Saudia, formerly Saudi Arabian Airlines, is the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a member of SkyTeam. Many are quick to dismiss Saudia because it is a dry airline, but I’ve flown Saudia four times and give...
Saudi Arabia to Offer Tourist Visas Starting in June 2015
06 JAN 15 UPDATE: No Tourist Visas After All for Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is not quite the hermit kingdom of North Korea, but it remains an elusive destination, difficult to enter and currently impossible to be an official tourist...
Free Upgrade to Business Class on Aeroflot
Update: Deal has expired Aeroflot Russian Airlines introduced a premium economy “Comfort Class” last year that provides a hybrid between business and economy similar to Air France’s Premium Economy product. Through the end of August, Aeroflot is offering Comfort...
Air France-KLM Flying Blue Promo Awards: 50% Off Business Class through August
I’ve griped about the inept call center and arcane policies of Flying Blue, the loyalty program of Air France-KLM, but I’ve been booking a lot of clients on Air France and KLM flights this month and want to make...
Dubai to New York via Jeddah in Saudia Economy Class
The Saudia flight was from Dubai to Jeddah was so uneventful I will only spend a few sentences on it—I was tried and quickly fell asleep after the meal service, which included beef with noodles and mixed vegetables. A...
Jeddah to Dubai in Saudia Economy Class
After a refreshing stay at the Park Hyatt Jeddah, it was time to continue my journey to Dubai. The same driver who brought me to the property the afternoon before took me back, dropping me off about two hour...
New York JFK to Jeddah in Saudia Economy Class
Flying on a new airline for the first time is always fun. There’s a bit of apprehension—will the service be good? How about the IFE? And the food? You can eliminate a lot of the guesswork through Google, Flyertalk,...
Introduction: A Journey to Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan
When Saudia Airlines (formerly Saudi Arabian Airlines) offered an amazing $557 r/t deal from New York to Dubai via Jeddah last December, I jumped on it—but it was not because I had any desire to go to Dubai. Saudia...
Chilling in the Kingdom
Visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been near the top of my travel list for years, though getting there is not easy. There is no such thing as a tourist visa in the KSA and even obtaining a...
Don’t Blame Delta for Saudi Foreign Policy
The Rabbi Jason Miller is not happy with Delta Air Lines. In a poorly-written article published in the Huffington Post, Miller bemoans that Saudi Arabian Airlines will soon be a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, the airline group that...
Joint Venture May Be Key To Wooing LATAM Into Star Alliance
The push for metal neutrality continues! During an airline conference in Houston today, United CEO Jeff Smisek announced that United Airlines is interested in forming a trans-border joint venture with Air Canada and a joint venture with an airline or...
My Thoughts on Avianca-TACA and Copa Joining Star Alliance
As Fozz reported, in a ceremony in Miami earlier today, Star Alliance announced that Avianca-TACA and Copa will join Star Alliance by mid-2012. Avianca and TACA merged last year, though the two airlines still operate separately and are not formally...
Aerolineas Argentinas to Join SkyTeam
SkyTeam flyers will finally have an airline based in South America after Aerolineas Argentinas announced its intention to begin the process of joining the alliance by the end of the month, with full integration by mid-2012. While Star Alliance and...
BA Chief Confident LAN Will Stay in OneWorld
British Airway’s Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, said this week that the LAN/TAM merger is not a threat to OneWorld. He argued that "LAN are very much core members of Oneworld," and that the new Latam Airlines company already sees the...
China Airlines to Join SkyTeam
Bolstering its prescence in China and the surrounding region, China Airlines has announced plans to join SkyTeam by mid-2011. The Taiwan-based carrier serves 93 destinations in 28 countries with a fleet of 66 aircraft. The carrier will only add...
SkyTeam bolstering its lineup: Tarom and China Eastern to join
SkyTeam, which added Vietnam Airlines to its alliance last month, will soon add two more members to the team. Romania’s Tarom Airlines will join later this week and offer an alternative to SkyTeam’s already robust presence in Europe. Tarom also...
