BOOKED: Turkmenistan Airlines, Riyadh Air, Saudia, Air India, And More!

A few days ago I hinted at how I’m going on a wild (mostly) review trip. I was genuinely very excited, but didn’t want to fully share the details, due to one of the airlines I’m flying, and their (at least official) policy toward taking pictures. Now that my trip is underway, let me explain what I have planned, and then you can expect lots of updates over the coming days.

I’m excited to take a Four Seasons Yachts cruise

Often I’ll take review trips exclusively to review airlines, but in this case, I’m taking a slightly different approach. I need to get to and from Europe in order to catch a cruise, but I’ll be flying there and back in the most roundabout way imaginable.

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First let me explain that we’re going to be taking a Four Seasons Yachts cruise. We took a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruise earlier this year, and had a great time. I’m just generally fascinated by the luxury hotel branded cruise developments as of late, given the growth in this sector, so I look forward to checking this out.

For what it’s worth, we paid full price for our cruise. Well, we sort of paid full price — we were initially supposed to sail in March, but the ship got delayed, so they offered discounts to everyone who was impacted on future cruises.

I’m very curious to check this out, and will be sharing some initial thoughts from onboard. On the one hand, the ship looks amazing, like luxury on a different level. On the other hand, I find it odd how they don’t include most food and drinks, so I’m curious how I feel about that in practice. The reviews so far have been all over the place, and I’ve seen some very positive ones, and also some very negative ones, so I’m anxious to experiencing it for myself.

I realize cruising won’t appeal to everyone, but over the next year or so I plan to check out most of the major luxury cruise lines (including existing non-hotel branded players, like Explora), as it’s an interesting aspect of the travel industry that I haven’t really covered.

The very fun way I’m flying to & from Europe

Normal people would of course fly from the United States to Europe via… well, the Atlantic Ocean. I’m doing that, but I’m adding on a little detour in both directions to the Middle East, Central Asia, India, etc.

Here’s the itinerary I have planned for the outbound:

• First, I’ll be flying Lufthansa’s new Boeing 787 Allegris business class to Europe; I’ve flown Lufthansa’s Airbus A350 Allegris business class, but I’m curious if there are any differences on the 787, and also, finally get to review Lufthansa’s updated business class soft product
• Then I’ll be fulfilling a dream I’ve had for years, flying from Europe to India via Ashgabat on Turkmenistan Airlines; I’m thinking this is going to be the strangest itinerary I’ve ever flown, in terms of both the onboard and ground experience, and I’ve flown some unusual airlines… I’m just hoping I don’t get in trouble
• Then I’ll be returning from India to Europe in Air India’s first class; it’s supposed to be an ex-Etihad Boeing 777 with first class suites, but what I’m most excited about is checking out the new Air India Lounge Delhi, and in particular, the new first class lounge, which looks spectacularly good, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes my list of the world’s best first class lounges

Then here’s what I have planned for the return:

• I’ll be flying Saudia from Europe to Riyadh via Jeddah, taking both the Boeing 787 and Airbus A330; I haven’t flown Saudia in years, and I’ve heard the airline has improved greatly, so I look forward to experiencing it firsthand
• I’ll then be flying back to Europe on Riyadh Air’s new Boeing 787; I love to review airline startups, and this is probably the most well funded one we’ve seen in a very long time, so let’s see if it lives up to the hype, including the lounge in Riyadh
• Currently I’m then booked to fly Alaska’s Boeing 787 business class across the Atlantic back to Seattle, but I’m viewing that as my backup for now; my hope is to fly SWISS Senses’ A350 first class, as I’m still plotting a way to make that happen, mainly so I can update my rankings of the world’s best first class airlines (since this is the missing piece)

Anyway, that’s where things currently stand, so stay tuned, as there will be lots of updates in the coming days. Have I mentioned I’m excited to fly Turkmenistan Airlines? 😉

I do have one quick question, for a part of the trip I haven’t yet decided on — any thoughts on where to stay in Riyadh for a quick visit? I’m deciding between the Four Seasons, the St. Regis, and Bab Samhan (Marriott Luxury Collection), but am open to other ideas as well? The Four Seasons seems to be the most central, the St. Regis is new and the most expensive (and is attached to a mall), and Bab Samhan looks really cool and is the cheapest, but the location probably isn’t ideal for my purposes?

Bottom line

I’m just embarking on a review trip, and I’m very excited about the airlines I’ll be flying and the lounges I’ll be visiting, in addition to the cruise we’ll be taking.

To me, the most exciting trips from a review perspective are the ones where I really don’t know what to expect, and that very much sums up the vibe of this trip. Perhaps aside from Allegris business class, everything here is sort of an unknown to me.

Turkmenistan Airlines? WOOT! Startup Riyadh Air, with a flagship lounge? I’m excited! Air India’s lounge and ground experience? That should be an adventure! And flying Alaska on a plane that isn’t a 737? What will that even be like?!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!