Royal Jordanian A330-200

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Planning

Royal Jordanian recently introduced A330-200s into their fleet to replace their ageing A310-300s while they wait for their B787s to arrive. I wanted to try their product without flying all the way to Amman. I selected a flight between Hong Kong and Bangkok where RJ has fifth freedom rights. The ticket was also reasonably priced being much cheaper than the flurry of other carriers which fly this route. I logged onto Royal Jordanian's website and purchased an e-ticket.

Flight Information
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
Registration: JY-AIF
Flight No: RJ 183
Route: Hong Kong (HKG) - Bangkok (BKK)
Seat: 14K
STD / ATD: 21:35 / 21:20
STA / ATA: 23:25 / 23:01
Aircraft History: Test Rego F-WWYO, EC-KYC Air Comet
Del Date: 23-Jan-09

Day of Travel

I arrived at terminal A only to find that the Royal Jordanian check-in counters were located in Terminal B. My mistake, After a 10-15 walk, I arrived in Terminal B and located the RJ counters. I was only 6th in queue and soon was invited to check-in at the priority counters as there wasn't any priority passengers present. I recieved a boarding pass for window seat 14K. After completing check-in formalities, I then had to walk back to Terminal A to go through outwards customs. They should really call it 'Check-in hall A' and 'Check-in Hall B' to save confusion amongst passengers. FIDS had a remark beside my flight showing an estimated departure of 21:20 (15 minutes early)! Not that I was complaining.

FIDS showing an early departure for RJ183

Royal Jordanian check-in

Check-in rows

After clearing a short customs queue, I had the chance to wander around the terminal for a while, purchasing duty-free, taking some pictures etc. Boarding was announced very early at 20:42 so I wasted no time to go onboard and start exploring the new A330-200. After boarding was completed the crew came around distributing headsets and making sure everybody had their seat blets tightned and baggage tucked away.

Inside Terminal A

Boarding Gate

My ride

We pushed back at 21:20 (15 minutes early) and commenced taxi to runway 07R. The aircraft spooled up and began to roll. After reaching about 4,000ft we made a right turn out over the South China Sea. The economy seats were very comfortable and the IFE system was fantastic. Not as good as EK or SQ but it did feature about 30 on-demand Movies (some in Arabic only), 38 TV shows and 10 interactive games. I also noticed what seemed to be an air marshall onboard. I wisely decided to be discreet with taking pictures in the cabin and limit any flash photography.

Parked beside a China Airlines A330

Cabin during boarding

Welcome aboard

Legroom

The meal service started about 30 minutes into the flight with the crew handing out trays containing sandwiches, fruit, salad and orange juice. The sadwiches were very nice but it was a shame that we didn't have a selection or even a menu to choose from like in EK or SQ. After meal service, I had more time to explore the IFE and watch a movie.

My Meal

Royalwings inflight mag

Seatback Screen & controls

IFE menu

The crew were a mix of Irish, Danish, Indian and Arabic. Cabin announcements were done in both Arabic and english and the crew were also freindly.

We commenced our decent and made a very smooth landing onto runway 19R at 23:01. The aircraft taxiied around abit before parking at the terminal.

It was a very pleasent experience with Royal Jordanian and their new A330-200 aircraft. I'm glad I didn't have to fly all the way to Amman.

Thanks for reading and your comments are welcome!

Simon Coates

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