There have been several announcements from Gulf airlines as the Arabian travel market is now underway. Etihad Airways unveiled the interior of its new Boeing 787, flydubai unveiled its new Boeing 737 MAX business class, and Saudia unveiled its familiar new narrow-body business class offering.
Saudia Introduces Vantage SOLO Seats on A321XLR
In one context, Saudia has ordered 15 Airbus A321XLRs, Airbus’ new long-range narrow-body jets. The plane, which he expects to enter service in 2024, is what many airlines are hoping for given its economy and range. For Saudia, the airline will use these planes to destinations in Europe, the Indian subcontinent and Africa, including Barcelona, Brussels, Milan, Rome, Dakar and the Maldives.
SkyTeam airlines are currently clearly What products can passengers expect on these planes? Specifically, Saudia plans to introduce Thompson VantageSOLO products on his A321XLR. These seats are completely flat with direct aisle access. Otherwise, Saudia hasn’t shared too many details about the new product, but there are some pictures below.
It’s great to see Saudia investing in premium cabin products.It’s great to see airlines start installing flatbeds in narrow-body aircraft as they introduced Collins Aerospace Diamond seats on their A320s. It was 2018. Now this airline has greatly improved their product.
Yes this is the same product that JetBlue has
Saudia’s new business class offering should be familiar, as the VantageSOLO seats are exactly what JetBlue chose for the new Mint offering found on all A321LRs and some A321neos. So you can expect the products to be pretty much the same, except for the customized finishes.
It’s worth highlighting that the cabin mockup that Saudia is using for its new business class cabin is for bulkhead seats, which feature more space. JetBlue sells this as the Mint Studio due to the amount of seating available and there is an additional charge for allocating seats.
The standard business class seats, known as Mint Suites, aren’t as spacious, but they’re still great.
This is as good as any narrow-bodied business class product in use today. However, it’s worth noting that other very good products will be introduced soon, for example Safran’s VUE product (debuted on the FlyDubai Boeing 737 MAX), given its reverse herringbone configuration, many I think people will like it.
Conclusion
Saudia has announced plans to introduce VantageSOLO seats on the next Airbus A321XLR. This is a cutting-edge new narrowbody his jet with incredible range, so it’s no surprise that airlines want to introduce a more competitive business-class offering.
Saudia’s new business class is identical to JetBlue’s new Mint range, except for the finish, so I’m looking forward to this one (well, if you’re looking to fly Saudia).
What are your thoughts on Saudia’s new A321XLR business class?
