AMM-BKK-DXB

Upon arriving to Amman, we were forced onto a bus. Interestingly, the bus for J passengers was pretty luxurious and they slammed the doors shut and whisked us away to the terminal before allowing the rest of the plane to unload.

Deplaning from RJ 787-800 in Amman


Business Class "Luxury" Bus

was the only person connecting to an onward flight, which, when I walked to an area called “Transfers” caused all sorts of commotion with the security people. There were passengers from another flight going to Baghdad in front of me, and they were taking their sweet time going through the metal detectors. I, however, received a massive stare down from every guard there, and once I walked through the detector, one of them came over and without asking for permission, reached down into my t-shirt and pulled out my gold chain, on which is a cross. He examined it and shoved it back. Then, as I was scraping my jaw off the ground and getting my backpack, a door opened and another security dude appeared and yelled at me, asking where I was going to. Once he heard Hong Kong, he said “OK, you go” and closed the door.

Literally, ...?

The Amman airport is pretty big and modern-ish. Its roof has a unique design, courtesy of Foster + Partners, which references the roofs of bedouin tents with 127 domes on the ceiling. The rest of the airport is uninspiring at best and the fact that people can smoke in it is a throwback to times I thought have passed.


Amman International Airport

Bedouin Domes

AMM Gate Area

RJ’s Crown Lounge is an expansive 2nd floor area, which overlooks the terminal. Its footprint is enormous, however it doesn’t do much with all that space. Once you get there via one of two elevators, you have to stand in line to be checked in. Then it’s a dash to one side of it, where you can get food. I read in reviews that the food was a selection of middle eastern mezze plates, but in reality it was cold falafel, some really fatty hummus and other generally tasteless items. There was a bar with booze behind it and no bartender. He appeared towards the end of my stay, and I saw him make drinks, but I think he does it on his own schedule.


RJ Crown Lounge in Amman

Inside the RJ Lounge

Food spread

Spot the Bartender (hint: there isn't one)

The most appalling part was the bathroom, which was small, dirty, old and smelled of cigarettes. The sinks, though made by Villeroy & Boch, were disgusting, cracking and in dire need of retirement. I wouldn’t use that bathroom for more than an emergency stop and I shudder to think of what RJ’s showers look like, if they even have them. Again, the fact that everyone is free to smoke (including employees, who simply sat behind a glass wall inside the terminal) is extremely off-putting.


RJ Lounge Bathroom

"Luxury" sinks

I won’t describe the in-flight experience to BKK, as I generally covered it earlier. Of note is the fact that passengers who are connecting to HKK are asked to stay on board, while everyone else exits and new passengers board. This means you’re there for when the cleaning crews come in, witnessing their work. It’s an entertaining hour and a half, but only if you ever do it once and care for such things.


Landing in BKK

The cleaning crew wore Thai Airways uniforms and were very efficient. Their supervisor was on the plane the entire time, ensuring they were doing a good job. The Jordanian crew was swapped for a Thailand-based one, and we finally saw smiles and a little bit of the attentiveness that was missing earlier. The catering from BKK to HKK was also better (meaning that it was average) and I was able to eat, finally.


Taking off from BKK

Edible food (finally) and Jordanian wine

The final leg of the journey to Hong Kong was just over two hours. With daylight pouring in, shades being controlled by a “man with a button” up front and literally nothing to watch on TV, I was forced to confront my own thoughts, a process that I think I welcomed, given that life back at the farm generally doesn’t allow for long periods of contemplation. I think the great realization I landed on was that I’ll never fly Royal Jordanian again, even if it means not going somewhere.

We landed in Hong Kong and, before departing, FAs walked through the cabin twice and sprayed it with “stuff”. I don’t think this was deodorant.


The Crew Spraying Us in HKK

As you can tell, this was a very disappointing experience. I wish that it was still possible to fly from Dubai on Qatar to places and that there were easier ways to redeem miles with that airline. But until the dispute between those countries is resolved, RJ may be one of the few options for OW fliers and this is unfortunate.