For the next segment of my two-part birthday trip to the Golden Triangle, I flew Royal Jordanian’s Boeing 787-8 business class (branded as Crown Class) on the 9hr5min flight from Bangkok (BKK) to Amman (AMM).
Continue reading: Review: Royal Jordanian Business Class Boeing 787 (BKK-AMM)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
This is sadly indeed RJ, if they had maintained good cheap fares in J, I can close my eyes to all these shortcomings, but these days for whatever reasons they have hiked up their J fares and it's quite eye watering expensive to pay for what you get in return. I doubt even with their new planes and seats things will improve because it is just the mentality of their cabin crew which is leading to such horrible cabin service. I really am curious what direction they are trying to go.
A seat you may have enjoyed on United, Delta, American, KLM, Qatar, Ethiopian, etc
It's baffling that their prices don't reflect the reality of the onboard offering. You might forgive the service if it's a bargain but on BKK-LHR route Royal Jordanian are more expensive than Finnair and only about £100 cheaper than Swiss or Austrian.
What, do they not have ‘freedom of speech’ in… *checks notes* …the Kingdom of… oh.
So much for “the land of hospitality”… bah!
Ben, thank you for a very interesting, honest review of your RJ flight. As your account does not reflect my own experience of about three years ago, one could have easily viewed your review with scepticism. However, knowing that your other reviews accord well with my own experience, I trust this to be an honest assessment of your flight and extremely useful.
Your dirty lavatory experience can often be found in the most unlikely places throughout the Middle East; i.e. exclusive hotels and restaurants, etc. Copious amounts of water are often used to clean private parts, likewise toilet tissue is used to cover the seat to avoid bodily contact. These are rarely cleared away by the offender.
All in all, yet another reason not to spend my own ‘hard earned’ on an RJ flight, thanks again Ben.
The seat map is actually weirder than the seat ... a "tube man" slinging and flinging about would be perfect for the seat .
This is legit. Jordan has lese majeste laws. RJ is owned by the government. Not enough to go after you, but I sure wouldn’t risk it.
Are you speaking of Tim "Tom" "The Tubeman" Dunce or Liddle Tubeman AeroB13a? Both of whom have proven intelligence and critical thinking abilities well beyond what most individuals what characterize as "deficient", and in fact, I have heard, on Tremendous and Revered authority, that they are both suffering from a "very extreme case of mania" that is "perhaps the worst seen anytime, anyplace, or anywhere", according to the many great scientists that have studied them both for and with me! This is symptomized by "absurd ramblings", "asinine statements", "spewing utterly stupid nonsense", and "very small brains"!
Jessica ... I am speaking of a "tube man" usually seen at gas stations and auto dealers , with an air blower at the bottom , and the tall "tube man" flinging his arms about .
The headphone thing is becoming increasingly common and deeply irritating. Just flew LHR - IAD and EWR - LHR, both United Polaris, and on both flights people were playing things on their phones without headphones.
I am the self-appointed 'headphone police' on my flights, meaning I actively go up to people and tell them to put on headphones. But it is an unpleasant process. Not sure what your strategy is ...
My wife went to Amman Jordan on a round trip (Orlando-Chicago-Amman) and just returned from Amman Jordan on June 8 (Amman-Chicago-Orlando). To start off my credit card was charged and exchange rate of 1.461 to the JD which noramlly is 1.41. This result in an over charge of $185 to start off and I am disputing that with my credit card company. The seats were comfortable in Business and the service was good but not smooth, but there was not Wi-FI as claimed above. The extra bag charge was 195 JD which as $275 on my credt card. The flight took off at 1130 am, and after serviing lunch, all lights went ouit in the aircraft. This was not night time but was convenient for the crew to stop serving. The flight was suppose to be for 12 hours and 25 minutes took 14 hours to land. I have approached the airline sales office for explanation to the exorbant bag chare and heard nothing back.
If I don't get a refund for the ticket price and the excess bag charge, this will be the last time my family will flight with RJ.
My wife went to Amman Jordan on a round trip (Orlando-Chicago-Amman) and just returned from Amman on June 8 (Amman-Chicago-Orlando). To start off my credit card was charged at an exchange rate of 1.461 to the JD which is noramlly 1.41. This resulted in an over charge of $185 and I am disputing that with my credit card company and RJ. The seats were comfortable in Business and the service was good but not continous, but there was no Wi-FI as claimed above. The extra bag charge was forces on mywife as 195 JD which as $275 on my credt card even though her brother paid 75 JD on a second bag to LA two days before. The flight took off at 1130 am, and shortly after serviing lunch, all lights went out in the aircraft. This was not a night time flight. The flight was suppose to be for 12 hours and 25 minutes took 14 hours to land. I have approached the airline sales office for explanation to the exorbant and excessive extra bag charge and heard nothing back.
If I don't get a refund for the ticket price increase and the excess bag charge, this will be the last time my family and I, will fly with RJ.
Looks like they also no longer serve the main course from a trolly, buffet style anymore?
@ Aaron -- I think they do on flights to and from North America, but I guess not on flights to and from Southeast Asia.
I was on a AC long haul flight last week (MUC-YYZ) where they distribute complimentary earbuds. Well the person in the window seat browsed the IFE selection (AC is actually quite good there) then gave up and decided to watch animal and rap videos on her device at full on volume. The middle seat person did ask her if she can use headphones to which window woman told him "I don't have any, my phone takes Bluetooth or USB-C". I then piped in and said "look it doesn't matter, you're affecting everyone here". She accused me of racism of course and if I had Bluetooth headphones I should "share them" with her?!? I then asked the FA, the FA did have a chat with her and she stopped but half hour later she started the videos again (albeit at lower volume). That back and forth with the FA/her took a solid 2+ hours then she piped down midway through the flight and resorted to the IFE.
I suppose these are government employees, so kind of the service you expect at the DMV.
wow, business class breakfast looks like any economy breakfast on good companies
Understood, thank you for the clarification. I am sure you can understand the confusion between that and those two liddle buttwads alongside their greasy, nasty liddle turtleheads they so willingly display for all to see!
I flew JFK-AMM last year. Yes the beds were comfortable, but I was next to my wife. I did have to ask for wine and yes they take the glass away and fill it, but once everone went to bed, I got better service. My food which was served family style, but larger casserole dishes was excellent and some of the best (QATAR beat it) I have had. Sadly this country is caught between war powers and you can get flights from JFK or ORD to AMM for 70k, but I'm not sure I would fly into that airspace.
RJ has one of the most impressive and beautiful logo and paint scheme in the airline business. The rest is just meh.
Ben, you don't have to apologize for your privilege while doing your job! I feel like your guilt over needing to be "grateful to fly in a premium cabin" is inflating your scoring... this was not a 2.5 star experience.
Is there a qualitative difference in service between the BKK routes and those from AMM to the US? I ask as I have flown the AMM-JFK route numerous times in the last 10 years and have had nothing but good experiences (other than some confusion at security issues in AMM which is not under the airlines control and could happen in various places).
@Lucky, you missed the option to go to the WY lounge at BKK, the only WY lounge outside of Oman, and it is open 24/7
Rarely enforced, but agreed, it is on the books. The actively enforced lese majeste laws seem to be in SE Asia, especially Thailand, Cambodia, Bhutan, Brunei, Malaysia. I haven't been to Brunei, but I have been to Jordan and the others, and didn't 'risk it' either way. When you're visiting, you follow their rules. 'When in Rome...'
Ben, would you say this reflects your experience on the ground in certain Middle East countries (service wise)?
Look, not saying all the people are inherently rude but almost seems like many countries look down on foreigners. Found this in Kuwait and Jordan specifically. Not everyone, but some people. It’s funny as we almost are seemed like a nuisance.
It’s a shame and thank you for this report as I was about to book this exact flight. Not anymore
Albert, that sounds to me like you were unfortunate enough to have a real Jessie as a row companion. “Animal and rap videos”, are all that the Jessie’s of very little brain can cope with.
You will simply have to excuse the Jessie of very little brain Albert. The poor darlink is suffering from emotional perturbations.
It's called a Continental Breakfast...lame on a 9-hour flight without a hot option. Though the pastries looked good. The main meal looked good too. The seat looked fine as well. And I do commend the crew for serving the meal as quickly as possible due to the late departure time instead of those drawn-out meal services that last over two hours (meaning, I can do without serving drinks first.) Considering the main points of flying business are the seat and food, I would have rated this flight higher, at least a 3. My main issue would have been the Instagram lady and the crew doing next to nothing to address it.
Now, I’m worried what slop they served to the poor souls in the back… I’m imagining the insect protein bars from Snowpiercer
That was my question as well. I've done the DTW-AMM flight twice in business and have to say I was pleasantly surprised both times I used RJ. The food was good, the service was excellent, the bathrooms were spotless, etc. They may not be up to TK or ME3 standards but I've had much worse on UA or LH.
"That moaner in Row 4, the one who is complaining about my cousin watching TikTok.....he wants another coffee"
"Ah, fugg him. He can wait an hour until I can be bothered to go back there....."
"Good call"
This is a Lufthansa seat.
The airlines you mentioned have all done better for a long time.
Thank you. I fly that route from time to time and have considered Royal Jourdan business class for price and/or points. Clean restrooms (and cabin), wine and coffee mean a lot to me on a long international flight. I'll accept your subjectivity and never fly them.
So to sum it up...
Crap hard product...
Crap soft product...
Crap on the floor...
Crap airline.
My guess is the front lav is NOT crew only, the crew just decided it was. (UA does that every so often on international flights. Taking your time and taking a picture of the "sign" usually gets it removed.)
What a "crap" airline.
Israel will probably invade Jordan next, so there may not be any more Royal Jackass airlines.
How dare you Jessica! You have made me waste an entire minute of my time reading your incoherent dribble, and another trying to work out whay you're on about, and how it relates to the topic at hand.
I have flown RJ a few times from ORD-AMM. Same experience. The designs on the FA uniforms are gorgeous though.
I’ve flown Rj a few times and don’t mind them (I love jordan as a destination).
As someone who really values footwell space I don’t get why it’s so small with that layout. Compared to the old United or Kenya airways 2x2x2 it’s tiny small.
Ben you should have asked the woman to put headphones on. I agree crew best first place to start but if they don’t care then it can’t hurt for you to ask politely.
I found on the ground hospitality in Jordan to be incredibly friendly and welcoming, albeit I was in tourist focused areas
I'd probably even fly RJ business again given my alternative is BA narrowbody from Heathrow! I do however concur with the notes on RJ service here.
A 5% markup on foreign exchange is common practice in retail banking. JD is considered an exotic so Chase would have charged 10%
"If I had been served by the flight attendant who greeted me at the door, ... I’d probably feel a bit differently".
That's fair enough, but I think the making of a good airline is one that shows consistency in its service delivery, where you don't have a good flight because you were lucky to get the competent flight attendant, but because the crew all do their job as intended.
I did fly KUL-BKK-AMM with BKK-AMM on RJ in paid J. Because we had a longer layover in BKK, we managed to get a dinner in Qatar lounge. The lounge was then closed for a short time and reopened again and during that time we were politely asked to leave the lounge. The Qatar lounge food and service were actually better than lounges in DOH. I do not recall any problems with toilets on the BKK-AMM flight and the food was fine. RJ serves Jordanian wines which are not the best but you should simply ask for French chmapaign and they will pour you some. From what I remember the breakfast was better with a choice of European or Arabic. Still, plenty of carbs for both options. Transiting through AMM with a long layover and a transit hotel is another story....
There's no point catering American/British style "breakfast" on w flight where most people aren't Americans/Brit and don't wish to have full lunch at 7 AM...
If I was in your position I would have had a bit of a “word” at that young lady serving you so appallingly. I also would have demanded to speak to the cabin manager and complained. I would have then had a wee word with the selfish cow and her noisy phone. Unfortunately I have found in life that you just have be like this, and if they don’t like it, too bad.