My Riyadh Air 787 Business Class Flight: Did It Live Up To The Hype?

Riyadh Air’s Boeing 787-9 business class on the six-hour Riyadh (RUH) to Madrid (MAD) flight delivered a strong first impression: striking cabin design, premium amenities and polished service, offset by a few early operational kinks. The flight featured Safran Unity staggered seats with doors, 22" 4K OLED monitors, complimentary Viasat Wi‑Fi that failed to work on this sector, and extensive bedding and amenity offerings from Saudi lifestyle brand Kayanee.

"CEO Tony Douglas has in the past described the interiors as being similar to a Maybach in terms of quality," the reviewer noted, adding that "All-in-all, for a startup airline, they’re definitely operating like pros."

The hard product won immediate praise. Riyadh Air’s business class was likened to "the best Boeing 787 business class interiors I’ve seen on any airline," combining elegant finishes, desert-inspired seat patterns and customized lighting settings. The carrier chose the Safran Unity platform—also used by Japan Airlines—which provides a staggered seat layout with doors and integrated headrest speakers that allow passengers to watch entertainment without headphones.

On the tech front, the seats include two USB‑C ports, one USB‑A port and an AC power outlet. The entertainment system includes an extensive map feature and a kids’ map variant, while the boarding music was singled out as particularly enjoyable (though the reviewer wished for a longer available clip than the 90‑second upload currently online).

• Aircraft and route: Boeing 787‑9, RUH–MAD, approximately six hours.
• Seat and cabin: Safran Unity staggered seats with doors; 22" 4K OLED displays; headrest speakers; no individual air nozzles.
• Connectivity: Free Viasat Wi‑Fi was advertised but "didn't work on my flight for the entire time," and communication from crew about the outage was limited.
• Amenities: Kayanee-branded lounge wear and slippers, amenity kit with Marvis toothpaste, oil for relaxation, two pillows, thick mattress pad and turndown service.
• Catering: Dine-on-demand service with a "Saudi Cocktail" (sparkling apple and mint), a beef pastrami panini and dessert trio as a snack, and a standout breakfast featuring a date and banana smoothie, za'atar labneh, marinated halloumi, shanklish and a highly praised scrambled egg shakshuka.

Service elements were largely positive—friendly crew, attentive turndown service and thoughtful touches such as a relaxing oil offered before sleep—but the reviewer flagged areas for improvement common to new carriers. The Viasat Wi‑Fi outage and what was described as occasionally inefficient service cadence were noted as fixable issues that should improve with operational maturity.

Looking ahead, Riyadh Air appears to have launched with a product that emphasizes luxury and thoughtful local touches, from cabin aesthetics to curated amenity partnerships. If the airline can resolve reliability items like onboard connectivity and tighten service flow, its business class offering could set a new standard on Dreamliners in the region and beyond.