About
Saudia, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia and previously known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, has emerged as a distinguished global airline over the past 76 years, ever since its inception in 1945. Saudia stands third as one of the largest airlines in the Middle East, preceded by Emirates and Qatar Airways.

Saudia, better known as Saudi Airlines, is based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah serves as their main operational base, while the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam is used as secondary hubs.

History
In 1945, US President Franklin Roosevelt gifted a propeller-driven aircraft, the Douglas DC-3, to King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud. This historic event marked the Kingdom's gradual development in civil aviation and the establishment of Saudi Airlines.

Initially, the airline primarily carried Hajj pilgrims to Jeddah. Over the decades, new aircraft models replaced the Douglas DC-3s and soon enough, Saudia had begun to fly passengers to several destinations across the globe, with the highest standards of class and safety.

Saudi Airlines international flights
Saudia’s domestic and international flights impressively cover 95 destinations across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America to all 28 domestic airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudia also operates the Saudi Private Aviation, a luxury fleet of private aircraft, offering the highest levels of security, extravagance, and privacy open to company and business passengers.

Awards
Saudi Airlines has been the proud recipient of numerous awards over the years due to its excellence in customer satisfaction and comfort flying. Its latest award includes the "Five Star Global Airlines" award in the year 2020, presented by APEX, one of the world’s largest international airline associations.

Class of Travel
Customers can choose from 3 classes when travelling with Saudia:

Saudia First Suite - Saudia's elite First Suite offers private suites with 82” long seats, non-stop HD entertainment on 23” HD Screens, and fine dining, a la carte, with an onboard chef. Business Class - Each Saudia aircraft consists of 36 business class seats with adjustable seats, full flatbed, large, 17-in wide HD screen monitor, large dining table and ottoman. Guest Class - The guest class in Saudia provides more comfort and luxury than any of its other counterparts, featuring seat pitches of 34 inches, headrests with padded wings for maximum comfort, and Button operated ideal seating position, with manually-operated footrests and lumbar support recline.

Note - Onboard overnight kits are provided to all flyers for personal care and children under 12 are given a special bag with books and games for their entertainment.

Baggage Allowance
Saudia allows free baggage allowance with the specification with regard to the number of bags, dimensions & weight of baggage per piece and class of travel. The weight of one baggage piece should not exceed 32kg (70lbs) in First and Business classes. Meanwhile, in the Guest class, the weight of one piece should not exceed 23kg (50lbs) and the maximum weight is 32kg (70 lbs), and SAR 138 shall be added as an excess baggage fee per piece.

Frequent Flyer Program
Alfursan loyalty program offers excess luggage allowance, personalized luggage tags and a priority waiting list. Additionally, passengers can have access to a variety of personalized services and can choose from a host of exciting offers, rewards, and range of selected services such as car rental companies, credit card organization and world-class hotels.

Web check-in
Saudia passengers can easily check-in online anytime between 48 hours to 1 day prior to the scheduled departure time. This applies to both domestic and international travellers.

Onboard services
Saudia has made travelling hassle-free for everyone including for special needs passengers and accompaniments. Most of Saudis aircraft also have specialized prayer areas onboard.

Refund & Cancellation
Saudi Airlines allows a refund of all first issuance revenue tickets that are all valid for one year from the date of issuance. After the expiry of the ticket's validity, Saudia may refuse a refund of the same. Passengers can cancel or get a refund for their tickets by submitting a new claim in the 'Refund' section from the website. Tickets paid with cash, check, SADAD, Span, Visa, MasterCard, or American Express are eligible for a refund. Note - Not all fares are refundable and if in doubt check with SAUDIA's reservation department.

Saudia hygiene and safety policies
Saudi Airlines places the safety of its guests and crew as its highest priority and applies world-class standards and procedures to ensure flights are safe and comfortable.

Every aircraft undergoes a thorough inspection after every flight, arriving from international and domestic destinations. Upon their arrival, sterilisation, careful disinfection and thorough deep cleaning are conducted with the utmost scrutiny to ensure the safety of the passengers.