Lufthansa747 From Philippines, joined May 1999, 3174 posts, RR: 47 Posted (4 years 11 months 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 16596 times:
I haven’t posted trip reports for a while, but here’s one I know at least some A.netters were looking forward to. I had a return to use from an Emirates ticket for FRA-BKK, so I needed to get somehow back to Europe. RJ was the cheapest opinion from BKK to FRA one way, and I would earn full mileage with AAdvantage for the trip.
Booking
Easily done on rj.com, Royal Jordanian uses the same online booking system as MH and until recently Cebu Pacific (switched to Navitaire). I don’t know what it is exactly, but certainly doesn’t seem like one of the major online booking interfaces such as Amadeus.
Anyway, it displays availability over a chosen period, has seat selection and spits out ticket numbers immediately after payment, so no complaints there.
Re-routing
While checking Expertflyer for availability two days before the flight, I noticed RJ181 said 1-stop next to it. Further investigation revealed it was scheduled as a fuel stop only, as there were no traffic rights for BKK-DOH or DOH-AMM. Our 4h20min connection at AMM was shortened to 3h05min.
18 February 2008
Bangkok Suvanrabhumi (BKK/VTBS) – Doha International (DOH/OTBD)
Royal Jordanian RJ/RJA 181
Airbus A310-304
JY-AGP [Delivered to Kenya Airways as 5Y-BEL 05/1986]
2315-0250+1 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 4J (Bulkhead)
We had arrived from CGK via KUL earlier, and had quite a few hours to spend at Suvarnabhumi. Maybe I’m overreacting to possible delays on Air Asia, but I simply don’t feel comfortable connecting from AK to a separate longhaul ticket with anything less than 4 hours.
Economy class lines were long before check-in had even opened, mostly the typical crowd one would expect on RJ. European backpackers mostly. Thanks to my AA status, we were able to check-in at the business class counter which was not signposted due to a faulty monitor… Does BKK ever get its act together? We got our boarding passes quickly and they made no fuss about the slightly overweight bags.
Nothing was said about the rerouting, but there was a sign “RJ181/18FEB reroute BKK-DOH-AMM due to refuel”. We were assigned first row of economy without requesting any seat change.
Immigration
Absolutely packed, as always with all the midnight departures to Europe, Middle East and North Asia. We went straight to the “Diplomatic/Official Passport” line as they allow families with small children to use it – waiting time about 2 minutes.
With no lounge access, we went to the restaurants in F concourse. I had a pizza from The Pizza Company, that pretty much saved the AMM layover later…
Boarding
RJ181 was departing from F3, very close to the abovementioned restaurants. Boarding started at around 11pm, and Crown class, status holders and families with infants were boarded first. Greeted by the purser at the door, I was glad to see the aircraft had the refurbished interior.
Seats/Cabin
Refurbished RJ A310-300s have lie-flat Recaro seats in Crown Class (same as LH C) and also Recaro seats in economy. The economy seats were some of the most comfortable I have tried, and legroom at the first row was excellent. The overhead bins were showing their age though, and hadn’t been touched during the refurbishment.
View of rows 4-5. Note the ancient IFE controls, the IFE wasn’t modified at all.
LCD screen on the bulkhead showing our route to Doha indeed
The captain briefly welcomed us onboard, and didn’t say a word about the Doha stop, almost as if it was a routine thing. Same thing with the purser’s announcement. RJ security personnel were very visible during and after boarding. They were just about the only people sitting in Crown Class, economy was about 60% full despite all classes being zeroed out two days earlier. Flying time of about 7h30min to Doha.
The four center seats remained empty until the purser brought somebody he clearly knew from the back into 5D. He spread out his things across the seats, obviously expecting a good night’s sleep. But the Thai flight attendant serving our aisle was determined our baby would sleep there as he’s too big for the bassinet these days. “Sir, these seats are now taken, please move your things”, and she then told us she had three seats for my wife and our son… Excellent service. The result was I had two seats to myself too…
Food, Service, IFE
We were pushed back on time, and took off without further delays. Dinner was served, along with drinks. There were two choices, but no menus were given out.
Beef with mashed potatoes, green salad, some cake
A rather simple and typical el-cheapo economy class meal, the “green salad” is a clear tip-off as far as I’m concerned. Premium airlines such as SQ, EK and TG always put some meat into the appetizer. The beef however was rather good. No drink refills whatsoever, and service could best be described basic and adequate.
With no IFE to speak of and the rather comfortable seats as far as Y goes, I was able to get quite some sleep, and only woke up as we were about to start our descent into Doha. Landing was around 0230 if I remember correctly, and we taxied to a remote stand. The RJ security guys sprung into action for whatever reason, and we were refuelled.
19 February 2008
Doha International (DOH/OTBD) – Amman Queen Alia International (AMM/OJAI)
Royal Jordanian RJ/RJA 181
Airbus A310-304
JY-AGP [Delivered to Kenya Airways as 5Y-BEL 05/1986]
0330-0630 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 4J (Bulkhead)
About 40 minutes after landing, we were on out way again. Flight time of about 2h40minutes to Amman. Instead of loading an extra meal, there was simply no meal service before landing at DOH, and only a continental breakfast was served on the almost three-hour flight to Amman. Very poor for a flight over 11 hours with the fuel stop. Service remained at the same level as BKK-DOH, practically non-existent at least from the local male crew.
Breakfast
Legroom on the A310-300
We landed at AMM around 6.30am, and by showing our boarding passes, were let into the transit area from arrivals/passport control.
Transit at Amman
The airport is a complete rathole, dirty, disgusting, lacks any facilities. The seating was uncomfortable, restaurants non-existent (Starbucks and some other café whose credit card terminal was broken). I was thankful I had a few slices of that pizza left… If it can be avoided, the toilets should not be visited at all.
Transit area and entrance to a RJ lounge (both of which I hear are very poor)
19 February 2008
Amman Queen Alia International (AMM/OJAI) – Frankfurt Main International (FRA/EDDF)
Royal Jordanian RJ/RJA 125
Airbus A320-232
F-OHGV [Delivered to Royal Jordanian 01/2006]
0935-1320 – On Time
Economy Class, Seat 8J
The gate finally opened about an hour before departure, and security screening is conducted at the entrance. Despite large posters claiming the opposite, a bottle of water went through just fine… This flight was scheduled as A321 but was changed to A320 later. All RJ A320s have new interiors while some A321s still have old.
F-OHGV seen through the AMM windows
Boarding
With a light load, a general boarding call only was made. Don’t think enforcing priority boarding would have made any difference as the load seemed to be about 60-70% despite the downgrade from A321 to A320. Crown Class was practically empty. The new interiors of RJ A320 series look nice, and have Recaro seats in both classes as well as AVOD. Legroom was excellent, perhaps around 34”.
Chicago-bound A340-200
Baghdad-bound Iraqi Airways B737-200
IFE
IFE is AVOD indeed, but not on the same level with ICE or Krisworld. However, there were enough options to keep you entertained for a few hours. The audio in my seat didn’t work properly, but as we had three seats to ourselves, I used the audio from the middle seat. Tricky with movies though, as both had to be started at the same time…
Cabin views
Weird lettering instead of ABC-DEF
Legroom
IFE boxes take lots of space
Crown Class
Service/Food
We were pushed back on time, and took off after the Iraqi Airways B737-200. Flight time to FRA was about 4h30min. A tasteless breakfast with no choice was served, and it was rather small as well. Service remained non-existent.
Outside views
Approaching Frankfurt
FRA T2
FRA T1
LH A340-300
UA 777-200
LH A300
We parked at a remote stand, and were bussed to T2. I took some photos of course…
Crown Class
Our aircraft
AeBal 717
Condor A320 taxiing
Baggage came relatively quickly unlike last time with EK in FRA T2, but customs was taking their time with various Russian arrivals whose belongings were checked. Without exception, only people with trashy looking bags or boxes were stopped…
We took a taxi to the Marriott Frankfurt where we spent 1 night before continuing to HEL.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 1, posted (4 years 11 months 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 16527 times:
Hi Lufthansa747,
excellent report, good to read something new from you after a while.
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): RJ was the cheapest opinion from BKK to FRA one way, and I would earn full mileage with AAdvantage for the trip.
Until recently RJ offered quite attractive fares to BKK and HKG from either MUC or FRA. Since we are planning a spotting trip in November we had considered flying RJ, but we didn't really like the long transfer times at AMM and the A310 on the long-haul leg. Now after reading your report, I'm glad we didn't book. Just after RJ, Air China had low fares, but their 763 and 744 on long-hauls? No thanks...
We decided to wait and check other carriers. However, we may choose RJ for the BKK-HKG sector. It's the cheapest option for about 116 Euro.
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): Maybe I’m overreacting to possible delays on Air Asia, but I simply don’t feel comfortable connecting from AK to a separate longhaul ticket with anything less than 4 hours.
Had exactly the same feeling when planning the Malaysia trip. It's not a big deal to buy a new AK flight if necessary, but missing the MH long-haul flight could be disaster...
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): Refurbished RJ A310-300s have lie-flat Recaro seats in Crown Class (same as LH C) and also Recaro seats in economy. The economy seats were some of the most comfortable I have tried, and legroom at the first row was excellent. The overhead bins were showing their age though, and hadn’t been touched during the refurbishment.
The seats look great, but they should have installed the new IFE, too. Aren't all three A310s already refurbished?
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): RJ security personnel were very visible during and after boarding.
How could you identify them?
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): The airport is a complete rathole, dirty, disgusting, lacks any facilities. The seating was uncomfortable, restaurants non-existent (Starbucks and some other café whose credit card terminal was broken). I was thankful I had a few slices of that pizza left… If it can be avoided, the toilets should not be visited at all.
The last old A321s left the fleet last week, so all A32X aircraft have the new interiors now.
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): IFE is AVOD indeed, but not on the same level with ICE or Krisworld. However, there were enough options to keep you entertained for a few hours.
Ronerone From Jordan, joined Aug 2004, 1541 posts, RR: 54 Reply 2, posted (4 years 11 months 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 16000 times:
Hey Lufthansa747. You finally posted this TR
Great pictures too.
It is actually surprising that you only got a continental breakfast on your DOH-AMM leg. RJ normally offers a 'Hot Light Meal' on all Gulf-AMM flights and in your case, it should have been a hot breakfast.
Perhaps that continental breakfast you were served is offered as the second meal on the non-stop BKK-AMM route, and they kept everything as-is in spite of the unscheduled tech-stop at DOH.
As for the refurbished A310's, they are a GREAT improvement over what they used to be, however i am not liking these new seats in the old interior of the A310. It's like installing lie-flats in a 707.
Thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Roni
A Stop Away From One-Stop, Is Non-Stop : Airbus A340-500
ClassicLover From Ireland, joined Mar 2004, 4522 posts, RR: 25 Reply 3, posted (4 years 11 months 3 days 9 hours ago) and read 15761 times:
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): Easily done on rj.com, Royal Jordanian uses the same online booking system as MH and until recently Cebu Pacific (switched to Navitaire). I don’t know what it is exactly, but certainly doesn’t seem like one of the major online booking interfaces such as Amadeus.
RJ are on Galileo (EI, UA) - so I imagine the online booking thing is something that comes with that. I'm familiar with it, but haven't used it to book anything. I always book my tickets with RJ via my travel agent.
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): Refurbished RJ A310-300s have lie-flat Recaro seats in Crown Class (same as LH C) and also Recaro seats in economy.
Yes, these are the same seats as EI C as well. I believe the Y seats are also the new EI A330 Y seats as well (Recaro also).
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): View of rows 4-5. Note the ancient IFE controls, the IFE wasn’t modified at all.
The only thing that was done with the IFE on the A310 was the provision of LCD screens all down the aircraft, rather than the previous ones.
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): Transit area and entrance to a RJ lounge (both of which I hear are very poor)
The lounge is very poor - one large TV, three computers and a woeful selection of drinks. However, the new RJ lounge was supposed to be open in April... then I e-mailed RJ marketing and was told June. So it's coming very soon, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was put back to July.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 1): but we didn't really like the long transfer times at AMM and the A310 on the long-haul leg
Actually, I don't mind them - if your layover in AMM is over 6 hours, you're put up at the airport hotel free of charge. Both my forthcoming layovers (to and from BKK) are over 6 hours, so I am looking forward to the break.
Last time I stopped in Jordan for three days - loved it!
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 1): The seats look great, but they should have installed the new IFE, too. Aren't all three A310s already refurbished?
All three of them are refurbished. The reason they didn't get new IFE was that the refurbishment was to take them up to only 2010-2011 before the 310s were replaced by 787s. I also imagine weight was a factor considering the long sectors the 310 is being used on at the moment!
I do quite enjoy a spot of flying - more so when it's not in Economy!
Aleksandar From Serbia, joined Jul 2000, 3229 posts, RR: 34 Reply 5, posted (4 years 11 months 3 days 4 hours ago) and read 15422 times:
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): I haven't posted trip reports for a while, but here's one I know at least some A.netters were looking forward to.
Here's one
I guess I said it before, but I really love RJ although I never flew with them. I guess this love goes back years ago and I can still remember their interesting office in Belgrade and a huge Tristar model there. Many years ago, RJ flew to Belgrade with that plane and it was nice to see it landing from my window. It definitely has something to do with their livery because it is one of my favourites. That's why I never miss a chance to read TRs from RJ flights and somehow they leave me a bit disappointed. It is beyond me why an airline with such a tradition, an amazing corporate image and strong local competition that offers so much doesn't move further in terms of in-flight service. Meals are not good, many passengers complain about delays and so on...Anyway, those narrowbodies do look very nice and it's good to see those new Recaro seats in A310-300. I hope this is just a beginning of improvements for RJ.
Thank you so much for a very interesting TR, Lufthansa747
Quoting Ronerone (Reply 2): i am not liking these new seats in the old interior of the A310.
I don't agree with you, my friend. First, being known as someone who chronically lives in the past, I still consider A310-300 as modern plane Also, every improvement is a good thing. What makes me wonder is how long will RJ keep those planes.
Airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 4015 posts, RR: 52 Reply 6, posted (4 years 11 months 2 days 22 hours ago) and read 15213 times:
Hi
an interesting report, for sure. Flying the A310 nowadays is getting more rare, seats look good. Sorry to see no IFE on this longer flight.
Instead, I'm very surprised to see IFE on the A320 series. This makes sense, as other companies (e.g. from Europe to AMM), don't offer IFE in the narrowbodies. People who try different carriers, might opt for RJ in the future...
Still, RJ is under par with some other oneworld partners, and needs a lot of improvement, also at AMM airport.
Thanks
Eric
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 6191 posts, RR: 79 Reply 7, posted (4 years 11 months 2 days 22 hours ago) and read 15209 times:
Quoting ClassicLover (Reply 3): Actually, I don't mind them - if your layover in AMM is over 6 hours, you're put up at the airport hotel free of charge. Both my forthcoming layovers (to and from BKK) are over 6 hours, so I am looking forward to the break.
Thanks for that info, interesting to know. How's that hotel like?
5YKQW From Kenya, joined Feb 2007, 44 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (4 years 11 months 2 days 20 hours ago) and read 15084 times:
nice to see the ex-KQ A310 still flying now in the colours of Royal Jordanian. I flew it as a student in the early 1990s from NBO to LHR. Don't remember the LCD screens or route-map though.
Maxisno1 From New Zealand, joined Jul 2007, 212 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (4 years 11 months 2 days 14 hours ago) and read 14825 times:
Fantastic trip report, sad to hear it was a bad experience though! It is mind boggling to me seeing brand new AVOD & lie-flat seats in an A310! Glad to see they will be around for a little while longer.
CityofAthens From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 10, posted (4 years 11 months 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 14648 times:
Thanks very much for taking the time to write up your experiences on RJ ... having travelled a little in the Middle East (and on some Middle Eastern carriers) your comments were quite amusing - you gave the impression you were somehow expecting something comparable to EK or SQ
I'm sorry you were disappointed of course, but I could have warned you what somewhere like AMM, DAM or even RUH (and SV) would be like ... there is definitely a different attitude towards 'service' amongst some Gulf carriers ... even GF inflight service has gone down a steep hill ... RJ may be in Oneworld but as we know, comparable inflight service standards are not necessarily the priority
Jordan has some genuinely spectacular sights, unfortunately Amman (and its airport) are not amongst them
ClassicLover From Ireland, joined Mar 2004, 4522 posts, RR: 25 Reply 11, posted (4 years 11 months 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 14369 times:
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 6): Instead, I'm very surprised to see IFE on the A320 series. This makes sense, as other companies (e.g. from Europe to AMM), don't offer IFE in the narrowbodies.
RJ also have the same IFE in their E-195 and new E-175 aircraft.
As all of the narrowbodies are new, they all have the new IFE. It bodes well for the future - RJ is obviously in the throes of transitioning to a very high quality carrier.
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 6): Still, RJ is under par with some other oneworld partners, and needs a lot of improvement, also at AMM airport.
Apparently Queen Alia International Airport is being upgraded.
I would say that RJ are much better than many of the oneworld carriers in Y and J regionally... they're better than IB, AA, BA, and QF in Y for the PTVs on all aircraft. I disagree with your comment that RJ is "under par".
The IFE on their A340s and A310s is, but these aircraft are being replaced with Boeing 787s. It makes no sense to spend lots of money on these aircraft when they only have 2 to 4 years left in the fleet (depending on the 787 delivery).
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 7): Thanks for that info, interesting to know. How's that hotel like?
Basic - it's a three star and not exactly ultra modern. I've only seen a picture of it on someone else's report on another site. It looked adequate, but I wouldn't stay there if you were visiting Jordan (which I highly recommend!)
Quoting CityofAthens (Reply 10): RJ may be in Oneworld but as we know, comparable inflight service standards are not necessarily the priority
The Crown Class service on RJ is exceptional, I might add. I'm flying them again in two weeks, so keep an eye out for the report.
I do quite enjoy a spot of flying - more so when it's not in Economy!
Talking to the crew and "busy"until doors were closed. And if I remember correctly, also doing random checks in the jetway.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 1): The last old A321s left the fleet last week, so all A32X aircraft have the new interiors now.
Good to hear.
Quoting Ronerone (Reply 2): Perhaps that continental breakfast you were served is offered as the second meal on the non-stop BKK-AMM route, and they kept everything as-is in spite of the unscheduled tech-stop at DOH.
Indeed it was kept as-is, pretty poor IMO.
Quoting ClassicLover (Reply 3): The only thing that was done with the IFE on the A310 was the provision of LCD screens all down the aircraft
True, I realized it after I posted the report.
Quoting UAL757 (Reply 4): The seats look a lot like Virgin America's!
They are probably the same Recaro seats.
Quoting Maxisno1 (Reply 9): brand new AVOD & lie-flat seats in an A310!
There is no AVOD on the A310, even in J unfortunately.
Quoting CityofAthens (Reply 10): you gave the impression you were somehow expecting something comparable to EK or SQ
Actually I wasn't... It was better than expected, I planned an overnight at FRA for example for possible delays.
BA319-131 From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2001, 8267 posts, RR: 56 Reply 14, posted (4 years 10 months 4 weeks 10 hours ago) and read 13735 times:
Hi Lari,
Good to see one of your reports again, been too long, welcome back!
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): I simply don’t feel comfortable connecting from AK to a separate longhaul ticket with anything less than 4 hours.
- Think I'd feel the same, on pretty much any LCC flight.
Quoting Lufthansa747 (Thread starter): The four center seats remained empty until the purser brought somebody he clearly knew from the back into 5D. He spread out his things across the seats, obviously expecting a good night’s sleep. But the Thai flight attendant serving our aisle was determined our baby would sleep there as he’s too big for the bassinet these days. “Sir, these seats are now taken, please move your things”, and she then told us she had three seats for my wife and our son… Excellent service. The result was I had two seats to myself too…
- Nice touch, have heard some bad things about travelling in RJ economy.
The airport is a complete rathole, dirty, disgusting, lacks any facilities. The seating was uncomfortable, restaurants non-existent (Starbucks and some other café whose credit card terminal was broken). I was thankful I had a few slices of that pizza left… If it can be avoided, the toilets should not be visited at all.
- Sounds like a pretty nasty place to spend time, and I thought AUH was bad!
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Also, every improvement is a good thing. What makes me wonder is how long will RJ keep those planes.
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