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  • RJ Crown Class MCT-AMM-JFK with picture link

    RJ Trip Report

    As promised, here is my return report from Muscat to New York JFK via Amman on Royal Jordanian Airlines’ Crown Class! The first segment from Muscat to Amman was average and the F/As were more interested in resting than serving. The second segment, Amman to JFK, was just great and the three F/As in front were efficient, friendly, personable, and this flight left me with an excellent impression. The service was definitely impressive and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to give this Middle East carrier a try! Of course, flying an Airbus A340-200 was fascinating especially across the Atlantic Ocean. This was my second Airbus A340-200 flight. The Crown Class sleeper seats on the Airbus A340 are roomy (83 inches of legroom) and surprisingly comfortable. Here is the full report!

    Flight Itinerary and photo link:
    August 21, 2009
    RJ 601 MCT-AMM Lv0700 Arr0930 Airbus A320-200 F-OHGX “Madaba”
    http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqOqo
    Connect to
    RJ 261 AMM-JFK Lv1100 Arr1610 Airbus A340-200 JY-AIB “Princess Iman Bint Abdullah”
    http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqOsw

    Check-in:
    After a quick and quiet ride to Muscat airport, I arrived at a very dark departure hall around 4:15am. The airport was quiet, as most passengers on the Emirates and Qatar’s 4am flight were done with check-in, and there were simply not much going on. The Royal Jordanian counter was not busy, as the load reflected it. I was still curious why there was a last minute change from a EMB-170/195 to an Airbus A320. I used a common airline business class check-in counter and the friendly staff took my boarding pass and e-ticket and proceeded back to the RJ line and printed out my boarding pass. They could not check me through to JFK, even though I was on a RJ flight, but simply used the AA codeshare flight number. So much for oneworld! The agent wrote me a lounge invite to Oman Air lounge, as well as giving me my boarding pass to Amman. She was apologetic and said that they would ask a RJ staff later on.

    Oman Air Lounge (well not really)/Plaza Premium Lounge:
    Security was no wait, as well as immigration! The whole process took less than ten minutes, and then I was invited to the Oman Air Lounge. The lounge was quiet as the only passengers there were from QR, and there flight would board in a few minutes anyway. The lounge itself was very classic, sort of dark and just not impressive. There was a nice buffet spread though with soup, sandwiches, salad, and various hot dishes and cold desserts. There were many TVs on different channels throughout the lounge. I had a bowl of green pea soup and a nice soft roll. As I took a quick bite on the sandwich, the check-in agent tapped my shoulder and I thought that I might got my onward boarding pass to JFK. No, she was apologetic, but told me that she gave me the wrong invitation. I was supposed to be on the Plaza Premium lounge.

    Well as she said, the Plaza Premium lounge was actually nicer, especially in terms of décor. Still dark but the whole lounge was a contemporary décor with a hint of the Arabic culture. I really like the design of the nap room area – just like a giant Arabian tent in the middle of a dessert under a starry sky. I could not manage some good pictures. The whole lounge was modern and many comfortable sofa chairs, as well as a smoking room and children’s playroom. Nap room contains of many small rooms. The food buffet however was a bit lacking compared to Oman Air Lounge. I took a bag of chips and a diet pepsi, and took a seat nearby. Only one other passenger used the lounge.

    Boarding:
    Muscat – our load was really low this morning. There were six passengers in J (with most of them as non-rev or friends of RJ) and Y had less than 30. Boarding was called early despite the lack of need to. As a J passenger, I had a separate bus to take so I ended up waiting at the gate lounge for over 15 minutes (I would have gotten time to buy a carton of cigarettes using the rest of Oman money). Well two other passengers joined me and we boarded the empty A320 “Madaba,” which was the name of a Jordanian city.

    Amman – I did not want to repeat the misstep last time when I was the last passenger boarding the flight from Amman to Muscat, so I decided to head to the gate early especially there was a secondary checkpoint for USA flights. The Jordanian staffs were surprisingly friendly and professional, and made my day a bit easier. So for future RJ Crown class passengers, I will allow at least 45 minutes prior to departure time. Don’t wait for the announcement at the lounge especially if you had a bus gate. This time, I was there too early, but at least I got my duty free, exchanged my money, and passed through two security checks easily. The flight looked pretty full in Y, and J was about 50 to 60% full. Boarding began at 10:23am and there was no priority call, and indeed they asked business class passengers to wait! However, I want to take pictures of the J cabin before the mass entered. So I boarded along the first group of Y passengers.

    Flight Details:
    The flight was fairly straightforward from Muscat to Amman. Boarding was completed with door closed at 6:49am, and push back occurred at 6:56am. We took off from R/W26 at 7:02am. Flying time was three hours and the routing took us towards Al-Buraymi, and then as we leveled off at 36,000feet. Then we passed cities of Abu Dhabi, and then North of Dammam, and crossed the Arabian Dessert and the next city we passed was Al-Jawi, and then into Amman. Descent began at 8:39am Amman local time (Amman was an hour behind from Muscat) and landed on R/W26R at 9:02am, and we parked at Bay 22 at 9:09am.

    The long haul flight from Amman to New York was more interesting. Despite an on-time boarding time, the flight was delayed due to no-show passengers and the requirement to off-load their bags. Nine passengers decided not to board the flight for some reason and the whole process took forty-five minutes, which was quite annoying. Door was finally closed at 11:46am, and we pushed back at 11:50am. We took off from R/W26R, after a Saudi Arabian Airline’s Boeing 757 landed, at 12:03pm.

    The routing was surprising for me, as we headed straight towards Jericho, and the Israeli city of Tel Aviv and I got some really good pictures of the Israeli coast (and also thank to somehow slower climb rate of Airbus A340-200). (I assume the relationship between Israel and Jordan was okay these days!) We climbed to 32,000feet, and then heading towards Greece, Kamiro/Rhodes and Khios, before climbing again to 34,000feet. We passed cities of Maribor, Graz, LInz, Passau, Nurnberg, Dortmund, North of Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Perth (UK/Scotland), and Hebrides Islands, and climbed to 36,000feet as entered the Atlantic Ocean. We climbed to 38,000feet, as we entered Quebec, Presque-Ile, Millinocket, Augusta, Portland (Maine), Kennebunk, Boston and then Long Island.

    Descent began at 4:34pm, New York time, and then landed on R/W22L at 5:03pm, and we parked at gate B30 at 5:24pm. We were late due to problems with the jet bridges at our gate.

  • #2
    Part II

    Boarding:
    For the short-haul flight, the F/As immediately offer business class passengers a choice of orange, apple, mango juice and water, as well as menus and headsets. Newspapers (local Jordanian) were offered as well. For the long-haul flight, similar amenities were offered, as well as amenity kits.

    Seats:
    Well I have said enough about the Airbus A319/A320/A321 Crown Class seats. The seat pitch is 45 inches, which are better than most US domestic airlines, as well as the convertible seats by European Airlines. The seats are all equipped with personal TV (on demand), and most importantly, universal power outlets. The seats are all electronically controlled.

    Now about the Airbus A340-200 Crown Class seats! They are sleeper seats and none of the high tech lie-flat seats, but are just as good, if not better than those fancy seats. The seat pitch was tremendous and at least seventy-two inches. You cannot touch the seat in front of you, and the seat pockets are located on the side trays. When fully reclined, the seats are almost fully flat. The seats are really comfortable in both lounging and sleeping positions. Of course, there are issues with the lack of storage spaces for small items (and since the seat next to me was open, it was okay), and lack of universal power outlets. Personal television is available but not on demand – only movies run in cycles. Anyway, I think my pictures will tell a better story than me.

    Food:
    Unfortunately for the three hours flight to Amman, there have been cutbacks, compared to my flight in the opposite direction a few months ago. Back then, the same breakfast service was served in two courses: first course feature the usual fruit plate with a cheese appetizer, and then entrée is served then. Now, the same breakfast service has been reduced to one tray service featuring a fruit bowl, entrée, and the cheese appetizer has been replaced by a wedge of pre-packaged Camembert cheese.

    For the long haul flights, there are two main meal services – a full lunch and then dinner prior to arrival, with mid-flight snacks, such as sandwiches, chocolate bars, and sliced cakes available. The lunch service was very extensive with a choice of two starters, and then a soup (choice of two – French Onion or Cream of Carrot/Ginger) and salad (with Italian dressing), and then entrees are served and you can pick and choose different entrees and sides from a trolley, just like traditional first class. I am a big fan of this kind of trolley service especially on daytime flights. The flight attendant asked me to pick as much food as I want. After the entrée service, there is a full cheese board and fruit basket, followed by the dessert trolley, and there are literally so much food to choose from.

    During mid-flight, there are a full snack basket service featuring sliced cakes, assorted chocolate bars including Bounty and mars, and sandwiches, such as cucumber & tomato on wheat, smoked salmon on white bread, and then buns with meat. About two and a half hours prior to arrival, dinner was served with an appetizer tray (appetizer, salad and dessert) and then entrée (not trolley service and casserole dishes). In general, Royal Jordanian Airlines offers very high quality food and I was impressed with full lunch on the long-haul flights. I really like the trolley service and sadly, you don’t see that much even in first class.

    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

    Muscat to Amman
    Hot Breakfast
    Orange Juice
    Fresh Fruit Salad
    Belpease Cheese

    Fine Herbs Omelette
    Scrambled eggs with Cheese on Toast

    Chicken Sausages
    Grilled fresh mushrooms
    Tomato Provencal & Green Pepper
    Butter – Preserves – Natural Honey

    Croissant
    Assorted Bread Basket

    MCT HBP CYCLE 2 (FEB/MAY/AUG/NOV)

    Comment


    • #3
      Final Part

      Amman to New York JFK
      (16th to 31st) FEB/APR/JUN/AUG/OCT/DEC

      Lunch
      Appetizers or Soup
      Western Appetizers
      Bresola Beef Slices
      Calamari Salad
      Butterfly Shrimp
      Cream Cheese with Basil
      Or
      Oriental Appetizer
      Mutabbal
      Stuffed Vine Leaves
      Hommos

      Soup
      Soup of the Day
      (Cream of Carrot & Ginger or French Onion Soup)

      Salad
      Seasonal Salad (With Italian Dressing)

      Main Course
      Grilled Beef Steak with Tarragon Sauce
      Chicken Stroganoff
      Grilled Hamour Fish with Harra Sauce (Spicy sauce)
      Mushroom Risotta with Parmesan Cheese

      A selection of Fresh Vegetables
      Mashed Potatoes
      Mexican Rice

      Cheese & Fruit
      A selection of International Cheeses
      Fresh Fruit Basket

      Desserts
      A selection of Desserts or Arabic Ice Cream

      AMM/HMM 4 (16-31) FEB/APR/JUN/AUG/OCT/DEC

      Dinner Service
      Appetizers or Soup
      Poached salmon
      Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese
      Artichoke Heart
      Or
      Soup of the Day (not offered)

      Salad
      Seasonal Salad (with Italian Dressing again)

      Main Course
      Lamb Navarin
      Served with sautéed carrots, Zucchini batons and Chateau Potatoes
      Or
      Malay Spices Chicken Strips with Tamarind Sauce
      Served with Broccoli Floret, Carrot Slices and Baked slice potatoes
      Or
      Sauteed Shrimps with Coconut and Curry Sauce
      Served with basmati rice and julienned mixed vegetables

      Light Options
      Tomato and Spinach Risotto
      Served with Broccoli Floret and Parmesan Cheese
      Or
      Beef Burger
      Served with Cheddar Cheese and Fried potatoes

      Cheese
      Cheese (Camembert/Brie – packaged)

      Dessert
      Millefeuille Cake
      AMM HDP 4 (16-31) FEB/APR/JUN/AUG/OCT/DEC

      Entertainment:
      I think I have said enough about the entertainment system. It is great to have AVOD, but then the selections can be better and there are lack of sitcoms and short subjects. If RJ wants to reach the level of Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Delta Airlines, they have to add more programs – movies and television short subjects. For the A340 flight, entertainment is definitely a weak part for RJ, but I am surprised that individual entertainment units are available for Crown Class passengers, who want to watch TV and movie on their own speed. I assume the programs are the same, but you can watch them on your own pace.

      Flight Attendants:
      For the first flight from Muscat to Amman, the flight attendants are efficient and polite, but they all hide in the back of the economy class cabin and the galley after the meal service. The motto of the flight was definitely to finish the meal ASAP and rest. I assume they worked the redeye flight to Muscat, and could not wait to rest and to head home. Breakfast was all served within fifty minutes and then the F/As disappeared. You could ask for drinks, but there was no automatic beverage round. I don’t know if it also has to deal with a cabin filled with non-revenue passengers and I might be the only paying passenger.

      For the long-haul flights, the three F/As up front were excellent. We got the usual array of the Thai F/A, a Jordanian female F/A and a male F/A, and all three of them were friendly and professional. The service was time-consuming, but they were able to perform in a reasonable speed. It took a high degree of coordination to service a full five-courses meal. The F/As came by a few times during mid-flight to offer snacks and there was a small console in front of the cabin featuring snack items and bottled waters. You can use your call button. It is obvious that RJ hires a large amount of Thai F/As, which was somewhat surprising.

      Amenity Kit:
      A nice bulgari amenity kit was offered on the long-haul flight, and then there was a farewell gift on the long-haul flight. The farewell gift was a Jordanian made soap on a leave-designed soap dish. Pretty interesting!

      Arrival:
      Well the transit process at Amman was reasonable and the agent was patient to deal with the AA boarding pass situation. But these alliances really need to work together to offer a seamless travel experience. OW has been in existence for more than five years and things are still not working out. That applies to Star alliance and Skyteam Alliance.

      JFK was a nightmare as usual. The Friday afternoon featured a broken jet bridge and a completely out of control immigration hall. The lines were long and slow-going, not to mention a computer problem requiring a major halt in the immigration line. Not surprised, but annoyed!

      Conclusion:
      Royal Jordanian Airlines tries really hard to raise its international profile and its Crown Class is quite a success and the service was really excellent. In terms of meals, the food was definitely first class and what I will suggest was perhaps a few more items for the mid-flight snacks especially on the daytime flight to New York. The amenity kit and farewell gift are all high quality stuff. However, I am annoyed about the menu situation. I don’t mind airlines recycling menus, but passengers should be able to keep them if they want to. If I am spurring a couple thousand dollars for a business class ticket, asking to keep a menu is nothing much. The Crown lounge at Amman was quite nice. I did not have a separate section, as I was only there for less than ten minutes – just to use the facility and get a drink. I think the hot food selection can be slightly better and I will like some hot soup.

      I hope you enjoy the report and feel free to ask questions!

      Carfield

      Comment


      • #4
        excellent report! Nice to have a rare TR on an airline most of us don't fly regularly!

        Comment


        • #5
          Interesting - thanks Carfield!

          One advantage of RJ for BAEC ex-LHR to Asia is that LHR-AMM is over the magic 2,000 mile limit for CW TPs so it would net 480 TPs for the return trip!

          Comment


          • #6
            The food looks quite good. The seats so-so.

            Thanks for sharing.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Carfield View Post
              Amenity Kit:
              A nice bulgari amenity kit was offered on the long-haul flight, and then there was a farewell gift on the long-haul flight. The farewell gift was a Jordanian made soap on a leave-designed soap dish. Pretty interesting!
              No farewell gift on my AMM-HKG yesterday. Amenity kit now branded by Aigner.

              Comment


              • #8
                Just flew RJ on the short leg up to BKK from KUL last friday night. First time and a nice sampler. Flew MS back and I have to say, despite all I've read on the net, I think I enjoyed the Egyptair flight more - great seats and a really nice crew

                Comment


                • #9
                  I just got back from CDG-AMM-(BKK)-HKG after my last time a couple of years ago. Apart from continued small cutbacks (e.g. no small amenity kit now for the CDG-AMM leg), there were three nice surprises:

                  1 The plane for AMM-HKG was changed from the usual Airbus (with slopey bed J seats) to one of RJ's new Dreamliners (with flat bed J seats).

                  2 On the way back, I arrived AMM at 5:15am and was expecting a 6:30 hour wait in the lounge until AMM-CDG at 11:45am (which I've endured on previous occasions). However, I found out that RJ offer a hotel as an alternative (landside; they arrange a free transit visa and bus you there and back).

                  3 Leaving the hotel, the porter was upselling a "VIP lounge" provided I had a "purity pass" (as he seemed to pronounce it) which (when he eventually showed me a picture) turned out to be a Priority Pass (which I have free as part of the UK Amex platinum package). I accepted and someone escorted me through immigration (jumping the queue) and security to the lounge which turned out to be the Petra lounge as mentioned in the Priority Pass lounge directory. Compared to the RJ Crown Lounge (which also accepts Priority Pass) which is vast, open to the terminal and full of people, the Petra lounge was quiet and enclosed, empty apart from 1 or 2 other pax, comfortable and had some of the nicest lounge staff I've found anywhere (bringing me cakes and water without asking; repeated checks to see if I wanted anything else; etc).

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by jhm View Post
                    3 Leaving the hotel, the porter was upselling a "VIP lounge" provided I had a "purity pass" (as he seemed to pronounce it) which (when he eventually showed me a picture) turned out to be a Priority Pass (which I have free as part of the UK Amex platinum package).
                    It's a good thing you had the Purity Pass, mate.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by jhm View Post
                      I just got back from CDG-AMM-(BKK)-HKG after my last time a couple of years ago. Apart from continued small cutbacks (e.g. no small amenity kit now for the CDG-AMM leg), there were three nice surprises:

                      1 The plane for AMM-HKG was changed from the usual Airbus (with slopey bed J seats) to one of RJ's new Dreamliners (with flat bed J seats).

                      2 On the way back, I arrived AMM at 5:15am and was expecting a 6:30 hour wait in the lounge until AMM-CDG at 11:45am (which I've endured on previous occasions). However, I found out that RJ offer a hotel as an alternative (landside; they arrange a free transit visa and bus you there and back).

                      3 Leaving the hotel, the porter was upselling a "VIP lounge" provided I had a "purity pass" (as he seemed to pronounce it) which (when he eventually showed me a picture) turned out to be a Priority Pass (which I have free as part of the UK Amex platinum package). I accepted and someone escorted me through immigration (jumping the queue) and security to the lounge which turned out to be the Petra lounge as mentioned in the Priority Pass lounge directory. Compared to the RJ Crown Lounge (which also accepts Priority Pass) which is vast, open to the terminal and full of people, the Petra lounge was quiet and enclosed, empty apart from 1 or 2 other pax, comfortable and had some of the nicest lounge staff I've found anywhere (bringing me cakes and water without asking; repeated checks to see if I wanted anything else; etc).
                      The Dreamliners do make regular rounds on the 180/181/182/183 runs to HKG and KUL via BKK - i've been on it KUL-BKK


                      The transit visa for free is also pretty good - i paid 20 JOD for a regular one, which didn't seem like much until I saw the exchange rate. Word is the visa is now 40 JOD.... :o

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by SQflyergirl View Post
                        The Dreamliners do make regular rounds on the 180/181/182/183 runs to HKG and KUL via BKK - i've been on it KUL-BKK
                        I might book a CDG-KUL sometime to visit that part of the world (I haven't been in years and years!). Question then is whether to stick with RJ for the BKK-KUL legs or - if on a day when they don't fly (presumably when they go to HKG instead) - go with the MH codeshare.

                        Originally posted by SQflyergirl View Post
                        The transit visa for free is also pretty good - i paid 20 JOD for a regular one, which didn't seem like much until I saw the exchange rate. Word is the visa is now 40 JOD.... :o
                        phaleesy will have a shock then next month.

                        The flight manager on my flight to AMM was encouraging me to give Amman a go (saying that my 6.5 hour was a "good time") but given that I arrived at 5am, the thought of paying for a visa and a car to town only to have breakfast (and a good time ? ) didn't appeal.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Maybe if you had agreed, should he agree to show you a good time by return...

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by jhm View Post
                            I might book a CDG-KUL sometime to visit that part of the world (I haven't been in years and years!). Question then is whether to stick with RJ for the BKK-KUL legs or - if on a day when they don't fly (presumably when they go to HKG instead) - go with the MH codeshare.

                            I don't know how RJ are with rebooking someone on a cancelled flight - but RJ has zeroed out inventory sometime in the future on the KUL portion. Caveat emptor ! (it's a law term thingy, which you MAY or may not comprehend )

                            Comment

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