Saudia Announces Birmingham & London Gatwick Boeing 787 Flights

Saudia has announced and put on sale Jeddah to both Birmingham and London Gatwick. Both were expected to begin. With six routes, the Middle East giant will now serve four UK airports – Birmingham, Gatwick, Heathrow, and Manchester. Its UK operation has grown considerably recently, although in time, Riyadh – now with triple daily Heathrow flights – will inevitably shift to startup Riyadh Air.

Saudia to Birmingham

While Saudia previously revealed the UK Midlands city as a targeted destination, flights are now on sale and details are known. Beginning on July 2nd, it will operate three weekly by the 298-seat 787-9. It is scheduled as follows, with all times local:

Jeddah to Birmingham: SV251, 08:10-13:00 (6h 20m) Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays
Birmingham to Jeddah: SV250, 14:30-22:40 (6h 10m); Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays

Click here for Birmingham-Jeddah flights.

Image: GCMap.

The route will target visiting friends and relatives and religious traffic. As well as the point-to-point Birmingham-Jeddah market, including for the Hajj (June 26th-July 1st this year), Saudia will mainly target Birmingham-Pakistan (massively impacted by the continued absence of Pakistan International) and wider Saudi Arabia. Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and others will be important too. They are, of course, also key targets for Emirates and Qatar Airways, with Saudia seemingly competing more on price.

Click here for Birmingham-Islamabad flights.

Saudia to Gatwick

Launching on June 1st, Gatwick has presumably been added because of a lack of Heathrow slots. The brand-new route will initially be six weekly (no Wednesdays), but will rise to daily in August. Like Birmingham, it'll use 787-9s and target the same countries. Saudia's website shows that Gatwick isn't (yet?) bookable this winter, but Birmingham is.

Jeddah to Gatwick: SV119, 09:05-13:30 (6h 25m); daily (Wednesdays from August)
Gatwick to Jeddah: SV120, 14:55-23:05 (6h 10m) daily (Wednesdays from August)

Click here for Gatwick-Jeddah flights.

Photo: Mehmet Mustafa Celik via Wikimedia.

Middle East to Birmingham/Gatwick

Saudia will be the third Middle East airline to Birmingham this summer, joining Emirates and Qatar Airways. Between them, they'll have up to four flights.

On August 13th, for example, they'll arrive at 12:25 (Dubai; A380), 13:00 (Jeddah; 787-9), 13:15 (Doha; 787-8), and 19:40 (Dubai; 777-300ER). Birmingham will simultaneously have Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Saudia on the ground. The A380 returns to Birmingham on July 1st.

Stay aware: Sign up for my weekly new routes newsletter.

Gatwick will now have eight daily Middle East flights. There's Emirates triple daily, Qatar Airways double daily, British Airways to Doha daily (feeding oneworld partner Qatar Airways), Wizz Air UK to Tel Aviv daily, and now Saudia daily.

On August 13th, they'll arrive at 01:30 (Tel Aviv); 06:20 (BA Doha; 777-200ER), 06:45 (Doha; 787-8), 07:20 (Dubai; A380), 12:35 (Dubai; A380), 13:15 (Doha; 787-8), 13:30 (Jeddah; 787-9), and 19:45 (Dubai; A380)