Review: Royal Jordanian Business Class Boeing 787 (BKK-AMM)

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).

Look, I’m always grateful to fly in a premium cabin, because I realize many people never get to do that. However, Royal Jordanian’s business class underwhelmed me, and has a lot of room for improvement. The sad thing is that there’s actually a fair bit that’s decent about it — I found the seat to be comfortable (with an empty seat next to me, at least), the bedding was good, the Wi-Fi was reasonably fast and free, and I appreciated the individual air nozzles as well.

But what left such a bad taste in my mouth was the lack of thought put into passenger experience otherwise, including the very basics. I’m talking things like a completely indifferent flight attendant, a (really, really) filthy lavatory, lackluster food, and more. The sad thing is, 90% of the issues I had with the flight were things that either require just a little bit of caring, or involve a very small investment.

At Amman Airport you’ll see several billboards about how Jordan is “the land of hospitality,” but I guess that just doesn’t apply on Royal Jordanian. I’m sorry if this comes across as harsh, but it basically sums up the totality of my Royal Jordanian experience, both in the air and on the ground — does anyone actually care?!

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, while the first flight was operated by the Boeing 787-8, the second flight was operated by the Embraer E190-E2, which might just have the world’s strangest business class. More on that in the next installment.

Royal Jordanian business class lounge & boarding

I didn’t arrive at Bangkok Airport terribly early for my flight, since the lounge situation didn’t look terribly inspiring. In theory I had options given that I was flying on a oneworld airline, though it was too late for the Cathay Pacific Lounge to be open, and too early for the Qatar Airways Lounge to be open, so that left me with the Japan Airlines Lounge, which is decidedly mediocre.

Random detail — I had checked in online for my flight, so tried to go through security with my mobile boarding pass. The agent insisted I wouldn’t be allowed to pass through because the mobile boarding pass didn’t actually show the departure date of the flight. I figured she was just not looking at it correctly, but she was right… it wasn’t on there! After a bit of back and forth and calling a supervisor, they let me through when I showed my ticket as well. That’s an odd quirk.

My flight was departing from gate G4, with boarding scheduled for 10PM, a full hour before departure. As you’d expect, that’s not actually when boarding started, but instead, it was closer to the time where the gate area opened. It’s also around when the crew (and the three air marshals) showed up.

Boarding ended up starting at 10:15PM, with business class passengers being invited to board first.

Royal Jordanian 787 business class cabin & seats

I boarded the Royal Jordanian Boeing 787 through the forward left door. This was also the only door that was used for boarding, which meant there was a lot of foot traffic. At the door, I was greeted by one incredibly warm and friendly flight attendant… boy, things were off to a good start! Unfortunately she was working the galley position, and her two younger counterparts working the cabin had zero passion for their jobs, or personality (at least in this setting).

Royal Jordanian’s 787-8 business class cabin consists of 24 seats, spread across four rows, in a 2-2-2 configuration. I immediately spotted the air marshal seated across from me (the airline has an unusual air marshal program), so I intentionally didn’t photograph the whole cabin from front to back, since I didn’t want to arouse any suspicion, and be asked to not take pictures.

The cabin has Collins Aerospace Diamond seats, which are among the most efficient flat bed seats you’ll find. That’s because they don’t have direct aisle access, and utilize the space to the size of the seat in front for footwells.

The cabin has a really cool “open” feel, as there’s a huge space behind the cabin where you’d usually find a galley. It’s not often you see this “arch” on a Dreamliner, so I find that to be very cool.

I assigned myself seat 4K, the window seat on the right side in the last row, in line with my typical preferences. While it lacks a conveniently located window, it would be dark the whole way anyway, so that didn’t really bother me.

When it comes to seat features, tray tables extend from the center console, and need to be flipped over to be fully extended.

Seat controls are located on the center console, and are easy to use. You can control either the individual seat parts, or there are pre-sets to be fully upright or in bed mode.

Underneath the center console is the entertainment controller, though the monitor is also touchscreen, so you don’t necessarily need to use that.

These seats do have a small shelf you can place things on (though they’ll fly off during approach and landing, so don’t forget what you place there), and then underneath that is the footwell, which is definitely on the tight side.

The AC power outlet, USB-A outlet, and headphone jack, are all located behind the seat and to the side. That’s also basically the only real storage space at the seat. While minor, you really do have to contort your body to plug stuff in behind you, so it’s not exactly the optimal location.

Royal Jordanian also has individual air nozzles on its Dreamliners, a feature that I value immensely.

It goes without saying that this isn’t exactly a cutting edge hard product nowadays, to put it politely. However, I found the seat to be perfectly comfortable, and with an empty seat next to me, I’m actually quite a fan of it. I should also acknowledge that Royal Jordanian will retrofit planes with a new business class, so my beef with the airline isn’t the hard product.

Royal Jordanian 787 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Royal Jordanian’s Boeing 787-8s have seat back entertainment in business class, with 17″ touchscreen monitors. This system is rather outdated and not very high definition… it gives strong 2008 vibes.

The system has movies, TV shows, music, games, and of course the map feature. I counted around 100 movies, and a similar number of TV shows. So Royal Jordanian isn’t about to win any awards for its selection, but it’s also not terrible.

When it comes to inflight connectivity, I was happy to find that my flight featured Viasat Wi-Fi, which I believe is a recent addition to the Dreamliner fleet, and it’s a stronger showing than the seat back entertainment. Interestingly, Wi-Fi was free for everyone, with just one click, and no data limits.

Speeds were pretty decent when you consider it was free for everyone, though there were definitely some large coverage gaps while enroute.

I’d say Royal Jordanian’s entertainment system is a bit subpar, while the Wi-Fi setup is solid.

Royal Jordanian business class amenities

Royal Jordanian’s business class features a pretty good selection of amenities. Waiting at the seat upon boarding was a decently sized pillow along with a blanket, and then a mattress pad was offered later on. Since there were several empty seats, I could grab a couple of extra pillows to get super comfortable.

Headphones were also placed at each seat, and had Royal Jordanian branding.

Shortly after boarding, bottled water was distributed, and then pre-departure drinks were also offered, with the choice of orange juice or apple juice, so I opted for the latter.

Later in the boarding process, Arabic coffee was also served.

Then amenity kits were passed out, which were in partnership with Christian Lacroix, a nice collaboration. The kit was stocked with socks, eyeshades, a dental kit, mouthwash, a pen, a comb, lip balm, and lotion.

Royal Jordanian 787 departure from Bangkok

Boarding took a fair bit of time, as the flight was mostly full in economy, but not in business class. During boarding, I enjoyed listening to the quirky boarding music, though as a boarding music enthusiast, I haven’t been able to find it online.

By 10:45PM, 15 minutes before departure, the main cabin door closed. At that point the business class cabin was half full, with 12 of the 24 seats occupied. However, after a few friends and family upgrades, I think the final number ended up being 18 passengers. It was just me and the air marshal in row four, though.

At 10:50PM, the captain was on the PA to welcome passengers onboard, and moments later, the safety video was screened. Then at 10:55PM we began our pushback, and at 11PM we began our taxi.

It was only a short taxi out to runway 20L, and by 11:10PM we were barreling down the runway.

The seatbelt sign was turned off around 10 minutes after takeoff.

Royal Jordanian business class dinner service

On this Royal Jordanian business class flight, dinner was served after takeoff, and you can find the menu below.

Warm towels were distributed 15 minutes after takeoff.

Oddly, there was no drink service after takeoff, but instead, they went straight into the meal. Tablecloths were distributed 35 minutes after takeoff, and then there was another 15 minute gap before I was served the meal.

Of the four main course options, I selected the pan-fried tuptim fish, with jasmine rice and steamed mixed vegetables. I have to say, the fish was actually very good, and spicy. There was also an above average side salad, with cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, etc.

Two bread rolls were also placed on the tray, but they were room temperature and tasted like cardboard.

Royal Jordanian does serve alcohol, but there’s no menu, which is less than ideal. I asked what they had, and was told “red wine or white wine,” without further details. “What kind of white wine is it?” “White.”

If they can’t actually explain anything, it would be nice if there were at least a menu explaining the options. They also didn’t offer to bring out the bottle, or anything. Even with refills, they’d take the glass back to the galley, and then bring it back full (I wasn’t traveling during Ramadan, for what it’s worth).

Around 90 minutes after takeoff, the dessert trolley was rolled through the cabin. I decided to have a cup of tea to drink, and also asked for both of the dessert tarts, which were okay.

The food as such wasn’t bad, though it just felt like there were so many little areas for improvement. How about some pre-meal drinks, or warm bread, or a wine list, or at least offering to show the bottle of what’s being poured?

Royal Jordanian 787 business class lavatories

Royal Jordanian’s Boeing 787-8 business class has a single lavatory, located behind the cabin and on the right (so basically right behind where I was seated). There’s also a lavatory at the front of the cabin, but that’s reserved for crew.

This is a standard Dreamliner lavatory, so on the surface, there’s not much to report.

My issue is that the lavatory was probably the dirtiest one I’ve ever seen on a plane. That was the case after dinner, and it continued to be the case in the morning. The lavatory was so disgusting that I didn’t even want to step into it with shoes.

I get that norms differ around the world. At some airlines, crews are supposed to keep lavatories spotless, down to having toilet in paper in perfect triangles. Meanwhile at other airlines, crews don’t do a whole lot. But the lavatory was so disgusting that it would make me think twice about flying with the airline. And this wasn’t even an isolated incident — the thing I remember most about my previous Royal Jordanian flight was just how gross the lavatory was.

It’s really sad when as a business class passenger I’m tempted to wipe the whole thing down, because there’s no way we’re all okay with this, right?

Royal Jordanian 787 business class bed

A little under two hours after takeoff, I reclined my seat into bed mode, to try to get some rest.

At this point we had around 7hr15min remaining to Amman, and were over the Bay of Bengal.

I ultimately decided to get up for the morning with 1hr45min remaining to Amman, as we were over central Saudi Arabia.

However, I can assure you that I got nowhere close to six hours of sleep. While I initially fell asleep for a couple of hours, I was woken up by the lady in front of me deciding to watch Instagram videos without headphones on. This went on for a really long time.

The crew walked past her several times, and said nothing. Eventually I made eye contact with one of the crew members and asked if they could please have her put on headphones. She stopped watching for a few minutes… only to then start doing the same thing again. The crew kept walking past, but did nothing. C’mon!

Royal Jordanian business class breakfast

The cabin lights were turned on around 1hr45min before landing, at which point warm towels were distributed. Then there was nothing, until around 30 minutes later, when breakfast was served.

I was confused by the lack of a breakfast menu, but then it made sense — the selection was too lame to put into writing. Breakfast just consisted of a plate of carbs, along with a side of fruit and plain yogurt. There were no other choices. Is a hot breakfast on a flight of over nine hours too much to ask for?

Orange juice was proactively served with breakfast, but no other drinks were offered. I repeatedly asked the crew for coffee, and a cup finally showed up after 30 minutes, well after my breakfast was complete. I just don’t get it…

Royal Jordanian business class service

Aside from the bathrooms, this is my main issue with this flight. The funny thing is, my first impression was actually very positive, since the older flight attendant in business class was a delight — she was hospitable, charming, and had a lovely smile.

I interacted with her all of two times, though, since she was working the galley. Instead, working in the cabin were two younger flight attendants — a male and a female.

I was primarily served by a female flight attendant, who would’ve been hard pressed to seem less interested if she tried. She wasn’t rude, she just seemed like she didn’t care. If we exchanged 10 words during the flight, I’d say that’s a lot.

When it was time to take meal orders, she didn’t say anything, she just stood there until I said “are you taking meal orders?” When she came to collect the used warm towels she had distributed, she gestured with her finger for me to place it on her tray (by pointing at it and then pointing at the tray), without saying anything. It’s not like she was evil, or something, but it’s just disappointing when you feel like the person serving you is actively unhappy with their job, and makes zero effort.

The male flight attendant was well intentioned enough and was the nicer of the two, but the entire flight he just uttered one phrase to me over and over — “enjoy it.” I’m not sure if those were the only two words he knew in English, or what, but from distributing the amenity kit, to handing me a bottle of water, to bringing the mattress pad, that was the phrase for everything. So I guess I appreciate the sentiment, but… you’d hope for a bit more of a human touch.

Royal Jordanian 787 arrival in Amman

There wasn’t any pre-landing announcement, or anything, but at around 3:35AM we started our gradual descent. A few minutes later, the crew collected the headphones, so don’t expect to watch entertainment on the descent, at least with audio.

The seatbelt sign was turned on around 4AM local time. We flew out past Amman and toward the Dead Sea, before turning to the northeast for our landing.

We ended up touching down at 4:15AM on runway 10L, and from there, had a five minute taxi to the gate, where we pulled in at 4:20AM, 20 minutes ahead of schedule. From there I headed to the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge Amman, where the odd experience continued…

Bottom line

Royal Jordanian’s Boeing 787-8 business class definitely didn’t delight. The sad thing is, many things are actually done decently well — the seats were fine, I appreciated the individual air nozzles, the free Viasat Wi-Fi was solid, and the bedding was good.

But there were so many little aspects of the experience that I didn’t love, primarily regarding the lavatory cleanliness, the service, and the food and drinks, roughly in that order.

This flight had the dirtiest lavatory I’ve ever seen on a plane, and it stayed that way the whole flight. At least a semi-clean lavatory is something I value on a long haul flight in a premium cabin, and I’d actively avoid an airline like this, especially since I had a similar experience last time.

Then you had the flight attendant serving me, who just wasn’t great. She wasn’t friendly, and the crew couldn’t care less that someone was just blasting stuff on their phone in the middle of the night without headphones. And want a cup of coffee with breakfast? Good luck.

I’d chalk this up to an isolated incident, but I feel like the issue at this airline is just a lack of employees caring. I say that because I then entered the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge Amman, which was basically completely empty, aside from a countless number of employees standing around. Despite that, the tables were littered with plates and glasses, and seemingly no one prioritized cleaning them up.

With a little bit of effort, Royal Jordanian could be so much better, in my opinion. Some people may think I’m being harsh here, but what stands out to me is how easy these things are to fix. I have more sympathy for an airline that thinks it can’t afford to invest in its product, vs. an airline where they just refuse to bring you a cup of coffee in a semi-timely manner, or ask other passengers to show common decency toward others.

Admittedly this is all very subjective. If I had been served by the flight attendant who greeted me at the door, and the lavatory were clean, and they could get me a cup of coffee, well, I’d probably feel a bit differently.

What’s your take on Royal Jordanian’s Boeing 787 business class?