A Tale of Two Middle East Airlines: RJ and GF

[Carfield]

A Tale of Two Middle East Airlines
Part One: Royal Jordanian Airlines

Introduction:
Another new set of trip report! I have the fortune to fly on two Middle Eastern Airlines earlier this month, and Part one will cover my first flight with Royal Jordanian Airlines. Part two will cover Gulf Air’s wet lease of Jet Airways’ Boeing777-300ER service to Kuala Lumpur.

Royal Jordanian Airlines has always been a mysterious airline and the past comments had mostly been negative, but for the past decade, the airline seems to have turnaround and become a new force. It has joined the Oneworld Alliance last year, which gives me an additional incentive to fly it, as well as its recent inaugural service to Hong Kong in 2008 has increased its profile. The two flights that I flew were covered by my RTW flight that started in Seoul, and later in the summer, I have another two segments to write about. Hopefully, they are as great as the two flights that I am about to write about. I can’t imagine any airline that will invest so much money on these narrow-bodies, and the interior is modern, stylish and simple. The catering is beyond excellent for these medium haul flights, and even Cathay Pacific cannot live up to it, not to mention AA or BA. Amman Airport is not a huge or modern airports like Dubai or Doha, but the Crown Class lounge is excellent in anyway. I apologize in advance for the lack of photos at Amman Airport, as most of you know that photography is quite sensitive in the Middle East. There is an air martial on board each RJ flight, so I have to be discrete in some ways. Those apron pictures at Amman are taken in discretion and I will not encourage anyone to do so. Cabin pictures are fine, but of course I will be more discrete. I don’t think photographing the aircraft doors, equipments or galley will be smart move. The cabin and seats are fine, as well as the meals. Just use your common sense!

Flights:
June 2, 2009
RJ 126 FRA-AMM Lv1420 Arr1945 Airbus A319-100 JY-AYL “Mafraq”
And
June 3, 2009
RJ 600 AMM-MCT Lv0700 Arr1120 Embraer EMB-175 JY-EMD “Dana”

Photo Album link:
For those who don’t want to read:-
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqN5Q (RJ 126 full album)
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqN9A (RJ 600 full album)

Check-in:
Frankfurt:
I arrived Frankfurt on CX 289, which was landed on 5:40am, and had an eight hours layover. I tried to get the onward boarding pass at HKG, which was possible; however due to the long transit, CX agent could not print it out. So I assume it is possible for through check-in on oneworld airlines. Anyway, I decide to clear immigration and custom at Frankfurt and head towards the observation deck of Terminal Two. The observation deck did not open till 10am so I settled in the atrium area attached to McDonald and just waited it out. During the many hours, I accidentally came across with “operational FDIS” information screen at the kiosk and got many interesting information. I also checked which aircraft would operate my flight and there was no delay this morning. Amazing!

Unfortunately Frankfurt check-in counters did not open till two and half hours prior to departure, which was very late in my opinion. Three and half hours prior to departure time were minimal, and opening four hours prior is more appropriate. There was one line for Crown Class (Business) passengers, and two lines for economy. I was the first one to get checked in, and the staff was friendly, polite and efficient. She even printed out the onward boarding pass from Amman to Muscat for next morning, so I could have an extra thirty minutes of sleep that evening. She immediately let me know the RJ uses Delta’s Crown Club, and told me where it is. Nothing to fault about!

Amman:
Crown Club has a separate entrance on the left side of the terminal building, and the check-in area was arranged like a typical premium check-in facilities with comfortable chairs on the side. The agent glanced my onward boarding pass to Muscat and immediately directed me to the immigration counter. Yes, you have a private immigration counter, and then there is a security checkpoint to enter the terminal building. There is another more proper security stations as you enter the gate.

[Carfield]

Lounge:
Frankfurt:
Maybe you can all answer these questions: I should perhaps have gone to the BA Terrace Lounge. However I find it strange that a fellow oneworld alliance partner will choose to use a Skyteam lounge, instead of a fellow OW lounge. Anyway, the Delta’s Crown Club is very quiet this afternoon, as all the other Delta flights have left, and only an Aeroflot flight to Moscow had passengers. Basic lounge facilities – self-service food (there is a cold cut and cheese plate with bread, and other assorted snacks like chips, pretzels and mixed nuts), and also a self-service alcoholic and non-alcoholic bar, with coffee machines. There is no free wifi, but two computers with Internet connections are available on the business center.

Amman:
Being the hub lounge, the RJ lounge at Amman is very nice, and the décor is modern and stylish with cream-colored furniture and many stylish vases and table decorations. There is a dining room area, and a row of individual television stations, so you can pick your own TV stations and not disturbed other passengers. There is also a bar area, and lots of natural light coming through the window wall overlooking the South Terminal, dominated by views of RJ’s modern fleet. There is a self-serving non-alcoholic beverage bar, and a separate attended alcoholic bar. There is a full continental breakfast spread, as well as some warmed bread Middle Eastern style. I did not turn on my computer, so not sure if there is free wifi. However there is a full business center with Internet-connected computers. The attendants are all friendly and they will announce boarding. However I recommend heading out to gates a bit earlier if permitted.

Boarding:
Frankfurt
Unfortunately the boarding experience proved to be the low point during the whole trip. The inbound arrived early but boarding did not begin till 1:56pm. We were fortunate enough to have a jet bridge gate, D5, but the agent first boarded the wheel-chaired passenger (but she managed to miss one of them), and families with small children. Then she totally forget to board J and priority passengers and jumped to Y passengers sitting the in aft. I was not bothered by it, and as I tried to board, she nodded but the problem was at the jet bridge. There were apparently some problems at the gate, and all the passengers except the wheelchair passenger were held at the entry point of the jet bridge. No one was able to say why. So everyone was stuck at a very warm jet bridge for ten minutes. The station manager did not seem to know what is going on or even care about it. Fortunately, things became better once on board, and the Thai F/A immediately offered me newspapers, opened the overhead bin for me to store things, headsets and offered pre-takeoff beverage, which includes orange juice, apple juice, mango juice, tomato juice or water.

Amman:
Nothing much can write about the boarding experience. I was the last passenger, as the lounge attendant did not announce boarding till 6:45am. By the time I passed the security checkpoint, it was cutting close (but I will report back next time if there is priority boarding). I boarded the bus with the air martial and headed towards the plane. The loading was quite low and the EMB-175 was more than appropriate for this flight. J had two passengers and the service was very attentive. I was offered a pre-takeoff beverage and the F/A, Miriam, passed out menus and newspapers. However, people seem to be quite orderly at both Frankfurt and Amman.

Plane-spotting:
Frankfurt (June 2, 2009):
QF 744 VH-OJE and VH-OJU – apparently OJE was grounded at Frankfurt the previous night
Qatar Airways’ Airbus A330-200 A7-ACH
Gulf Air’s Airbus A340-300 A9C-LI to BAH as GF 16
Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 9V-SMU to Frankfurt, and 9V-SPO to Singapore
Emirates’ Boeing 777-300ER A6-ECA
Asiana’s Boeing 777-200ER HL7742
Korean Air’s Boeing 747-400 HL7498
ANA’s Boeing 747-400 JA8097
Japan Air Lines’ Boeing 777-300ER JA736J
Thai Airways’ Boeing 747-400 HS-TGM (First BKK flight) and HS-TGR (Second BKK flight)

Amman (June 3, 2009):
RJ 342 JY-AIC
RJ EMB-190 JY-EMB
RJ Airbus A319 JY-AYG Oneworld

[Carfield]

Flight Information:
RJ 126 was able to close early despite the chaotic boarding process. We pushed back at 2:23pm, and taxied towards R/W18. We took off at 2:47pm, and flying time was four hours and four minutes: The routing first took us over Augsburg, as we climbed to 35,000feet, which was our selected attitude. We passed Altdorf, Linz, Burgenland, Szeged, Arad, Bucharest, Burgas, Ankara, Adana, and Hamah, before our descent towards Amman. Descent began at 7:32pm local Amman time, and gear down at 7:49pm, and we landed on R/W26R at 7:51pm, and parked at Bay 18 at 7:59pm. Crown Class passengers got our own bus to the terminal.

RJ 600 closed its door at 7:05am, and pushed back from bay 14 at 7:12am. We taxied towards R/W26R at 7:17am. We took off at 7:25am. Flying time was two hours and fifty minutes but no routing information due to pilots not making too much announcement and no sky map. The F/A announced our cruising attitude of 35,000feet, but I could not verify it. Descent began at 10:56am Muscat time, and we landed on R/W8 at 11:15am, and parked at a remote stand at 11:19am.

Seats:
RJ really offers superior business class seats on these narrow-body planes, and both Airbus A319 and EMB-175 had these gray-colored seats with cream-colored headrest. The Airbus A319 seats are a bit wider and well padded. The seats are arranged in a four abreast configuration. Both aircraft offered a proper adjustable headrest and leg rest, as well an electrical universal outlet, which is unexpected especially on EMB-175. Seat pitch is about 42 inches on both aircraft. Airbus A319 has personal TV (and yes “On Demand” too). Both seats are comfortable for medium haul flights. The décor is modern and stylish.

Flight Attendants:
Both flights feature great F/As in business class. One F/A is in galley and the other one serves the cabin. The service takes quite a while, especially trolley service for both main course and dessert on the Airbus A319 plane. They are more than happy to accommodate any needs and my tea was refilled with a fresh glass each time. You are more than welcomed to use the call button if needed. Out of all the Middle Eastern airlines (and to my extent the global scene), its F/As are ranked high among the Qatar, CX, and Singapore Airlines league. I am actually looking forward to the Amman to JFK segment in late August, and see how its long haul flights will perform.

Entertainment:
There are more than enough options to keep you entertained. The Universal electrical outlet allows you to work through the flight, as well as using your laptop and your own entertainment units. The personal television system on the A319s is on demand and there are a fair number of movies and television programs to keep you occupied (and personally will like to see more sitcoms from the US and UK). For the EMB-175, Crown/Business Class passengers will receive their own entertainment units –same kind used by American Airlines on its transcontinental Boeing 767-200ER between JFK and LAX/SFO in its first and business class. It has the same movies, televisions and news programs as its A319 personal entertainment units. It also has a few games options.

Catering and amenities:
Catering is amazing and the main meal service from FRA to AMM starts from a beverage and fancy mixed nuts service. Appetizer and salad was first served, followed by entrees served from the trolley, just like traditional first class. You can pick any entrée and any side dishes. Cheese and crackers are pre-plated with bread, such as Brie cheese and crackers. Dessert trolley features a huge amount of pastries choices, as well as fruit baskets. On the EMB-175, the hot breakfast was served in two full courses – fruit and Middle Eastern cheese and spread, and then entrée served in a casserole. The food is just amazing and the omelette is very fluffy and you can assume RJ uses the most advanced French steamed ovens on its premium class cabin galleys. Its meals are definitely better than British Airways, and to some extent, better than Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines. American Airlines just can’t compete especially on its transcontinental US premium flights, and the medium haul flights. Breadbaskets all come with at least five to six different kinds.

Amenity wise – RJ has an amenity kit for the FRA to AMM flight, which is very basic. I am not sure if the long haul flight will have the same amenity kit, but at least it has something for a relatively short flight. The amenity kit is just a small pouch with toothbrush sets and basic amenities – a bit better than CX or SQ economy kit, but nothing like CX amenity kit or even AA or NW amenity kits. Regardless that amenity kit certainly beats what Gulf Air attempts to pass as “amenity kit” on an eight hours flight in a real first class cabin.

[Carfield]

Here is the wine list and menu transcript:
Wine list
Champagne
Moet & Chandon Champagne Brut Imperial

White Wines
Grands Vins de Jordanie
Machareus
Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc
Or
Laroche Chablis 2007 (1st to 15th of each month)
Mapu Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay 2005 (Chile) (16th to the end of each month)

Red Wines
Grands Vins de Jordanie
Vin D’Ammon
Merlot-Cinsault
Or
Hazendal Shiraz Stellenbosch 2003 (1st to 15th of each month)
Calvet Reserve Merlot Bordeaux 2005 (16th to the end of each month)

Soft Drinks
Orange, Apple
Mango, Tomato, Guava

Pepsi Cola, Diet Pepsi
Seven-Up, Diet Seven-Up

Tonic, Soda
Bitter lemon, Ginger Ale
Perrier, Mineral water

Beer
Amstel
Henninger

Aperitifs
Martini Sweet & dry
Campari
Johnny Walker Black Label
Gordon’s Gin
Absolut Vodka

Liqueurs
Cointreau
Drambuie
Bailey’s Irish Cream
Cognac X.O. or V.S.O.P.
Fine Port Wine

Menu
RJ 126 Frankfurt to Amman
June 2, 2009

Lunch/Dinner
Appetizers or Soup
Grilled Chicken Breast
Potato Pesto Salad
Sliced Salmon
Or
Soup of the day
(Vegetarian soup – Lentil Soup)

Salad
Seasonal Mixed Salad

Main Course
Lamb Noisette with Coriander Sauce
Chicken Breast with Cream Calvados Sauce
Pike Perch Fish with Smoked Fish Sauce
Yellow Pasta with Broccoli & Chive Cream Sauce

Buttered Garden Vegetables
Croquette Potatoes
Basmati Rice with Saffron

Cheese & Fruit
French Cheese – Pre-packaged Brie on the bread plate
Fresh Fruit Basket - apples, bananas, kiwi, grapes (red & white), plum, & strawberries

Desserts
Selection of Desserts - fruit tart, ice cream cake, mocha mousse, or cheesecake

FRA HMM CYCLE 3 (1-15 FEB/APR/JUN/AUG/OCT/DEC)

RJ 600
Amman to Muscat

Hot Breakfast
Energizer Drink
Orange Juice

Fresh Fruit Salad

Walnut Labaneh Balls
Edam & Halloumi Cheese

Salmon Omelette
Mushroom Oregano Quiche

Chicken Sausages
Croquette Potatoes
Grilled Tomato
Butter – Preserves – Natural Honey

Croissant
Assorted Bread Basket

AMM HBP CYCLE 3 (1-15 FEB/APR/JUN/AUG/OCT/DEC)

[Carfield]

Arrival:
At Amman, Crown Class passengers got your own bus to the terminal from the bay, but at Muscat, everyone shares the same bus – not sure if it is because Amman is its hub or not.

In conclusion, Royal Jordanian Airlines is an impressive airline. Catering is wonderful and its F/As are excellent. The décor of its cabin are stylish and represents the desire of the airline to become world class. Amenity kit/pack is appreciated on the medium segment. Real printed menus are passed out on both flights, and yes the F/As will collect them towards the end of the flight, but you are more than welcomed to keep them. You should put away the menu shortly after the meal service.

[Carfield]

Part Two: Gulf Air

Part Two: Gulf Air – another world and an affordable way to fly “Jet Airways” First Class

Introduction:
Gulf Air is a very different airline compared to Qatar Airways as well as Emirates Airlines. I am not saying that service is poor, and indeed the mix Arabic, Asian, and European crews are able to work in a team and give very consistent service. The long haul segment is slightly better, as expected, and not to mention in “first class”. It is fairly consistent with the reports at various travel sites. Food is another highlight and the Sky Chef programs are very successful. However, amenities are definitely lacking and there is no proper amenity kit or pajama/night ware service on a seven hours overnight flight.

Flights:
June 3, 2009
GF 553 MCT-BAH Lv1335 Arr1405 Airbus A320-200 A9C-EJ
GF 280 BAH-KUL Lv2040 Arr0940+1 Boeing 777-300ER VT-JEJ

Photo link:
GF 553 - http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqN_I
GF 280 - http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqOAI (full album)

Check-in:
I transited through Muscat and the transit process at MCT was fairly straightforward. The airport was simple enough to navigate. The Filipino ground staffs at the transit desks are polite.

Lounge:
Muscat
Gulf Air uses Oman Air lounge at Muscat, which is fairly simple and classic. The lounge has a fairly Arabic them, as well as no natural lights with no windows. There is a full cold salad and sandwich bar, accompanied with tomato soup, chicken pie (warm), and beef kebab, as well as a full alcoholic and non-alcoholic bar.

Bahrain:
Gulf Air’s main hub results in a very nice lounge. The first class section is not huge, but sufficient for GF’s relatively limited first class offering. The lounge is a full service lounge and there are waiters to attend to your beverage and food needs. It has lots of natural light with wide windows that result in a nice day of planespotting. I have six hours sitting that at Bahrain Airport, and saw many Gulf Air and special Middle Eastern airlines that I don’t see normally in the US or Asia. I saw all three Gulf Air painted Boeing 777-300ERs, as well as a fourth one painted in Jet Airways color. The lounge attendants are very nice and they left you enough room of privacy. There is a full beverage bar, as well as a buffet bar. For lunch, there are three warm dishes – Chicken with chilies, meatballs, and a Vegetarian curry, as well as some side dishes such as basmati rice, grilled vegetables, and cheese puff. There is also tomato soup. For dinner, I was impressed that Gulf Air changes all the soup options and dishes. Dinner entrees include lamb cutlets, salmon steak, and vegetable curry, as well as two kinds of soups – lentil soup and Cream of Chicken and sweet corn soup. For lunch, the sweet selection limited to sliced pound cakes, but at dinner times, it features a few more real pastries, such as cheesecakes. The lounge is very spacious even during the late afternoon rush and evening rush hours. There is complimentary wifi, but the connection is very poor. I gave up after thirty minutes. The plane scenes kept me busy. The staffs are friendly and helpful.

Boarding:
GF 553 used gate 1 for boarding, and business class passengers (two of us) had our own personal bus. I was surprised that Gulf Air used a separate bus for the premium passengers. However, they do not have priority boarding. The first bus that left was basically all economy class passengers, and I was not sure if the other J passenger was not in the gate hold area yet, so they waited for him. Anyway, it is strange to have one big bus for only two of us. After boarding, we were immediately offered a choice of OJ or water, as well as a choice of hot or cold towels, which both of us chose cold towels, as the weather was hot (40 degrees Celsius) and then a choice of English and Arabic newspapers.

At Bahrain, the boarding process was more straightforward, as gate 15 has its own jet bridge. Unfortunately, there is no “priority boarding” lane, like other airports. I think it is possible, as there are two lanes and gate agents scanning passport and boarding passes. Not sure if priority boarding is announced, but boarding started at 8pm, as indicated at the boarding pass. Anyway, VT-JEJ has arrived BAH four hours ago. Anyway, the mood changed once I was onboard. The First Class F/A immediately escorted me to the seat, and plugged in the noise-canceling headsets. My pre-takeoff beverage order was taken and offered with cashews. Newspapers are offered soon followed by both hot and cold towels. The Jet Airways F/A (only one I saw) also welcomed me and I only note that he was 9W because he wore the 9W uniform. There was no PJ or proper amenity kit, except a socks/eyeshades/ear plugs kit on the entertainment and reading material drawer. After the other first class passenger arrived, Arabic coffee and dates are offered. The Sky Chef, Nicholas, and the first class purser, Marie (?) came by with their greetings and both were French.

Plane-spotting:
Bahrain –
GF 77W VT-JEG – heading to Riyadh as GF 161, and landed back at BAH at 6:54pm, before heading back out to BKK
GF 343 A9C-LJ – GF 006 to LHR
SV MD-90 HZ-APR – arrive from RYD as SV 520 and returned to Riyadh as SV 521
GF 77W VT-JEJ arrived from MNL as GF 155, and later brought me to KUL as GF 280
EK 332 A6-EKX – arrived from Dubai as EK 839 and back to DXB as EK 840
Air Arabia Airbus A320-200 A6-ABM as G9 105 from Sharjah
Ethiad’s Airbus A319-100 A6-EID – Arriving from Abu Dhabi as EY 375 and back to ABU as EY 376
Egypt Air Boeing 737-500 SU-GBL – Egypt Air flight 920/1 to and from Cairo
Saudia Air’s EMB-175 HZ-AEL – SV 526 and 527 to and from Jeddah
Gulf Air’s Airbus A340-300 A9C-LB – GF 263 to Riyadh
Jet Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER VT-JEK – GF 154 to Manila
Gulf Air’s Boeing 777-300ER VT-JEH as GF 508 to Dubai
British Airways’ Boeing 747-400 G-BNLP to Doha as BA 125
Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 777-200 B-HNA back to Riyadh and Hong Kong as CX 732

Kuala Lumpur –
Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 777-300 B-HNP from PEN and to HKG as morning flight to HKG
Malaysian Airlines’ Boeing 777-200ER 9M-MRF as MH 129 to Melbourne
Malaysian Airlines’ Boeing 777-200ER 9M-MRD as MH 125 to Perth
Malaysian Airlines’ Boeing 747-400 9M-MPQ as MH 004 to London Heathrow
Malaysian Airlines’ Airbus A330-300 9M-MKH as MH 715 to Denpasar
Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777-200ER 9V-SRD to SIN as 10:30am/ 9V-SRG to SIN as 1:30pm

[Carfield]

Flight Information:
Gulf Air’s on time reliability has always been my main concern. I had a choice of GF 150 to BKK or GF 280 to KUL, and both flights were operated by 9W 77Ws, and the flying time was similar with same catering. However, flightstats.com pointed to the dismal on time record of GF 150, so I decided to stick with a more reliable GF 280. Fortunately both flights had a late start due to different reasons, and ended up on time or even early at KUL.

GF 553 boarded on time and the door was closed at 1:29pm. However, it was stuck at Muscat due to the closure of Bahrain airport because of some VIP movement. President Obama was arriving at Riyadh and I assume the airspace was closed briefly. The F/As immediately offered more drinks for two of us in business class, as well as showing half an episode of “E Television Special: World’s Most Expensive.” Finally at 1:48pm, the engines had restarted, and taxied towards R/W8. We took off at 1:55pm. Flying time was an hour and fifteen minutes, and without sky map, I have no idea about our route information. Descent began at 12:42pm (Bahrain was an hour behind of Muscat), and we landed at R/W30R on 2:10pm and parked at gate 15 five minutes later.

GF 280 pushed back at 8:48pm, as BAH was very busy at the 8 to 9pm period. All four GF 77W flights departed between 8 and 9pm to BKK, KUL, MNL, and DXB. Following GF 77W VT-JEK to DXB, Jazerra Airbus A320, Yemenia’s Boeing 737-800 Winglet, GF 77W VT-JEG to BKK, and Oman Air’s Boeing 737-800 Winglet to Muscat, we took off from R/W30R at 9:12pm. Flying time was seven hours and one minute. We first climbed to 35,000feet, and then headed towards Sharjah/Dubai, Fujarah, and then into Arabian Sea, and then into India – cities of Mumbai (south), Sangli, Bjapur, Adoni, and Nelloye (North of Chennai), before climbing to 37,000feet as we entered Andaman Sea, and then Nicobar Islands, and traveled along the western coast of Malaysia. Descent began at 8:47am, and then we landed on R/W32L at 9:13pm, and parked at gate C32 at 9:22am.

Seats:
Well Gulf Air’s A320 is nothing special to talk about. It has four rows of seats in grey colored cloth, and all the controls are manual. There is a legrest, but no adjustable headrest. Seat pitch is still forty inches, which is still more generous than US airlines. The seats are reasonable comfortable for a ninety minutes flight, but can’t imagine flying it on a longer flight. The light load allows me an empty seat or half the cabin, which is fine.

The highlight of the flight is the opportunity to experience Jet Airways’ first class suites of Boeing 777-300ER, without the expensive price tag. I don’t think I need to say much, but the suites are very nicely designed. Each seat has numerous closet spaces – one for hanging coats and placing shoes, one side storage bin for perhaps laptop, and then another storage bin for reading materials, entertainment system headsets, headsets, amenity packs, and light items. The side tray has a large surface and it can handle beverages and light snacks. The ottoman can be used as a seat for companion and the space underneath can handle a duffel bag or laptop bag. There is no overhead bin but there are lockers for roller on suitcases. There is a door that can be manually open and close. The door can be locked at the OPEN position during takeoff and landing.

For adjustment and lighting of the suites, you can use the seat control unit console. They are all electronically adjusted. There are also four pre-set positions that can be changed – dining, takeoff/landing, sleep, and recline mode on the side without using the electronic controls. In terms of lights, there are floor lights, the regular ceiling light, personal lamp, slightly brighter light on the side, and all lights off. Seat adjustment is also electronically controlled. Recline of the headrest, legrest, lumbar support, and seat forward and backward movement can be adjusted through the unit. There is an electrical universal unit, as well as USB drive. The handset control is on the side bin, and the flight attendant call buttons can be used on both the handset control, as well as the electronic control console.

The seats are very comfortable in recline position, takeoff and landing position, as well as bed position. The padding is very nice and I had very comfortable sleep for two hours. If it is not because of the turbulence that we hit after leaving India, I can sleep for hours.

Flight Attendants:
Both flights have excellent flights attendants. For the short flight, lunch was brought out fairly quickly after the meal, and the concerns of the other F passenger were addressed properly. He had a tight connection to another Middle Eastern destination, and the purser immediately asked the cockpit and after takeoff, he also let him know that we would be on time, and he should be fine. For my long haul flight, the French F/As are efficient, polite and friendly. They took care of your needs without being intrusive. They had extensive knowledge about wines and food. I can use the call button freely and they also have a smile. The Jet Airways F/A was less visible, but came out a few times throughout the flight. Sky Chef was Nicholas today and he definitely did his job well. The dishes were all heat up well, as well as spending much time on presentation.

Entertainment:
On the short flight, a short subject was shown – basically one of those “laughing factory” shows. Well the dropout screen did not drop at my section.

On the longer-range flight, PTV is available and they are on demand. Jet Airways provide the program, and Gulf Air just uses Jet Airways’ entertainment programs. Even the entertainment magazines are provided by Jet Airways. There are many programs available and there is no complaint.

Catering and amenities:
Catering is strong with Gulf Air. The short flight featured a hot lunch – a choice of beef with rice and Grilled chicken with a light tomato/BBQ sauce with potato croquette, green beans and vegetables. I had the chicken, which is okay. But I think there should be a piece of chocolate or a roll to go with the meal. Anyway it is a short flight.

[Carfield]

For the long haul flights, the meals were well presented. I guess I don’t need to repeat myself too much. Here is the wine list and menu transcript:
First Class
Wine List
Champagne
Perrier-Jouet “Belle Epoque” 1998

White Wines
Pouilly-Fume Les Genievres 2005, Guy Saget
Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 2006, Bouchard Aine
Rutherford Ranch Chardonnay 2005

Red Wines
Chassagne – Montrachet Rouge 2005, Bouchard Aine
Chateau Haut Lagrange, AC Pessac-Leognan 2001
Delheim Shiraz, Simonsberg 2003

Dessert Wine
De Bortoli Noble One 2004

From the Bar
Apertifs
Martini Sweet Vermouth
Harvey Bristol Cream Sherry

Spirits
Beefeater Gin
Smirnoff Red Label Vodka
Smirnoff Silver Label Vodka
William Grant Whiskey
Johnnie Walker Black Label
Jack Daniels Tennesse Whiskey
Bacardi Rum
Napoleon Brandy VSOP

Liqueurs
Cointreau
Drambuie
Tia Maria

Cognac
Camus VSOP

Port
Cockburns (Portugal)

Beer
Tuborg (Denmark)
Calsberg (Denmark)
Heineken (Holland)
Amstel Light (Holland)

Soft Drinks
Coca Cola
Diet Coca Cola
Schwepps Lemonade
Schwepps Soda Water
Schwepps Tonic Water
Schwepps Ginger Ale
Schwepps Sparkling Mineral Water

Fruit Juices
Orange, tomato and apple

First Class Dining
Supper
Starters
Arabic Mezze
A variety of Middle Eastern hot and cold dishes of marinated artichoke, filled vine leaves, hummus roasted garlic dip, babaghanoush, filled eggplants, warm falafel, marinated squid and lamb kebab served with Arabian bread
Or
Crab and Pomelo Salad
Mixed salad leaves topped with crab meat and pomelo fruit
Sweet & Sour Vinaigrette
Or
Pumpkin Soup
Crispy cheese croutons

Main Courses
The Chef’s Recommendation
Your Sky Chef will tell you the selection available
(Golden roasted chicken with tomato and preserved lemon
Blanched spinach and aromatic rice)
Or
Fish and Chips
Pieces of fish in light tempura style batter
Oven Baked potato chips offered with your choice of sauce (tartar or ketchup)
Or
Traditional Biryani
Local rice and vegetable dish flavoured with fine spices, roasted chestnuts and onions

Desserts
Seasonal Fresh Fruit - kiwi, pineapple, strawberry & cantaloupe
Selection from the local market

International Cheese
Your Sky Chef with tell you the selection available

Ice Cream
Selection of flavours

Homemade Chocolates
Zanjabil ginger – Muhallabiah – Caramel Delight – Hazelnut Cream
Crated and homemade in Bahrain by Chocolaterie Dutch Delight for your enjoyment

Beverages
Seasonal Fruit juices
Hot Chocolate
Assorted teas
Camomile, English Breakfast, Moroccan Mint, Earl Grey, Ceylon black tea
Freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee

Breakfast
Starters
Seasonal Fruit juices
Lime and honey energy drink
Seasonal Fresh Fruit - plum, mango, cantaloupe, white grapes, banana, & pineapple
Selected from the local market
Selection of Cereals
Served with full cream or low fat milk
Natural or fruit yogurt

From the Bakery
Thick white and brown toast, glazed fruit pastries, croissants, muffins and Arabic bread

Main Courses
Eggs prepared on board by your Sky Chef
Scrambled, fried, poached, hard or soft boiled eggs and omelette with your choice of sautéed mushrooms, char-grilled tomato, steamed green asparagus spears, hash brown potatoes, chicken chipolata
Or
Caramel Waffles
Banana compote and hazelnut syrup
Or
European style breakfast
Oven baked turkey bagel
Layers of turkey, emmental cheese and roasted capsicum
Or
Arabian breakfast
Traditional foul medames, roughly mashed broad beans, diced capsicum, tomato and onion, flavored with cumin

Beverages
Hot Chocolate
Assorted teas
Camomile, English Breakfast, Moroccan Mint, Earl Grey, Ceylon black tea
Freshly brewed or decaffeinated coffee
GB-FE-LMFB-F2-01-0309

[Carfield]

My main issue is that there are no turndown service, no pajama, and no amenity kit. The website has publicized that pajama, as well as turndown service are available on overnight flights, and KUL was listed specifically. So I was surprised that no pajama was provided. The amenity pack (can’t call it a kit because they only have socks, eyeshades, and ear plugs) is pre-placed at the side storage bin. I think I should have asked but with the price I paid, I assume I can’t expect much with Gulf Air. Anyway, the whole experience is just so cheapened without those amenities, but with the Gulf Air contract with Jet Airways ending in a few months, I assume there is no incentive to make it better. I assume the mattresses can’t fit on the 9W 77W suites, as well as Airbus A340-300 seats, and now there is no incentive to order new GF ones, and don’t want to pay 9W for use of their mattress and blankets. A nice duvet is still provided, but a turndown service only seems appropriate. Anyway, I don’t turndown, but at least a nice amenity kit should be provided especially FIRST class.

Arrival:
Nothing much to write, but Gulf Air does not close the curtains of first/business/economy after landing. So after we were parked at the gate, all the business class passengers rushed to the first class cabin, and the flight attendants should have stopped the rush especially two jet bridges were used here at KUL. It is a minor point.

In conclusion, Gulf Air is an interesting airline. I first flew them when they still flew to Hong Kong. I flew their Hong Kong to Bangkok flights in first class, which was operated by an older Airbus A340-300. This experience is definitely better and at least there are menus on this longer flight. The suites are comfortable, but I think the Jet Airways product is way too advanced for Gulf Air. There are so many amenities that go with the suites, and Gulf Air is either not willing to invest in them or these amenities is too expensive. At the end, there is a certain mismatch. I don’t regret my decision to fly Gulf Air’s premium class products and is perhaps the only affordable way for me to try Jet Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER. The F/As and food are nice, but hopefully there will be more appropriate amenities to go with the first class cabin and product the next time.

[KeithMEL]

An excellent report, Carfield - with your usual high standards of food photography.

I've been very curious about RJ, having read some nice reviews. Your TR has given me an additional incentive to try to include them on my next RTW.

[jjpb3]

I always enjoy the details in your TR, Carfield. The descriptions and impressions are very helpful.

[9V-JKL]

Thanks carfield for sharing. Always a pleasure reading your TRs

[HUGE AL]

Another AWESOME TR by Carfield!

[Kyo]

Definitely an interesting observation on two lesser known carriers. Any photos of the countries you transited in? (outside the airport, I mean, always curious about those..)

[Kiwi]

Thanks Carfield ^

I flew RJ on 4 shorthaul flights in J last year and was fairly impressed. My trip report.