Trip Report: Royal Jordanian (A319) Crown (Business) MAD-AMM

The Details

Flight: RJ110
Aircraft: A319
Class: Crown (Business)
Seat: 4A
Route: Madrid-Barajas (MAD)-Amman Queen Alia International (AMM)
Distance: 2,272 miles
Duration: 4hr 49min
Departure: 4:34PM
Arrival: 10:00PM

The Preflight

With a few hours to spare in MAD after arriving from my previous flight from Chicago, I decided to spend the majority of my time in the Iberia Business Lounge.

Breakfast was served during my time there.

There was a dedicated bar area featuring many different types of self-served alcoholic beverages.

There were also excellent views of the apron, runway, and gates.

I managed to spot the plane I was going to take to Amman as it arrived. It was the “Oneworld” livery A319 registration JY-AYP. She was delivered to Royal Jordanian back in March 2009.

The Flight

Royal Jordanian seats 14 passengers it the Crown class cabin. Each seat featured a generous 46 inches of pitch and 21 inches of width. These were by far the most comfortable narrow-body business class seats I’ve flown in. They reminded me of la-z-boy recliners.

Each seat featured a personal reading light and foot rest. There was a comfortable pillow provided as well. The IFE screen flipped out from the armrest between the seats and was fairly dated.

While not lie-flat, the seat had thick padding which made it very comfortable. The cabin was kept at a cool temperature which made napping extremely easy.

I was lucky enough to have an entire row to myself. The cabin was about half-full and there were two Royal Jordanian crew members in row across from me.

A small amenity kit was provided on this short five hour flight. It was fairly basic and included socks, eye mask, and toothbrush.

A pair of Royal Jordanian headphones were also provided. These were the same pair of headphones provided on my later flight from Amman to Doha.

Upon boarding I was greeted by the friendly flight attendant. She read my boarding pass and welcomed me abroad by my last name. Moments after taking my seat, I was given a warm cup of delicious Arabic coffee.

Immediately after the Arabic coffee service, the flight attendant came around with Tattinger champagne and a warm towel.

Menus were handed out and I had a second glass of champagne.

30 minutes after takeoff toated mixed nuts were served.

The appetizer arrived beautifully presented. The shrimp was fresh and seasoned with just the right amount of dill. The dish was served with a dry-cured beef that was phenomenal.

For my main dish I had the lamb madras. The lamb was fork-tender and the curry sauce an explosion of flavor at 32,000 feet. I paired the lamb with a Jordanian shiraz.

I managed to dose off for two hours after the meal service and awoke to the flight attendants prepping the cabin for landing.

We landed in Amman in the middle of the night and I sleepily made my way to the Royal Jordanian Crown Lounge to wait a few more hours until my next flight to Doha.