Thursday 24 December 2015

OUR AIRPORT EXPERIENCE - Emirates VS Saudi Airlines


The Good...The Bad...And The Ugly is everything we experienced whilst on our travels back in summer with our Airlines.

Hey guys! This is in no way an official review, it's just us sharing our opinions and thoughts about how it all went and how they treated us, in other words our airport experience. Just to let you know Hanna went with Emirates and Shirog travelled with Saudi Airlines.


SERVICE



SHIROG


Not going to lie, I had a pretty $h!% experience! I don't know if it's the staff that were working there or a cultural thing but they were damn rude and disrespectful.

Let's start with the security check as soon as we got off the plane. Okay, I get that they want to keep their country safe or whatever but I repeat WE JUST GOT OFF THE PLANE! Obviously, there was strict security checks before we got on the plane so what do you really think changed in the 7 hours we spent sleeping?

The security checks were gender divided which I thought was kind of sexist but I understand that it's a strict religious country and that's not my complaint. Adding that the men are only asked to walk through a metal detector while the women were asked to walk into a room to get a full body check -which sounds dodgy if you ask me. Now this is a valid complaint. Can we also acknowledge the rude man behind the desk (who's job is to basically to stare at the screen showing what's in the bags)? He got into a verbal argument with my mother who was actually really tempted to report him but we were only spending an hour in Jedda Airport.

We got the WiFi which we appreciated. I know that we didn't spend too long but we NEED the internet!

This next complaint is so ridiculous that you might start laughing. As soon as the gate opened we were in line so that should make our lives easier and avoid the human traffic, right? The man behind the desk wasn't the politest, he sounded impatient in the way he spoke and I kid you not when  I say that he sometimes didn't even use words with a customer he just pointed! Anyway, it was our turn now (as a family) he looks at our passports and then calls another guy over which we didn't get because so many people prior to us had European passports too so I guess that wasn't the issue here. The other guy took ALL of our passports and just leaves (we are told nothing about what the issue was at this point), we were just told to take a seat. after everybody else boarded and we were still sat down confused and at this point worried that we are going to miss our flight. A couple of minutes later a staff member shows up and starts questioning us like no other. Questions about where we lived and our occupations. The whole time I was thinking like dude we are going back home, chill even if we were to be a harm to anybody just let us go back to our house and why do you give a damn shouldn't this questioning be when we enter your country not when we are leaving. So after the questioning session was over we were allowed to move along with our day. Just a little note, do you really think that a mother and her five young children a threat to any other human?

Another incident that really stuck with me is when I walked up to the information desk and asked about our flight time. The man behind the desk wasn't helpful at all, he was sat with his elbows on the table hands on head (think about yourself sitting in English class and it's last lesson). He literally looked at me, still in his position, and said 'not yet'.

I don't know if I ever want to take Saudi Airlines EVER again.

HANNA


For me, this was an absolute bliss. It was all so easy and just so swift that it probably only took less than twenty minutes to get through security checks and luggage, etc...It was all so convenient and everyone was helpful which made it all a lot easier. And again, boarding the flight was so calm and simple because they would call you through section by section example A would go first then B... There truly wasn't even that much of a rush especially for the amount of people boarding the plane. I must say, Emirates service was impeccable.



FOOD



SHIROG


This may surprise many but I LOVE aeroplane food, I love how its divided into compartments, there's just something pleasing about it all. Can we also mention the fact that it's served in white plates, I can't explain it but this makes me trust that it's safe to eat. To conclude, if I was asked 'review Saudi Airlines' food?' I would reply with 'I didn't feel weird eating it.


HANNA


When it comes to aeroplane food, I usually have a very strong dislike towards it even before trying it. I'm used to the food not looking very pleasant in appearance but also not tasting the best either. It's probably one of the things I dread the most when it comes to travelling so I honestly didn't have very high expectations.

However, much to my amazement, I was quite pleasantly surprised I must admit. Yes, it may not have been a five course meal but for aeroplane food, Emirates really went the extra mile. They had nice rice with curry and other bits and bobs whilst going there like fruits, etc...and it actually tasted GOOD! It started off with a starter which was bread and fruits and then went on to the main course and lastly ending with a desert after collecting in the trays...ICE CREAM which was a lovely surprise.

So all in all, I was rather happy with the entirety of the meal. :)




STAFF




SHIROG


All staff on the plane were great except that one guy. He was almost ordering the passengers to do what he says. That I understand they had a staff shortage as they were doing bag checks at the doors so the whole thing was a mess. I guess the service standards are different in Saudi.


HANNA


I am a very honest person so you must believe me when I tell you that the majority of the staff that I had interactions with were sooooo nice!! They were all smartly dressed in their uniforms with pride, it was smiles and laughter all around when talking to them. I couldn't believe how polite they all were even when people were rushing and everything was becoming a bit hectic.

If I had to pick out a couple of things that I wasn't too happy with would probably be when we were on the aeroplane about halfway through the flight, one of the cabin crew hit the trolley/cart thing on my foot and it actually hurt. I don't know if she purposely did it and then smugly walked by without saying sorry or if it was a genuine accident and she didn't realise but either way, it still hurt.
Also on our journey back, I can't remember what I had specifically asked one of the cabin crew but all I remember was getting the rudest response back and then her giving me a dirty and walking away like nothing happened. But besides that, most of them were very helping and welcoming.




AEROPLANE




SHIROG


Saudi aeroplanes are great. Lots of leg room but I'm really short so... The seats were comfortable and they provided you with a tiny pillow and a blanket. These planes even have a prayer room! One thing that I really appreciated was all safety instructions were in both Arabic and English. I'm not sure if that's a legal requirement but I'm glad they did.

HANNA


Now we come on to the actual aeroplane itself, and I must say it was frigging goood!! I barely realised how quickly like 7/8 hours went by on one of the flights. It was all very clean which is something that should be expected (I'd be worried if it wasn't). On the seats, they had a fresh pair of headphones, a clean blanket and a back pillow just waiting for me which was great! And can I just comment on how soft the back pillow was like DAMN!!

I was actually very surprised at the wide selection of shows, movies and even music that they had on the TV's. It was suitable for all ages and would most likely fit anyone's taste. So whether you're into Disney films, comedy shows or even classical music they had it all. However, the actual sound quality coming from the headphones wasn't amazing and was quite crappy at times but overall, it could've been a lot worse, You could still understand what they were saying which is the important thing!

I know this may be slightly off-topic but I just have to mention it; there was a man sitting behind me and every bloody time he would open his bloody mouth it sounded as if he was shouting like dude chill...the...heck...down! It actually got quite annoying after a while but thankfully after a little bit, he did stop talking (or should I say shouting) and just watched stuff on his screen. But he wasn't as annoying as a woman on the next flight that decided she was going to move her seat right back so she can get comfortable and leave me with no room whatsoever and she didn't want to budge. I eventually had to ask her to move it a little forward to which she reluctantly agreed because honestly, there is something seriously wrong if you're so much into a persons personal space and you don't even realise.


Thank You For Reading! Hanna XD and Shirog <3

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