When planning a trip to Europe, Saudia is probably not the first airline that comes to mind. But this SkyTeam carrier offers lie-flat Business Class seats and has some exceptional year-round Business Class fares between various destinations in Asia and Europe.
By combining a cheap Saudia Business Class ticket between Southeast Asia and Europe with another cheap ticket between Australia and Southeast Asia, you could score a great deal to Europe – flying in Business Class for the majority of the trip.
As you would be travelling from Australia-Asia and Asia-Europe on different tickets, we’d suggest breaking up the journey with a stopover in Asia of at least one night in both directions, in case of delays to the inbound flight. Most of the cheap Saudia fares are available from cities like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok or Manila.
The Saudia fares are all via either Jeddah or Riyadh, and you would be in lie-flat Business Class the whole way. Saudia offers a very comfortable Business Class on its Boeing 787s with a 1-2-1 configuration, and the airline’s A320s used on European routes also feature lie-flat seating in Business with a 2-2 layout. However, note that this is a dry airline with no alcohol served.
You can read more about what it’s like flying in Saudia Business Class in a trip report written by AFF member henleybeach.
Cheap Saudia Business fares from Asia to Europe
As one example of a good deal on Saudia Business Class to Europe, you could fly from Singapore to Amsterdam from around $2,143 return (via Malé and Jeddah), flying on Boeing 787s for the entire trip:
This particular airfare from Singapore to Amsterdam is available year-round and it would be possible to add a stopover in Saudi Arabia, if you wanted to, for USD200 extra.
You could book this on the Saudia website (where the fare is charged in US Dollars).
Saudia airfares from Singapore to Cairo are also quite competitive at just under $2,000 return in Business Class.
Prices from Manila to Amsterdam are also good value – even during peak Christmas season:
Fares from Europe to Asia are even cheaper
But perhaps the best Saudia Business Class deals are from Europe to Asia. For example, you could fly from Athens to Singapore from just $1,320 return:
You could even fly one-way from Athens to Singapore in Business from $830:
Note that Saudia’s Athens-Jeddah service is a seasonal flight that only operates between April-October.
Year-round Business Class airfares from Istanbul to Singapore are also under $2,000 return (or around $1,270 one-way):
Crediting to a SkyTeam frequent flyer program
While Saudia doesn’t partner with any Australian airlines, you could earn points or miles with any SkyTeam frequent flyer program. For example, you could earn Delta SkyMiles (which never expire) or Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles which can be redeemed for flights on SkyTeam airlines as well as Qantas or Aircalin.
By crediting to Flying Blue, for example, in addition to the miles you’d also earn 108 XP for a round-trip Singapore-Jeddah-Amsterdam booking in Business Class. That’s enough to earn Silver status with Flying Blue, which is equivalent to SkyTeam Elite status.
If you currently have status with an airline in Oneworld or Star Alliance, you could even use one of these fares to complete a Delta status match challenge. For example, if you currently hold Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold status, you could apply for a Delta SkyMiles status match and receive Delta Gold Medallion status for 90 days.
By earning at least 12,500 MQMs during your 90-day trial period, you’d then get to keep Delta Gold status (equivalent to SkyTeam Elite Plus – the top SkyTeam tier) until January 2024. A return journey in Business Class from Singapore to Amsterdam via Jeddah would get you 14,738 MQMs – more than enough to complete this challenge!
You can leave a comment or discuss this topic on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum.
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