British Airways launches a new route to Jeddah

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• Aston100 says:

  16 May16 May 03:24

  Is it possible this is being subsidised by the Saudis?
  I see they are trying hard to be relevant on the world stage recently. They’ve got an expo in 2030 and a world cup bid if I’m not mistaken.

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    16 May16 May 04:03

    Why would the Saudi government subsidise BA when they have their own airline already serving 4 UK airports ?

    Yes 2034 World Cup is going to be held there.

    • Sean says:

      16 May16 May 05:39

      It was announced during a Saudi Connectivity event which the UK sent a delegation to, so I suspect it’s very likely to be subsidised. BA even stuck a sticker on the plane carrying the delegation with some Saudi gov slogan.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        16 May16 May 08:12

        Wasn’t that a charter flight?

        • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

          16 May16 May 15:19

          Yes it was a Government charter for a Government sponsed trade delegations with Cabinet ministers and variousl corporate types.

          But I really don’t see the Saudi government subsidising a foreign airline.

          Plus such a subsidy would have to be publically announced.

    • FCP says:

      16 May16 May 05:53

      I knew about Heathrow and the Manchester – Jeddah flight. Which other UK airports do they cover please?

      • Stuart says:

        16 May16 May 06:29

        Birmingham, Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester.

    • r* says:

      16 May16 May 07:55

      Cos no one wants to fly saudia.

  • S879 says:

    16 May16 May 07:07

    It’s also a very popular route with Muslims due to it being just an hour’s drive from their holiest place so it would be quite high in demand.

  • lumma says:

    16 May16 May 07:49

    The Saudis love flying BA and other western airlines. Seatbelts off, Western clothing on, booze opened

    • Jonathan says:

      16 May16 May 10:28

      Is booze even allowed on the aircraft when it’s going to leave or land in a country where it’s strictly prohibited and even get lashes as punishment as per law ?

      For obvious reasons you can’t present yourself at the border intoxicated

      • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

        16 May16 May 12:23

        Yes it is but is locked up whilst in Saudi airspace.

        Ex Saudi departures no fizz as a pre departure drink and so on.

        • LittleNick says:

          16 May16 May 16:07

          Does this apply to flights just crossing Saudi airspace and not departing/arriving in Saudi too?

      • Gordon says:

        16 May16 May 16:22

        You would be surprised the amount of pax breaking the law when they arrive in Dubai (as an example being a popular destination for westerners) that are braking the law on arrival at DXB by just having consumed one alcoholic drink on board the flight! Of course the authorities would not use a breathalyser on every arriving passenger as it would not be good for tourism.

• Dubious says:

  16 May16 May 03:54

  I am impressed with the efficiency of Jeddah’s airport’s arrival procedure.
  It has a similar shape as Beijing Capital Airport, except that the shuttle train used on arrival actually runs at a decent speed – it actually feels fast!

  And look out for the Berlin-esk fish tank in the arrivals hall!

• Graeme says:

  16 May16 May 05:19

  Relaunches might be a slightly more accurate title.. have fond memories of the drinks trolley being wheeled out whilst aircraft still in climb over Red Sea.

  • David says:

    16 May16 May 06:24

    👍

  • The Paw 🐾 says:

    16 May16 May 07:28

    How does it work with booze flying to/from Saudi Arabia? Can alcohol only be served when not over SA airspace?

    • Jonathan says:

      16 May16 May 10:30

      Almost certainly not a problem if it’s simply in the airspace, as long as it’s not landing or leaving an airport in the country

  • Craig Vassie says:

    16 May16 May 09:56

    Remember it well. Plus all the Saudi ladies rushing to the loo to get changed as soon as they could! Off came the guiness bottles and on came all the designer gear!

    • Gordon says:

      16 May16 May 16:34

      https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeC7xnrB/

• FCP says:

  16 May16 May 05:52

  Yes, should be resumes. They stopped in March 2021, during Covid, along with Abu Dhabi and a number of other places, which are gradually resuming.

• Rob H not Rob says:

  16 May16 May 06:21

  Not a place I want to travel to.

  • david says:

    16 May16 May 06:32

    Here we go.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    16 May16 May 08:13

    No culture?

  • Craig Vassie says:

    16 May16 May 10:53

    It was different. At the time tourism wasn’t possible. My work there opened my eyes to a completely different culture. It was a very hospitable place as long as you behaved to Saudi norms and expectations. For example, Western ladies who were (in Saudi eyes) correctly dressed were always offered first place in a supermarket check out queue. Getting on the BA flight home was always a wonderful moment. Fresh copy of The Times, and a G&T! Such is nostalgia!

• Jonathan says:

  16 May16 May 06:45

  Is it really worth paying a premium to fly BA when Wizz Air also do this route at a fraction of the cost, not a direct route okay, mo points or business class available, but incredibly good value

  • Quark999 says:

    16 May16 May 07:18

    Uhm, yes, because it offers a direct connection, points and business class is available?
    Why are there M&S and Waitrose when Aldi delivers incredibly good value?

    • Jonathan says:

      16 May16 May 10:16

      You clearly don’t understand the UK supermarket industry…

  • Erico1875 says:

    16 May16 May 07:37

    You could say that about most of their network. Someone will fly you somewhere cheaper than BA

    • Jonathan says:

      16 May16 May 10:21

      Not always, the case, sometimes they’ll be the best airline of choice on price

  • Richie says:

    16 May16 May 08:15

    The story regarding complaints about Wizz to the UK CAA is enlightening.

    • Jonathan says:

      16 May16 May 10:25

      Ah yes, how much longer it’ll take for the government to force airlines to comply with regulation laws or they can’t fly to the country won’t be a day too soon !
      Airlines will happily use any excuse they can think to avoid their legal duties when they mess up

  • Eshaq Choudhury says:

    16 May16 May 08:34

    I just did this route with Wizz air via Budapest. It’s not pleasant. I wouldn’t recommend it with elderly people or children.

    • Jonathan says:

      16 May16 May 10:18

      Flying with children isn’t exactly fun I. The first place, just feel sorry for those who book in premium cabins and there also children in there with parents who can’t be bothered to make them behave with respect to others

      • Sean says:

        16 May16 May 15:49

        Why is this always mentioned? In my years of flying I’ve had far more issues with drunks or obnoxious people who think a business class ticket gives them a right to be rude or act as though they are the only passenger on the plane.

      • Bob says:

        16 May16 May 22:30

        I agree. Ban children from Club. They should be made to fly at the back of Economy. Its very inconsiderate and anti-social

  • Qrfan says:

    16 May16 May 08:48

    This is up there with the best h4p comment I’ve seen. Why would you fly in business class direct with ba on a 6/7 hour flight when you could fly indirect in economy on a budget airline? Because I have enough money to never, ever do that? Because it sounds miserable?? It would be atrocious value to me regardless of the fare. Wrong website maybe?

    • Thywillbedone says:

      16 May16 May 08:59

      +1 Bizarrely, there are more than a few desperate pennypinchers on this site…

      • G says:

        16 May16 May 09:08

        There’s a distinction between penny pinchers and those who would only fly a premium cabin / airline on points/miles.

        • Rob says:

          16 May16 May 09:14

          There are a lot of stopping off points on the line between an indirect Wizz flight and a fully flexible BA First ticket.

    • Jonathan says:

      16 May16 May 10:20

      You’d be kicking yourself if BA changed the aircraft over to the old ying-yang CW seats if you did book with them !

  • Stuart says:

    16 May16 May 12:36

    Wrong website for these crazy ideas. HfP is 100% about premium cabin BA flights above all else where airfare price is irrelevant to the target readership. If you are considering W6 due to low airfares best seek elsewhere for comments/advice.

    • Rob says:

      16 May16 May 12:56

      I’m not sure too many of our readers are paying cash for BA premium cabins if they can help it, given the alternatives we highlight, unless its a BA Hols double tier points offer 🙂

      Must be coming up for 10 years since I paid cash for a BA long haul flight.

      • Mikeact says:

        16 May16 May 17:07

        You me too.

    • Jonathan says:

      16 May16 May 13:43

      It’s not all 100% about flying in premium cabins here on HfP.

      This way of flying to or from Saudi Arabia was even mentioned in an article some months ago

      There’s also enough of us who’ve used the likes of EasyJet, especially when BA make a near shambles of things !

• Paul says:

  16 May16 May 07:19

  The timings are just awful, the outbound is especially bad on a route that takes mom more than 6 hours. Even in F you will be wrecked on arrival and hotels having to be booked from the night before. Having to up at 4 am to fly back isn’t exactly convenient either.

  I agree with @Graeme found memories of the drinks trolley!!! In my case 40 years ago and on BCal!

  • Jonathan says:

    16 May16 May 10:23

    Flight times are often a crucial decision on who I decide to book with

    How I made the mistake of using BA for Amman and Cairo routes

• Youngtraveller says:

  16 May16 May 08:00

  Yeah it is through the Saudi air connectivity program.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.