with Neo Space Group and advertises WiFi with speeds up to 300 Mbps on some of their flights. Unfortunately, this specific 787 was yet to be equipped with any WiFi capability whatsoever.
The entertainment system was responsive and featured hundreds of movies across different genres, as well as entire seasons of TV shows. You could even choose to turn on “do not disturb” but be woken up for a specific meal, or to have Islamic prayer notifications on your TV screen.
Saudia 787 Business Class Entertainment System
So even for a longhaul flight I’d be pretty happy (minus the WiFi situation), though for the three-hour hop from Singapore to Bali this was way more than enough for me.
Saudia’s 787 Business Class Catering: As Good As It Gets For A Dry Airline
Saudia’s business class catering was a treat, even on this flight. Let’s start with the meal service. There was only one Saudi option and two “international cuisine” options, all of which came with the same sides. However, I really appreciated the way the Saudi meal option was highlighted on the menu, and it was presented very nicely as well.
Saudia 787 Business Class Meal Service
Saudia gives a masterclass in how non-alcoholic drinks in business class should be, in my opinion. There were two types of fresh juice and an antioxidant strawberry smoothie. There was also karak chai, espresso-based beverages, and two non-alcoholic mocktails that they partnered with.
Saudia 787 Business Class Drinks Selection
Saudia’s 787 Business Class Service: Reserved, but Polished
The service flow on this Saudia flight was executed smoothly, and dinner was served relatively efficiently. The crew were reserved and reactive as opposed to proactive, though I felt like the service flow was quite polished. I was consistently served by one crew member, they remembered all meal and drinks orders (even when I made one before takeoff to be served after takeoff), they had good understanding of the menu, and the actual menu was presented by an onboard chef.
Perhaps I’d observe that our 6 PM dinner didn’t have to be served in a dark cabin with mood lighting – there was a gorgeous sunset that I had to un-dim my window to see (and even then I was quite conscious that light was flooding in through my window, despite a couple of others doing the same).
It’s light outside, I don’t personally need all the windows to be darkened on this 3-hour daytime flight
Conclusion: Saudia’s 787 Business Class
Saudia’s 787 business class is a fun product to fly between Singapore and Bali. Ultimately you’ll get a better hard product on KLM as they operate a plane with a sliding door suite in business class (which you can redeem with a similar number of SkyTeam miles), though it’s a fun way to experience Saudi culture in East Asia, with good amenities and a fun non-alcoholic drinks selection.
I wish this flight could’ve had their new fast, free WiFi that they’re advertising, though otherwise I had a great flight.
Have you flown Saudia’s new fifth freedom route between Singapore and Bali before?
