Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > Other Middle Eastern and African Airlines
Reload this Page >

Middle East and Africa Airlines Trip Reports Index

Register
Community
Wiki Posts
Today's Posts
Search

Middle East and Africa Airlines Trip Reports Index

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Feb 19, 2008, 5:07 pm
  #1  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
Middle East and Africa Airlines Trip Reports Index
This list summarises reports and mini-reports from both this forum and Trip Reports.
Please add yours and PM me if you need any links or corrections to what is already here. ^

EgyptAir [MS]
Emirates [EK]
Etihad [EY]
Gulf Air [GF]
Kuwait Air
Qatar [QR]
Saha [an Iranian military 'subsidiary' airline]
Turkish
- - - - - - - -
LCCs:
Air Arabia
Jazeera [JZ]?
  • [*]
  • [*]

[KR] ???

Nasair [XY]
Sama [ZS]
Saudi Arabian/Saudia [SV] Wataniya (Kuwait)
  • (awaiting moocherx's trip report ^)

- - - - - - - -
General Mid-East Trip Reports including sightseeing-----
Africa

Ethiopian Airlines (that $0 fare!)
Air Madagascar
Royal Air Maroc
South African Airways [AA]
Last edited by BiziBB; Jan 29, 2013 at 2:36 am Reason: Updated with thanks
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Feb 19, 2008, 5:16 pm
  #2  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
Thanks berlinflyer for the sticky!

Lounges and reviews

Emirates
LHR & Emirates (F?) Lounge (from LHR-SYD report above)
DXB F lounge (same detailed trip report as above)
SIN lounge
(Just for fun - same great report, Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast)

Etihad
Etihad LON-AUH-CMB in Diamond zone (first class) [Oct 05]
Surprisingly superb experience on Etihad! (EY211 AUH-DEL) [Jul 05]
Slide show of AUH Pearl Lounge areas (.pdf)

Gulf Air
BAH
BKK [Feb 08]
LHR
GF Heathrow Lounge and London (Thanks HedgeFundFlyer) [April 17, 08]

Qatar - note new lounge info thread in QR forum!
CMB - Araliya Lounge
Hilarious Araliya story! [Dec 23, 2006]
PRG-DXB-CMB on OK (Araliya stuff midway through) [Apr 22, 2006]

Doha Premium Lounge
First Class
Business Class ...hating it
12hr transit & rule enforcement
transiting / carrying alcohol duty free

EWR

LGW: US / StarAlliance Lounge - Gatwick South

LHR

Lounge Finder
Etihad

• Amman - Jerash Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Bahrain - Delmon Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Bangkok - SKY Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Beirut - Cedar Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Brussels - SN Brussels Airlines Business Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Cairo - Airport Authority Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Casablanca - VIP Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Colombo - Lotus Lounge (Diamond First) & Palm Strip Lounge (Pearl Business)
• Damascus - Business Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Dammam - First Class Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Dhaka - Sheraton Lounge (Pearl Business)
• Doha - Oryx Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Frankfurt - Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Geneva - The First and VIP Airport Lounge (Diamond First) & Horizon Lounge (Pearl Business)
• Islamabad - CIP Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Jakarta - Pura Indah Lounge Premier Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Jeddah - First Class Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Johannesburg - South African Airways Cycad Premium Lounge (Diamond First) & South African Airways Baobab Lounge (Pearl Business)
• Karachi - CIP Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Khartoum - First & Business Class Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Kuala Lumpur - MH Golden Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Kuwait - Pearl Business Lounge (Pearl Business)
• Lahore - CIP Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• London Heathrow - SAS Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Manchester - Servisair Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Manila - Manila Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Mumbai - Clipper Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Munich - Atlantic Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Muscat - Oman Air Premium Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• New Delhi - ITC Sheraton Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• New York - Swiss Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Paris - Admirals Club (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Peshawar - Executive Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Riyadh - First Class Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Tehran - CIP Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Toronto - BICI Casey’s (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Sydney - Qantas International Business Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)

---
Call for reports and reviews
Have you flown in the last few months on one of these airlines? Why not add your own report on your trip, your lounge experience, your in-flight experience and any extra touches from staff on the ground or in the air?

While Trip Reports is the best place for big reports, we could include mini-reports here for the benefit of anyone seeking up to date info.
Last edited by BiziBB; Jun 25, 2008 at 10:27 pm Reason: Lounge reviews & images
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Mar 8, 2008, 7:35 am
  #3  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: in transit
Programs: Delta DM, *A Plat
Posts: 322
I just added an Air Arabia report.
HedgeFundFlyer is offline  
Reply
Old Mar 9, 2008, 5:08 pm
  #4  
Accor Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Lake Oswego, Oregon or Costa Alegre take your pick
Programs: AS MVPG,
Posts: 1,066
Air Madagascar
Trip report done 17 May 08 with photos.

two flights taken in April 08
TLE-FTU Tulear to Fort Dauphin
FTU-TNR Fort Dauphin to Antananarivo.

Remember in Madagascar every town has two names so:
Tulear = Tolira
Fort Dauphin = Taolagnaro

This just makes everything a little more of travel challenge. We believe this trip was more than worth every bit of our time and effort.
Last edited by ijkh; May 17, 2008 at 5:31 pm Reason: updated
ijkh is offline  
Reply
Old Mar 12, 2008, 8:07 pm
  #5  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
I've just added LOTS of new reports, thanks to jpatokal's post!

A good beginning, a good read...
At a squeak over 10,000 miles, this trip is no great shakes when it comes to distance, but there can't be too many places on Earth with a greater level of contrast than its endpoints.

In the left corner, we have the virtually untouristed capital of a filthy rich, rigidly conservative, strictly Islamic absolute monarchy in one of the world's most arid countries:
http://jpatokal.iki.fi/photo/travel/...IbnSaud_tn.JPG http://jpatokal.iki.fi/photo/travel/...urtyard_tn.JPG http://jpatokal.iki.fi/photo/travel/...ybridge_tn.JPG
RUH DAFIF Riyadh [King Khalid Airport], SA

And in the right corner, we have the rather less wealthy yet famously liberal, only notionally Hindu and immensely tourism-friendly tropical paradise of Bali...
Wahhabalinese Adventures: SIN-DXB-RUH-DPS on SQ/SV Y/C
Etihad/Saudi Arabian/Nas Air:
EY 211 DEL-AUH Y A340-600 seat 43A
EY 315 AUH-RUH Y B777-300ER seat 19C
SV 1069 RUH-JED Y B777-200 seat 45D
XY 406 JED-RUH Y A320 seat 15E
EY 316 RUH-AUH Y B777-300ER seat 26D
EY 470 AUH-SIN Y B777-300ER seat 54K

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting when I stepped inside the door of my first Saudi Arabian Airlines plane, and I'm not quite sure if it matched those fuzzy expectations. A B777 is still a B777, even though this one was a little faded and scruffy on the edges.

Wahhabalinese Adventures 2: SIN-AUH-RUH-JED on EY/SV/XY
Etihad, Saudia and Nas Air trip reports
SQ 494 SIN-DXB Y B777-300 seat 35H
SV 559 DXB-RUH Y B777-200 seat 40C
SV 554 RUH-DXB Y B777-200 seat 54L
SQ 375 DXB-SIN Y B777-200 seat 59D

I had high expectations for Etihad, and they were pretty much met, but I was a little disappointed in the ungenerous seat pitch (esp. on the A346) and the cumbersomeness of the IFE system. On the plus side, service was very good for economy, their hub AUH is not bad and is likely to soon get very much better, and their network is also growing furiously. The main downside really is the total lack of usable frequent-flyer miles usable anywhere other than EY.
Last edited by BiziBB; Mar 12, 2008 at 8:37 pm
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Mar 24, 2008, 11:15 pm
  #6  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
Seeking new Trip Reports or reviews of flights and terminals.

Note that Etihad is publicising reduced connection times at Abu Dhabu (AUH) for many routes.

I'll update the index tonight with new reports in Trip Reviews.
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Mar 25, 2008, 11:08 pm
  #7  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
In response to the request about lounge access for guests I'll try to put all of the info here.

I've not found the info to answer the query about Etihad F pax sponsoring guests, but that is alowed by GF, so it may be possible to rgue to similar service.

Lounge Access / Eligibility:
Gulf Air
First and Business Class passengers
Gold and Silver Frequent flyer members
Gold members may bring one travel companion in to the lounge with them, free of charge

Etihad

Qatar
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Mar 25, 2008, 11:18 pm
  #8  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
Airport Lounge Finder

Sorted by airline:
Etihad

• Amman - Jerash Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Bahrain - Delmon Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Bangkok - SKY Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Beirut - Cedar Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Brussels - SN Brussels Airlines Business Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Cairo - Airport Authority Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Casablanca - VIP Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Colombo - Lotus Lounge (Diamond First) & Palm Strip Lounge (Pearl Business)
• Damascus - Business Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Dammam - First Class Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Dhaka - Sheraton Lounge (Pearl Business)
• Doha - Oryx Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Frankfurt - Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Geneva - The First and VIP Airport Lounge (Diamond First) & Horizon Lounge (Pearl Business)
• Islamabad - CIP Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Jakarta - Pura Indah Lounge Premier Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Jeddah - First Class Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Johannesburg - South African Airways Cycad Premium Lounge (Diamond First) & South African Airways Baobab Lounge (Pearl Business)
• Karachi - CIP Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Khartoum - First & Business Class Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Kuala Lumpur - MH Golden Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Kuwait - Pearl Business Lounge (Pearl Business)
• Lahore - CIP Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• London Heathrow - SAS Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Manchester - Servisair Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Manila - Manila Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Mumbai - Clipper Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Munich - Atlantic Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Muscat - Oman Air Premium Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• New Delhi - ITC Sheraton Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• New York - Swiss Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Paris - Admirals Club (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Peshawar - Executive Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Riyadh - First Class Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Tehran - CIP Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Toronto - BICI Casey’s (Diamond First & Pearl Business)
• Sydney - Qantas International Business Lounge (Diamond First & Pearl Business)

Gulf Air
Bahrain
Dubai
London Heathrow (Departure and Arrival lounge)

Qatar
QR Premium Terminal
Spa
Privelege Club Qmiles
Qbiz
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Mar 29, 2008, 6:49 pm
  #9  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
Redemption on Partner Airlines
Is this the reason why Qatar is the choice Mideast FFP airline for FTers?

An index of redeeming miles on partner airlines:

Etihad
- ?


Gulf Air
- American Airlines
Redemption units, via Gulf Air Offices
GF office contact list

Royal Jordanian
Oneworld redemption?

Qatar- United
QR - UA redemption

Syrian Arab Airlines
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Last edited by BiziBB; Apr 7, 2008 at 6:45 pm
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Apr 7, 2008, 6:51 pm
  #10  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
A big Arab Air Carriers Organisation list (AACO), in my attempt to broaden the list of carriers where we can Trip Report links, add reviews or info:
• Afriqiyah Airways
• Air Algérie
• Air Arabia
• Air Cairo
• EgyptAir
• Emirates
• Etihad Airways
• Gulf Air
• Iraqi Airways
• Jordan Aviation
• Kuwait Airways
• Libyan Airlines
• Middle East Airlines
• Oman Air
• Palestinian Airlines
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian
• Saudi Arabian Airlines
• Sudan Airways
• Syrian Arab Airlines
• Trans Mediterranean Airways
• Tunisair
• Yemenia

[Source: wikipedia]
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Apr 8, 2008, 7:03 pm
  #11  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
Sorry to have neglected African airlines so far in the index!

I've just added a couple of TRs for SAA.
Has anyone recently travelled on an Arica-based airline?
Maybe it's a market served by just SAA, QR and more recently EY and EK?


BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Apr 8, 2008, 11:00 pm
  #12  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
This is such a horrible story, anyone considering an airline they are not well-informed about, should read first. Then check you're not flying on an airline like this!

Kuwait Airlines
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=810777
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Apr 10, 2008, 9:11 pm
  #13  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
Some new Trip Reports were added to that forum, hooray!

Saudi Arabian Airlines GVA-RUH in C

Ethiopia Adventure for $274.. IAD-ADD-LLI-BJR-ADD-IAD on Ethiopian Airlines
Last edited by BiziBB; Apr 10, 2008 at 9:20 pm
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Apr 17, 2008, 6:44 pm
  #14  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
I have updated the Qatar Airlines section with a link to a Trip Reports index in that forum.

On that new index, reports are sorted by destination.
BiziBB is offline  
Reply
Old Apr 20, 2008, 7:09 am
  #15  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: in transit
Programs: Delta DM, *A Plat
Posts: 322
I have a trip report going now that is partially on GF, LHR-BAH-DXB-BAH-LHR, along with impressions of the GF lounges, etc.
HedgeFundFlyer is offline  
Reply



Advanced Search
Reply Closed Thread Share
Forum Jump

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.