Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - RJ trip report

Intro

I recently decided to switch the bulk of my travel from *A (crediting to UA and BD) to OW (crediting to BA). This is for various reasons (now live in London; BD is on the way out; SWU-upgradeable fares are more and more of a premium, while finding confirmed upgrade space is nearly impossible nowadays; new BA program suitable for my travel patterns).

I needed to come to Hong Kong, and RJ had fantastic D fares at ~£1300. Since LHR-AMM and AMM-HKG are >2000 miles, this roundtrip nets 560 TPs, which means that with the addition of 4 cheapo ET or domestic BA segments I would hit silver in no time (I was also able to time my sign up to Executive Club to make the status valid for nearly 2 years).

The combination of high TPs + low business fares (though the £1300 deals are gone) makes RJ an attractive option for BA/QF and other OW fliers, and while I'm not the first or only one to figure this out, I hadn't found too many details about RJ on FT, so decided to write a short TR.

Before travel

I booked on the RJ website, which is fine as far as airline websites go. Easy to pick and change seats (not that it means much; see later). Also possible to change flights online, as my fare even though dirt cheap was changeable and refundable for a £50 fee.

When I booked my flights, several months before travel, all segments were on A330s, with angle-flat seats. However the segments LHR-AMM and AMM-LHR were eventually switched to A321s with regional business class.

LHR-AMM

I arrived in LHR T3 about 3 hours before flight. All checkin lines were virtually empty. As a crown class passenger I was entitled to use the BA galleries lounge at T3, which was very pleasant but is not the topic of this post.

I made my way the boarding area at -30 minutes. Boarding was by row number, starting from the back. After inviting the last few rows to board, an annoucement was made that business class passengers should board last (no mention at all about status). Some business and/or status pax complained and were allowed through; I decided to wait. Once onboard was offered drink (water or juice) and coat was taken.

The seats and legroom (46'' according to seatguru) in the regional configuration were fine for working and relaxing. There's a seat-mounted screen with AVOD (I think from seeing others use it), AC power, footrest and electronic controls. So other than for sleeping, the hard product wasn't much worse than the long-haul one. Crown class was about 60% full.

The service was overall quite good. FAs were young and friendly, and spoke good if not flawless English. We got a basic ammenity kit with socks, toothbrush and eyeshade. Menus were distributed (menus are printed in magazine-style paper and color, and are returned at the end of the flight so can't copy the contents verbatim). As the flight departed around 16:00, we had a dinner service, starting with nuts and a choice of drinks. I had a double espresso which was excellent as far as airline coffee goes.

The proper meal started with bread and butter, a side salad, and a selection of appetisers served from a cart (not unlike LH F). Generally speaking there was a mix of Middle Easter and Western options, I had a sampler of most of them. The main course was also served from a cart. There were 4 main courses (with the usual distribution, i.e. fish, beef, some pasta and a vegetarian option) and also a choice of sides, including rice and grilled vegetables. I had the fish with vegetables; it was possible to have a mix as well.

As for drinks, there were two red wines (from Jordan and Argentina) and two whites (from Jordan and France). I had the white from Jordan and found it tasty if not extraordinary. Not a dry airline by any means, but the choice of alcohol wasn't overwhelming either.

There was a choice of desserts (tarts, cakes, icecream) with coffee/tea, again served from a chart.

The dinner service was friendly and efficient. Overall I enjoyed the food.

After dinner I caught up with work on my laptop and read some magazines (they had a good on-board selection, including The Economist, Time, etc. The newspaper selection was poor though, with Jordan Times being the only English option).

The FAs distributed feedback forms with the usual questions about service.

After landing, people got up and started gettign their stuff while the plane was still moving (although already approaching the gate), without any complaint or intervention from the FAs.

*** to be continued ***

Layover in AMM

Upon arrival in AMM I made it to the Crown lounge (I had 2 hours until the departure of the next flight). Finding the lounge was easy as the airport is very small.

I had read good reviews of the Crown lounge, but was underwhelmed. It has a few unique features, like lots of individual TVs (with headphones) and a pool table, but I couldn't care less about those and as far as I could see noone in the lounge did.

There was a variety of sandwiches and snacks (some hot), but no proper food. This was after 10pm so I don't know how it is at other times. I didn't have a close look at the drink selection but though it was reasonable.

There was free open wifi. Finding an outlet however is a challenge. There is a computer room with desktop computers, so if one needs space to work with own laptop, or just recharge a phone/tablet, it may be a challenge.

There are showers but they cost $15. Didn't need to use them, but on the way back I have a 6 hour layover so I'll try them. There's also a spa available.

About 35 minutes before departure I checked the departure monitors and my next flight (AMM-HKG with a stop at BKK) was showing as "last call", so I started my way to the gate. There's a security checkpoint for every 3 gates, with separate male and female lines. The gate itself didn't have enough seats so it was a bit of a chaos.

At one point someone said boarding would start in 10 minutes. About 2 minutes later, the gate was opened and it was a stampede towards the aircraft - no boarding annoucement of any kind was made, just a free for all.

AMM-BKK

When I booked the ticket I had selected seat 4G, which is an aisle in the middle section (so noone would have to step over me to get out). As a good FTer, I had checked my seat repeteadly until the day of travel. But only when I boarded I realized I was handed a BP for 4H - still an aisle but next to a window. I was asked to switch to 2H by a couple who had been split, I happily obliged.

The departure time came and went without any announcements. I knew from the seatmap that Crown would be totally full and it was less than half full at the moment, so I imagined we were waiting for late connections. Indeed, eventually a large number of passengers arrived and Crown got quite full but not completely; I had noone on the window next to me. After another 5 or 10 minutes, a first announcement was made that we were waiting for late connections. However, after waiting still another 5 to 10 minutes, doors were closed and we were on our way.

We got a much better amenity kit than on the LHR-AMM, and breakfast menus were handed out (the departure time was 0:30 so only service was before arrival in BKK).

The Airbus A330 has the older style business class with flat beds at a (noticeable) angle, and little privacy between you and your seat neighbor. The monitor is on the arm of the seat so the size was on the smaller side, there's AVOD but I didn't use it. I knew what to expect so I was happy enough with the hard product, though of course there are plenty of better options (but none for £1300 as far as I know :D).

After the seatbealt sign came off, I moved to the window seat to get some more privacy for sleeping. A while after, I was woken up by voices next to me - turns out someone had moved to the seat next to me! I was terribly tired so just went back to sleep, even though my aisle seat in the middle section had turned into a window seat! I had seen the guy who sat next to me chatting in the galley pre-departure, but I'm not sure what exact role he played.

In the end it wasn't big deal as I slept well (except for some loud seatbelt announcements and light turbulence), until I was woken up for breakfast 2 hours before landing. I felt for this short night time flight (7:45 hours), breakfast service could have started a bit later.

In any case, breakfast was good, with some fruit, a smoothie and bread with butter and jam first served in a tray, and then the usual cart with a good choice of hot options, again including Middle Eastern and Western options. I was full but very tired upon landing, as I had slept only around 5 hours. We made up most of the delay in the air, so arrived in BKK only a few minutes after schedule.

Stop at BKK.

The plane stops for an hour in BKK, but HKG bound pax remain on board. Only a few people disembarked at BKK. During the stop some cleaning is done and some/most but not all pillows/blankets are replaced by fresh ones.

At one point during the stop airport staff came to my seat and seemed confused that I was there. I tried to explain that I had switched with the couple in row 4, but they spoke almost no English so it was a challenge. They were saying that I have to go back to my original seat, and I couldn't quite convince them that it wouldn't change much as the lady in 4H would then have to come to 2H. Then they told me I have to go to 2D - except 2D was taken. Finally they checked with someone at the airport and was told to take the (empty) 2C.

After reboarding a flight attendant came to me asking me why I'm sitting there and saying I had to move, but her English was much better so I explained the situation, she checked with someone and I was told to stay in 2C after all.

BKK-HKG.

The last segment was only 2:20 hours, and dinner was to be served. We got no new amenity kits (so the few people who boarded at BKK didn't get one), but we did get menus and a full dinner services. However, the service was shorter and simplified with respect to the one I had received on LHR-AMM, without the usual cart. Instead there was no choice of appetizers (bread, salad and appetizer came together on a tray). There was a choice of 4 complete main courses, I took a Thai-style fish that was again fine for airplane food.

Flight was uneventful and we got to HKG almost on time. Despite the priority tags (or because of that) my bag came dead last.

Conclusion

I chose RJ because of the very cheap price for business class and because of the shortcut to Silver it allowed me, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

My experience so far is mixed. Service is friendly and attentive. The hard product is outdated (and I feel bait-and-switched over the A330 to A321 switch on the LHR-AMM-LHR segments) but soft product is competitive.

Things are otherwise quite disorganized, from boarding to the switcheroo with seats and people taking a seat well after take off and standing up before arrival to the gate.

The double stop from LHR to HKG was certainly inconvenient (of course I was well aware of that). The only flight were it is possible to sleep is AMM-BKK, and it is too short for a good rest at less than 8 hours, especially since the bed isn't lie-flat.

In the future, if I don't need the TPs, I might pick LHR-HKG on BA WT+ over RJ C if the price was comparable.

Coming next

I'm next flying HKG-BKK on a CX award, and BKK-AMM-LHR with a 6 hour layover at AMM on RJ. This is in a few weeks though, until then and thanks for reading! ^

Great TR so far - have always been tempted to take this route to HKG - eagerly waiting for the rest of the TR

Thanks^

The switch to the A321 is a great disappointment, removing a large part of RJ's competitive advantage over BMI. The rather antiquated trollley service in C is fine in a wide-body, two-aisle aircraft, but it becomes a something of an endurance test in a narrow-body.

The lounge with pretty grim food offerings and paid showers/paid relaxation rooms doesn't convince transfer passengers that RJ is making much of an effort. TK and Istanbul have raised the bar significantly in this area.

There were some whispers in Amman that the HKG extension to AMM BKK will be axed. Again, competition means that BKK HKG has low yields, and there may not be enough XXX-AMM-HKG traffic to sustain the route.

I have found the RJ lounge in AMM quite nice. Good size, nice range of food and drink. Fast service for clearing of trays, etc., and a very nice view.

I take it no one here has had to visit an Air Canada lounge.

Sorry my view of the lounge was jaundiced. It was probably coloured by the USD15 charge for a shower, and news of a downgrade from A330 to A321. Free and straightforward internet access was a definite plus.

I'll be very first time on Canadian soil/tundra next week. I had been hoping my *G card would ease an economy class wait at Toronto with a touch of maple-leafed luxury. You've ruined that little dream :D

That will depend on which lounge you visit. You will find the food offerings less than RJ, especially in the domestic lounge. They also get *very* crowded. But they have pleasant enough decor and free internet. No showers in the domestic or transborder lounges though.

Sorry my view of the lounge was jaundiced. It was probably coloured by the USD15 charge for a shower, and news of a downgrade from A330 to A321. Free and straightforward internet access was a definite plus.



Having flown through the AMM airport at least a half dozen times, I agree that the RJ lounge LOOKS great, but is a bit different once you peel the onion back a bit...

A definite minus is the lack of availability of electrical plugs throughout the lounge. Your only options for plugs are along the wall (under the display screens). There are about 4-5 seating clusters with access to plugs - that's it.
One can go to the computer room, but it is a separate area, off to the side, is closed off and has no windows. I can see where a woman would not be comfortable in that closed room by herself. In addition, who wants to hide in a closed room (with about 20 terminals) while in a lounge?
I wish there were plugs near some of the 'choice' seating areas - along the window area, for example.

In addition, I agree the food on offer is lacking. No warm food, no matter what time of the day. Definitely nothing substantial.

And don't get me started on charging for showers - why nickel-and-dime your Premium customers? Quite unclassy if you ask me!

Lastly, a coworker recently spent the night in their relaxation room (his inbound arrived at 11PM, and outbound left around 8AM). He said that his stay was anything but relaxing. People (most likely employees, since the relaxation room area is not open to the public) walking by the room did not try to keep their voices low. In addition, the relaxation room apparently shared a wall with the kitchen - so lots of kitchen-related noises.
The rooms do look great though!!!

There was definitely hot food on the two occasions I was there. I shall be back there in April, so I will report back.