Review: Royal Jordanian Business Class Embraer E190-E2 (AMM-FRA)

For the next segment of my two-part birthday trip to the Golden Triangle, I flew Royal Jordanian’s Embraer E190-E2 business class (branded as Crown Class) on the 4hr30min flight from Amman (AMM) to Frankfurt (FRA).

I don’t want to be a jerk, but this product really isn’t very good. The soft product was actually fine — the food was decent and the service was indifferent. My real issue is the hard product, as Royal Jordanian’s Embraer E2 jets have the strangest business class hard product I’ve ever seen, and I don’t know what they were thinking when they selected this.

Here’s the thing — it’s one thing if this plane were just flown on short flights within the region, but when you fly regional jets on flights of around five hours, this starts to get really underwhelming. These new business class seats represent a huge step back compared to the Airbus A320-family aircraft the airline used to fly in many of these markets.

Personally, I’d try to avoid this product in the future, at least on a flight of this length. Though to the balanced, let me point out that Amman is a quirky destination, as most European airlines fly there with intra-Europe configured planes, which are less than ideal.

How I booked my Royal Jordanian business class ticket

I redeemed American AAdvantage miles to fly Royal Jordanian business class from Bangkok (BKK) to Amman (AMM) to Frankfurt (FRA). I had booked this just a couple of days before departure, and award availability was good. Specifically I booked the following for 75,000 AAdvantage miles plus $80.40 in taxes & fees:

4/26 RJ183 Bangkok to Amman departing 11:00PM arriving 4:40AM (+1 day)
4/27 RJ125 Amman to Frankfurt departing 10:25AM arriving 2:45PM

That’s a solid value, if you ask me. For what it’s worth, the first flight was operated by the Boeing 787-8 (which I already reviewed), while the second flight was operated by the Embraer E190-E2.

Royal Jordanian business class lounge & boarding

In the previous installment, I reviewed the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge Amman, which is the carrier’s flagship lounge. While the food and drinks are pretty good, the design and service leave a lot to be desired. To be a bit more positive, I’ll say that Amman Queen Alia International Airport has beautiful architecture.

Also, can I give Royal Jordanian some credit for its gorgeous and distinctive livery?

My flight was departing from gate 226, and my flight was operated by JY-RED, a two-year-old Embraer E190-E2. It’s a pretty plane, at least from the outside, eh?

According to my boarding pass, boarding was scheduled for 9:40AM, 45 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time. However, the crew only showed up at 10AM, and then boarding finally started at 10:15AM, with business class passengers being invited to board first. I get that airlines don’t want people to miss flights and therefore try to get them to show up early, but I wish airlines would be a bit more realistic about their boarding times, so that passengers don’t have to waste their time.

There was a bit of drama during boarding, since the glass door leading to the jet bridge literally broke off when they were about to start boarding, and they had to figure out what to do with that.

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2 business class cabin & seats

I boarded through the forward door of the Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2, and turned right into the cabin. Royal Jordanian’s E190-E2s feature 94 seats, including 12 business class seats and 82 economy seats. For what it’s worth, E195-E2s have an identical number of business class seats, and just have an extra 28 economy seats.

I was very excited to fly on Royal Jordanian’s new Embraer E2 jets, because they feature a business class configuration I’ve never experienced before. While Royal Jordanian’s previous generation Embraer jets had the business class cabin in a 1-2 layout, these have it in a 2-2 layout, matching the layout in economy.

However, what’s different is that these seats are staggered, with the window seats essentially being spaced about halfway between the aisle seats. In theory, I suppose the intent is that these seats are supposed to offer a little extra privacy (or something), and seats can also be a little wider, since they’re not directly next to one another.

Every time I had seen pictures of this layout, I just thought it looked so awkward and uncomfortable, and I figured I must be missing something. Well, I’m not missing anything… this is the most bizarre layout I’ve ever seen, and I strongly dislike it.

Where do we even begin?! For one, while I’m usually a window seat kind of guy, I highly recommend an aisle seat here, because the window seats couldn’t be more awkward. It’s basically like having someone looking directly over your shoulder the whole flight. Specifically, I recommend 3H, the aisle seat on the right side in the last row, so you have no one behind you (3C is also good, but is typically occupied by the air marshal).

Also, actually getting into the window seats is a total pain. If you’re on the larger side, good luck. And even if you’re not, you’ll probably bump yourself a bit. I just can’t make sense of this. I’m all for innovation, but this isn’t it…

I assigned myself seat 3K, the window seat on the right side in the last row. I guess my seat wasn’t in the upright position when I boarded, because look at that lack of an opening for getting to the seat (since the seat slides forward when it reclines).

But even when I put it upright, the seat opening wasn’t exactly large either…

Anyway, seat pitch is actually decent, so legroom isn’t bad, though you don’t necessarily have much width. Seats don’t have seat back entertainment, but instead, there’s just a storage pocket on the back of the seat.

The tray table extends from the side of the seat, and can be flipped over to be made full size.

Oddly, there’s no personal device holder on the seat back, but instead, there’s a little personal device holder on the tray table, which I don’t find to be as practical, especially for a tablet, given how small it is.

The plane has AC power outlets between the seats, though that’s the extent of the charging — there are no USB-A or USB-C charging options.

Lastly, for a modern plane, I always find the Embraer E2 jets to have some quirky and outdated-looking overhead consoles. At least this one had an individual air nozzle.

All-in-all, I can’t say I was delighted by this seat, to put it politely. It’s one thing to get this on a short flight within the region, but to see Royal Jordanian operating this on flights where you’re in your seat for over five hours really isn’t a very premium experience.

Again, I acknowledge European airlines often fly intra-Europe business class products to Amman, but Royal Jordanian is also often selling connecting itineraries through Amman, where the competition includes carriers like Emirates, Qatar Airways, etc.

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2s feature Viasat Wi-Fi, which offers good speeds. Wi-Fi is complimentary for business class passengers, and can be accessed by entering your last name and seat number. Otherwise, you can get a free 15-minute plan, or pay JOD 14 (20 USD) for a full flight plan.

I appreciated the complimentary Wi-Fi as a business class passenger, and found the speeds to be good. It’s also nice how business class passengers can connect multiple devices at the same time, rather than having to switch between them.

Royal Jordanian also offers free streaming entertainment, with a variety of movies, TV shows, and audio. The selection was reasonably decent, so it shouldn’t be too hard to stay entertained.

Business class passengers are given tablets and headphones after takeoff, though the tablets simply connect to Wi-Fi, and then stream that same entertainment. The issue is that due to the lack of seat back personal device holders, you really can’t easily watch anything while the meal is being served, as there’s nowhere to place the tablet.

Ultimately I appreciated the Viasat Wi-Fi, and that allowed me to stay productive throughout the flight. However, not having seat back entertainment is less than ideal.

Royal Jordanian business class amenities

Waiting at each seat upon boarding in Royal Jordanian business class was a pillow and blanket, which were on the (very) basic side, but what more would you really expect in these kinds of seats?

During boarding, the flight attendant first came around with Arabic coffee, a nice service touch.

Then pre-departure drinks were served, with the choice of orange juice or apple juice.

Later during boarding, the menu and drink list were distributed. I was happy to see a drink list, since on my long haul Royal Jordanian 787 flight, there was no such list… why?!

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2 departure from Amman

At 10:35AM, the main cabin door closed, 10 minutes behind our scheduled departure time. The flight was basically completely full, except one business class seat was empty. There was a Royal Jordanian first officer in uniform seated next to me (do they have an augmented crew with a same day Frankfurt turn, or…?), and an air marshal seated across the aisle. Around that time the head flight attendant made her welcome aboard announcement, and then moments later, a manual safety demonstration was performed, with an audio track playing.

At 10:40AM we began our pushback, and then at 10:45AM we began our taxi.

It didn’t take us very long to make it out to runway 26R, as we rocketed off at 10:55AM, and we had some lovely views on the climb out.

The Embraer E2 jets have some pretty nice looking wings and engines, eh? Just from looking at the wing and engine, you’d almost think it’s a 777. The seatbelt sign was turned off 20 minutes after takeoff, at 11:15AM.

Royal Jordanian business class meal service

On this flight, lunch was served after takeoff, and you can find the menu below. It’s interesting how calories are listed for each dish, since you don’t often see that on airlines, except when required by local laws. I can’t help but be curious about some of the numbers, though — the spinach and feta cannelloni with cheese sauce really has only 265 calories?!

Then you can find the business class drink list below — that’s actually a pretty decent selection, and I don’t get why they couldn’t have a printed drink list on my previous flight.

Service was really slow to get started after takeoff, with the initial round of drinks being served one hour after takeoff. I decided to order the signature cocktail, the Sky Mule, consisting of vodka, ginger ale, and lemon, which was good, but nothing special. That was served with some mixed nuts, which had a kick to them.

Then around 75 minutes after takeoff warm towels were distributed.

The pictures I’ve seen online of flights between Amman and Europe largely show an elaborate meal with multiple courses, though that wasn’t the case here, at least in terms of presentation. Everything was served on a single tray:

• There was the choice of two starters, and I opted for the three seafood tartlets, which included poached shrimp and avocado, smoked salmon and cream cheese, and carrot and lobster
• Of the four main course options, I selected the beef brisket with brown sauce and potato gratin, served with steamed broccoli and baby corn
• Then for dessert, I chose the baklava; while it was described as coming with ice cream, that wasn’t actually the case
• Then there was a stale piece of bread, and I had a glass of champagne — it’s nice that Royal Jordanian serves Laurent Perrier Brut

At the conclusion of the meal, I ordered a cup of coffee, which was served on a nice silver tray, but was otherwise unremarkable.

The food was perfectly fine, but nothing special. I found the service to be really slow, and on top of that, I felt like it could’ve been coursed out more. I’m not sure if this is the standard service, or if the flight attendant was just lazy. Like, you’re really going to serve baklava with ice cream with the main course, and just let it melt? There’s a disconnect there, obviously, because the ice cream didn’t end up being offered.

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2 business class lavatory

One downside to the Embraer E190-E2 is just how small the lavatory is. There was one at the front of the cabin, and it was tiny, but that’s standard for the plane, and not something that Royal Jordanian is really at fault for. It’s fine for a short flight, but for a flight of this length, you’d hope for a larger lavatory in business class. At least it wasn’t quite as dirty as on the previous flight.

Royal Jordanian business class service

The flight attendant working Royal Jordanian business class on this flight was… whatever. The service was slow and she went through the motions, but she showed no personality, warmth, or pride in her job. After the meal service, she was never in the cabin again, but when I pushed the call button, she did show up relatively promptly. She did have a very pretty uniform, though (it’s nice how at least one flight attendant on each flight wears a more traditional Jordanian dress during the service).

With this plane having just 94 seats, Royal Jordanian could in theory staff the plane with just two flight attendants, in terms of meeting regulatory minimums. Instead, the airline has four flight attendants, though only one works in business class. If you want to offer a nice experience, you’d think a second flight attendant would at least assist in business class during the meal service.

Royal Jordanian Embraer E190-E2 arrival in Frankfurt

At 1:45PM Frankfurt time we began our descent, at which point the seatbelt sign was immediately turned on. We had a pretty gradual descent, and it was smooth the entire way down.

We approached Frankfurt from the east, and then flew out past the airport (with great views), prior to turning north and then east for our landing.

At 2:25PM we landed on runway 7R, and then had a short taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 2:30PM, 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

While we arrived at Terminal 2, Royal Jordanian has since moved to Frankfurt’s new Terminal 3.

I quickly cleared passport control and customs, and then headed to Kennedy 89 Frankfurt, Hyatt Unbound Collection, where I’d be spending a few nights.

Bottom line

My journey on Royal Jordanian really wasn’t very impressive, from start to finish. Royal Jordanian’s Embraer E190-E2s have the strangest business class seats I’ve ever seen, and they’re a massive step backwards compared to the carrier’s old Embraer business class. Not only that, but the airline is flying Embraer jets on flights that are longer than ever before, given the extra range.

While I’d pick this over intra-Europe business class (which some airlines do operate to Amman), other than that, this is a product I’d absolutely avoid in the future.

On the plus side, the food and drinks were decent enough, I appreciated the free Viasat Wi-Fi, and the streaming entertainment was fine. However, the seats are really rather unpleasant, while the service was once again completely indifferent.

I’d only recommend Royal Jordanian if they have by far the best price or schedule. But hey, that’s just me…

What’s your take on Royal Jordanian’s Embraer E190-E2 business class?