On Monday I shared the details of the trip I was planning on booking for later this week. I have a couple of weeks where I don’t have any location commitments, so I’m taking the opportunity to try and review a bunch of new airlines. I had already outlined the general itinerary I was looking at, but ended up making some minor changes.
With that in mind, here are the airlines I’m flying, and therefore the reviews you can expect shortly:
Saudia first class
I’ll be kicking off my trip with Saudia first class to the UAE. Let’s see how their first class product is. I booked this using Korean Air SkyPass miles, and plan on using the return portion of the trip from the UAE back to the US later this year.
Jet Airways first & business class
From Dubai I’ll be flying to India in Jet Airways business class, and then to Europe in Jet Airways first class. This is one of the few remaining international first class products I haven’t tried. In the interest of trying to review as many airlines as possible (and also keeping the award ticket as cheap as possible), I won’t be spending any time in India this time around. I booked this ticket for 62,500 American miles one-way.
Tunisair business class
This is where I changed my plan a bit. I’ll then fly from Europe to Montreal in Tunisair business class, with a short stop in Tunis. I’ve never visited Tunisia, so am excited to check it out briefly, and also to fly an airline for the first time. Tunisair flies fairly new A330s — unfortunately the business class product isn’t fully flat, but it still looks quite comfortable, especially for a daytime flight.
I got a pretty good paid business class ticket on this flight.
Why I’m skipping RwandAir
My initial plan was to pick up a RwandAir flight from Dubai to Kigali, and then fly from there to Mumbai. RwandAir has reasonable business class fares, and they’re an intriguing airline. However, I decided to not fly with the this time around. Why? Because based on my schedule I would have had just under two days in Kigali, and it’s a place I’d like to visit for longer. It looks like the coolest part of Rwanda is outside of the city.
So my plan is to instead visit Rwanda with the return portion of my Saudia trip later this year, and to plan more time there.
But wait… there’s more!
The above routing takes me back to Montreal, though from there I have another 5-6 days. So I’m still trying to decide what other airlines to review. In terms of reasonable options, I’m considering:
- Meridiana business class roundtrip from New York to Palermo or Naples
- Merdiana business class one-way from New York to Palermo or Naples, and Uzbekistan Airways from Riga to New York, or Aer Lingus business class from Dublin to the US
- Aer Lingus business class from the US to Dublin, Uzbekistan Airways business class from Riga to New York
Stay tuned, this should be a fun one!
Another vote for Aer Lingus. We're flying business class with them from LAX to Dublin in August and would love to see your review!
Aer Lingus!
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Lucky, would you be interested trying Corsair? It's a french airline and it might be available on your dates. They fly from YUL-CDG and back for ~$1,100. Not quite a premium airline but I think it's comparable to Meridiana based on the video posted on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5izJhyuusM
Aer Lingus since you've never reviewed their "new" J seats. Looks like the one and only review was a RT flight back in 2012 on the old seats.
BTW if you stay a night in Dublin, would highly recommend the Radisson Blu, especially if you have some leftover Club Carlson points. I burned up most of mine after they stopped the 2nd night free there and was quite happy with my stay there.
Lucky, even by your standards this is an impressively ambitious trip! Throwing in the Canada-Europe-East US leg just because you have 5-6 days free is commitment beyond the call of duty. Does anyone else in the airline blog world put in as many hard miles?
Separately, how did the Residence blog posts do? I hope they generated the sort of traffic you were anticipating.
@ Aziz lol he won't make it, it's this weekend...
@Raghav the T2 lounge at BOM has showers.
@Lucky on your transit do check out the Niranta Day Hotels located in the airport. Would be great to get a review of those.
Aer lingus to dublin, airbaltic cs300 to riga, and then uzbekistan to jfk.
^Agree with Cody. Like how do your millions of miles just magically constantly appear on your accounts and you just magically find amazing deals on FIRST class seats? Still very confused.
On another note, would love to see Aerolineas Argentinas and Azul!
Been your follower for almost 2 years by now. I still don't get how you plan and book your tickets.
And highly recommend trying the Plaza Premium Lounge, instead of the noisy ITC lounge, if traveling through Delhi T3. Mumbai's lounge is a class apart, but doesn't have shower facility for First/Business. There is a dedicated First area at Mumbai, and you may run into a few of the big shot celebs there (some of them are even more popular than Tom Cruise!)
Jet Airways 777 First Class is truly nice! I was on Jetihad First, and did not find any difference in comfort level compared to Etihad 787 First Suites. Enjoy!
omg! Please tell me you are flying to Mumbai and not Delhi in India. I have been waiting to read your review of BOM airport and GVK lounge since ages!!!
File this under 'taking one for the team'...
Aer Lingus and Uzbekistan please
Looking forward to it! From the remaining options, I'd be interested in the Aer Lingus in particular. Safe travels.
It would be great if you could slot in Vietnam Airlines business class at some point in the year. They offer the cheapest business connections between Australia and Europe, often by large margins, and would be great to get a review of their 787 product! One for the schedule. For now, this trip looks awesome.
@Lucky - you definitely have to visit Rwanda for longer. We just visited Rwanda and Uganda this January and it was absolutely amazing. We trekked the mountain gorillas and much more. It's an absolute incredible country!
DXB – BOM – EUR for 62.5 AA miles ? Can you go via the third region as BOM is in Indian Subcontinental?
Ben keeps tormenting me by dangling the Uzbekistan Airways carrot in front of my face. Just when the prospect of an HY review seems near, Ben yanks it away with a fiendish laugh.
Ben -
I am rapidly approaching my twilight years. Poor Imperator may not have much more time on this mortal coil. I am already in misery from having to switch from Qatar's comfortable business class to the coffin-like confines of BA's...
Ben keeps tormenting me by dangling the Uzbekistan Airways carrot in front of my face. Just when the prospect of an HY review seems near, Ben yanks it away with a fiendish laugh.
Ben -
I am rapidly approaching my twilight years. Poor Imperator may not have much more time on this mortal coil. I am already in misery from having to switch from Qatar's comfortable business class to the coffin-like confines of BA's Club World. Please don't compound my agony by depriving me of what may be my last source of joy: a review of Uzbekistan Airways.
Speaking of disappointing me, I recall an agreement that you would try the Truffle Chicken on the Etihad Residence flight. Did you try it? I think not.
AER LINGUS !!!
Meridiana
@Chandan Bhat, Lucky is going on a wide body not a narrow body to India from Dubai.
I vote for Aer Lingus. Their J class product looks like JetBlue's Mint class, and I want to know how they compare to their larger European rivals. I'm running LHR-SFO for Christmas year and Aer Lingus sounds very tempting
How are you able to book DXB - BOM - EUR for 62.5 AA miles ?
Go via Riga. I have a summer trip taking me through there and would love to hear some thoughts!
The weather in Montreal sucks these days, but try not to miss the grand prix weekend if you could.
Will you be laying over in Jeddah or Riyadh?
Yeah why not Aerolineas Argentinas and Azul? You could also fit in Caribbean Air and Cayman Airways.
Another vote for Aer Lingus. Really curious.
weren't you suppose to fly Spirit and Aerolineas Argentinas at some point? Was hoping to check out your review of Aerolineas Argentinas Condor Class for booking a trip down there in Feb '18
Aer Lingus all the way!
Take Aer Lingus business class from the US to Dublin, Uzbekistan Airways business class from Riga to New York as it will make a interesting trip report and it has been a while since you have reviewed Aer Linguis
I vote for Uzbekistan from Riga, only if you get to spend a little time in Riga. It's an awesome charming city with an epic old town. That being said, an Aer Lingus review would be awesome as well
Merdiana and Uzbekistan sound pretty cool!
@Lucky, isn't the Jet Airways Dubai to India on a narrow body? You could've tried some other airline for the same route, like perhaps Fly Dubai business class.