Leg 6: RUH-LHR bmi British Midland - Airbus A330-200

Although I have flown several times between Riyadh and London, this is actually the first occasion I have flown direct rather than using Emirates via Dubai. As this was also my first time flying bmi longhaul, I was actually really looking forward to the flight despite the ungodly hour of departure and the prospect of trying to sleep on an overnighter in economy class. I’m normally more than happy to be at the back of the bus, the thrill of just being on the move generally overriding any concerns over lack of comfort, but I won’t pretend I’m normally thrilled by the prospect of overnight runs with a full day of work planned for the next day (this is after all surely what business class is designed for).

As the departure time for this flight was in the wee small hours of the morning I extended my room reservation by a half day until 10pm, which at half the standard day rate was money well spent. The run to the airport took quite a while due to an unusually high number of check-points en-route but I was still in the terminal within two hours of scheduled departure. At first glance the terminal looked to be overloaded, with a queue snaking the full length of the concourse. It turned out, however, that the queue was mostly for the Jet Airways flight to Mumbai with bmi representatives picking their passengers out of the queue and escorting them through the bag scan to their deserted check in desks.

Bags were checked efficiently, and following a bit a discussion in a language in which I am not conversant, the supervisor came across and I was handed a business class boarding pass with ‘sincere thanks from bmi for my valued custom.’ Given that I hold only the lofty status of blueplus on bmi (which I think entitles me to a free biscuit on flights but little else), and no status on any other star alliance carrier, this was a surprise to say the least and I was sufficiently taken aback that I almost forgot to thank the check-in chap for this unexpected bounty. With boarding pass in hand I skipped through security and headed to the lounge, which I know from using it on numerous Emirates runs is First Class in name only. Although I’ve used this facility many times, this is the first time I’ve been in it since it completed the refurbishment that has been going on for the past couple of months, The makeover appears to have involved a coat of paint and the addition of even more chairs to a room which was already overly endowed with furniture. On the plus side they now have a Nescafe machine which dispenses coffee which one can recognise as such, which is a significant step forward.

After sampling a couple of ‘malt beverages’ (non-alcoholic beers), one of which turned out to be somewhat bizarrely flavoured with pineapple, boarding was called and I headed off to the gate. Boarding took a considerable amount of time due to bag searches and pat downs being done in the jet-way, the first time I have experienced this in Riyadh. Once onboard I was pointed in the direction of seat 5K where my jacket was taken and drink offered. Interestingly, bmi offer a choice of orange juice or water as a pre-departure drink but also take your order for a ‘proper’ drink, which is brought to your seat as soon as the crew can get moving post take-off. This was a first on all my flights to and from the Kingdom, which have been dry on every other occasion, so was a welcome surprise.

With no previous experience with bmi long-haul I had no set expectation of what their business class offering would be like and was pleased to see that the seats were full lie flats rather than older style seats. The cabin, and the business seat in particular, was very similar to that which I experienced recently on Jet Airways. As with Jet, I found the seats a little uncomfortable in their fully upright position, mainly because the seat bottom didn’t feel like it extended far enough along my legs, but as soon as I could play the position I was much happier.

While we were still on the ground the chef came to take my order for dinner and breakfast, both of which I chose to partake in despite the late hour more out of curiosity than hunger. Dinner choice (if I recall correctly as I didn’t think to collect the menu) was between a chicken with creamy tarragon sauce, lamb with rosemary crust, and spiced paneer with Indian bread. I chose the paneer and it was really rather decent, I would have happily eaten it on the ground, which is about as enthusiastic a verdict as I am ever likely to offer on in-flight catering. I passed on the wine offering and enjoyed a London Pride with the curry (the eternal student in me will forever equate curry with beer) but the list was quite interesting and had the flight been a tad earlier there were definitely some that I would have liked to sample.

I passed on desert (which was a simple offering - fruit or ice-cream if I recall correctly) and reclined the chair into bed mode. Prior to turning in I completed the required ablutions using the bmi amenity kit, which was a bit on the basic side (tacky nylon pack and contents far below the standard of VS / EK / BA) but which nonetheless contained the essentials. In bed mode the seat was extremely comfortable but as usual with leather seats I struggled to keep from over-heating and gave up on sleep after a couple of hours. As the chap next to me had his eyeshades on and was unlikely to be disturbed I tried the entertainment at this stage but as it was non-AVOD and was mid-cycle there wasn’t anything worth watching so I read my book until breakfast.

Breakfast offering was good, with a choice of various cooked options as well as pastries, cereal, etc. I opted for the porridge with dried fruits, which was cleared just as we were beginning our descent into Heathrow (which for the first time in ages was accomplished without doing 3 laps of southern England - result!). Despite having flown in and out of Heathrow many times over the years, this arrival in Heathrow was my first ever experience of Terminal One, which made me feel like apologising to all the non-Brits I saw in the terminal as, for want of a better word, it sucks. Passport control was nonetheless mercifully fast and I was soon on my way to the bus terminal to catch a coach to Victoria. Whilst I would normally take the train over a bus if at all possible, given that my destination in London is usually walking distance from Victoria Coach Station the margin by which the coach is the easiest option trumps my aversion to buses on most occasions.

All things considered, I was impressed with bmi business class (although clearly I was ecstatic with what I received given that I didn’t pay for it). I would certainly consider them again on the same route over the usual Emirates / Etihad option if it fit with my timetable.