Royal Jordanian Crown Class Business Class Review: Paris CDG to Amman AMM aboard the Airbus A320
Medium-Haul In-Flight Review · Royal Jordanian RJ118 · Crown Class
Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) · Amman Queen Alia (AMM)
Contents
- The journey from Paris to Amman
- Crown Class cabin
- Jordanian hospitality
- Dining & wines
- Dessert & coffee
- Entertainment
- Our verdict
It's
been a long time we wished to fly Royal Jordanian. For some odd reason,
indeed. We could have logically chosen RJ because it sells a much less
expensive Business Class. Or because it is
ranked as one of the safest airlines in the world, developing its new
fleet and operating the amazing B787-8 Dreamliner. Not to forget
Embraer 175 / 195, operating attractive short-haul destinations, and
making you feel as though you were sitting in a private jet. Well, no:
the reason was not that concrete, but purely aesthetic. We do love its
superb aircraft livery, which represents for millions flyers the nec
plus ultra in terms of airlines design. Publishing this review, we are
observing the model which stands on our writing desk, and which all our
visitors like to handle with admiration: a dark grey fuselage with the
titles in gold both in English and Arabic, red tips on the fins,
winglets and engines, as well as two strips, one gold and one red, down
the fuselage, with a gold crown on the fin. Our question was: does such
a good taste and sophistication extends to the service and comfort?
From the mediocre Skytrax three star ranking,
we would have been expecting disappointment if the flyer forums -and
some readers- would not have convinced us that RJ was well worth the
experience. There is a daily flight from Paris-CDG to Amman-AMM Queen
Alia. RJ118 leaves CDG at 12:15 (arriving in AMM at 17:35) or 16:50
(arriving 22:10), depending on the day. The second flight would have
been perfect for a short transit in AMM on our way to BKK; but we
rather chose the second option, allowing more time to explore the new
international terminal and fully enjoy the Crown Lounge. We wanted to
transform this business trip into a relaxing, enjoyable journey. The
flight departure time was ideally scheduled: we checked-in a couple of
hours before boarding, avoiding the peak traffic hours between Paris
downtown and Roissy. Except a group of clergymen, there were still no
passengers queuing at the Economy and Crown Class desks. We had only 25
kilograms of luggage, and didn't use the limit of two pieces 30 + 23
kgs, plus two bags 7 + 7 kgs in cabin (economy class passengers can
bring one piece 30 kgs -instead of 23 with most airlines- and one bag
7kg in cabin). A generous luggage allowance does matter on shopping
destinations like Bangkok, Hong Kong or New York for instance. The
ground staff was active and welcoming. It took exactly 3 minutes to
check our visa, clear our luggage and give us the best seat... though
everybody got the “best seat” in fact:, with no neighbour to feel more
at ease, as the business class cabin was half full. We received a
voucher for the lounge. We used it as a “fast track”, avoiding queues
at the immigration/police control. It worked. But we had been
redirected to the economy class line for security check. CDG operates
strangely sometimes... We asked our way to the Royal Jordanian Lounge
to an ADP employee, and were told that they don't have their own: using
the new American Airlines Admirals Club Lounge
instead. AA isn't that much reputed for the quality of its services,
and we experienced Admirals Club in JFK recently without much
enthusiasm. We have therefore been positively surprised by the smart
design, impressive volume of the lounge, and more than decent F&B:
with a fair selection of snacks, light meals (quiche, salad...),
pastries, liquors (but with cheap Cr�mant d'Alsace instead of
Champagne...) and excellent espresso coffee. Great choice of newspapers
and magazines also. We particularly liked the large seats oriented to
the runways, from where we could observe the aerial ball of planes
landing and taking off. After we had left the lounge in the direction
of the boarding gate, we met on our way a RJ representative who told
us: “-Why did you stay at Admirals Club? You should rather used Etihad
Lounge: it has great food with woks cooked especially for you, and
serves the best wines. We are member, like Etihad, of the Oneworld
alliance, and RJ passengers are entitled to use Etihad Lounge in CDG as
well”. We shall keep it in mind for next time. Just like we shall
remember that the RJ “Royal Plus” frequent flyer program allows its members to use their miles with more than 30 affiliated carriers like American Airlines, British Airways,
Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malaysia
Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, S7 Airlines, SriLankan and TAM.
The Crown Class cabin
Our flight departed on time. Crown Class passengers are entitled to priority boarding; though most of them prefer to wait until the last call not to be bothered by the flood of Economy Class passengers transiting throughout the business class cabin. On Airbus A320, only one door gives access to both classes. All passengers were warmly greeted by the cabin crew. We have been impressed by the comfort of the business class cabin, featuring only 8 large (21 ' width) leather seats, with an ideal pitch (46') and equipped with footrest. We didn't expect that much for a four hours and twenty minutes middle-haul flight. It was all perfectly clean and in good condition. The toilet was immaculate, with hand cream from the Dead Sea and one of our favourite Cologne (“4711 Kolnisch Wasser”). We heard about the Oriental tradition of very last minute upgrade to the friends -and already experienced it- quickly filling the front cabin; it seems that it doesn't apply anymore with RJ. It results in a cool cabin, with plenty of place to relax. Our overcoat, jacket and hat had been carefully sent to the cloakroom by the splendid Jordanian-Russian stewardess, who presented us some magazines -in English and Arabic- and one glass of orange juice before taking off. The captain came to greet all of us. We can't tell if it happens all the time: maybe was it for the presence of the delegation of high-ranking clergymen which checked-in with us. Anyhow, we immediately felt the fascinating Jordanian tradition of hospitality.
Everything was traditional and hospitable during that short flight, indeed. Cabin crew are at the forefront, and do a lot for the image of the airline. We were delighted to be offered a cup of authentic “qahwa arabiyyah” (Arabic coffee with cardamom) by a well-groomed, nice-looking lady in embroidered regional dress. We just finished sipping it when she came back with some pistachios, peanuts, and a bottle of Taittinger Brut Réserve. This was the unique -but prestigious- brand of Champagne available on “The Cellar” wine-list. She didn't forget to tie a white napkin around the neck of the bottle, the “sommelier way”, deliciously old-school, and poured the well chilled bright citrine-yellow liquid into a flute-glass engraved with a golden royal crown. WOW! We clearly realized that RJ was flying high.
For travellers connecting through Amman today, the Crown Lounge offers high-speed Wi-Fi, live-cooking stations and expanded dining. Business Class passengers departing Queen Alia may access the lounge up to six hours before departure when travelling in transit.
