Review of Middle East Airlines flight Dubai Beirut in Economy

Flight ME1427
Class Economy
Seat 33K
Aircraft Airbus A330-200
Flight time 03:30
Take-off 02 May 19, 03:40
Arrival at 02 May 19, 06:10
ME 66 reviews
Jamil_Itani
By 1595
Published on 14th May 2019

After spending my spring vacation in Dubai, UAE, it was time to go back home to resume my work.
My previous flight experience using Middle East Airlines – Air Liban (MEA) Business Class outbound of Beirut was a really amazing adventure… to view my earlier report, please follow this link:


As for now, I arrived at Dubai International Airport three hours before my flight. My flight for today is categorized under “Red-eye” category. The plane is schedule to depart from Dubai (GMT + 4) at 3:40 and is scheduled to arrive at Beirut – Raffic Hariri International Airport (GMT + 3) at 6:10 a.m.  The flight overall duration is expected to be around 3 hours and 30 minutes.


photo a-check-1

Since I hold a sky-priority I proceeded with my check-in from MEA’s business class check-in counter at Dubai. I hoped for an upgrade, yet the check-in agent apologized and informed me that our flight for this evening is fully-booked in both Business & Economy class. Instead she offered me an emergency exit seat which can provide enough legroom for me during the flight

After proceeding with the check-in and passport control, we were guided to the moving train inside Dubai Airport that transfers you from concourse “C” to concourse “D” since heavy construction works were being made to concourse “C”.


photo a-check-2photo a-check-3photo a-check-4

After that, I headed to the VIP lounge section where I found the “MARHABA” lounge which I can access using either my MASTERCARD or American Express Credit Card. Upon entering the lounge, I was shocked to its small cramped size which is almost half the cedar-lounge at Beirut, and given Dubai Airport international airlines movements, this lounge can be a real hell during the rush-hour.
Nevertheless, Marhaba lounge offered decent food and drinks, the whole seating area was cramped which made very uncomfortable


photo a-check-6photo b-lounge-1photo b-lounge-2

More of the lounge interior:


photo b-lounge-3photo b-lounge-4

Food Offering:


photo b-lounge-5photo b-lounge-6



After having some light snacks, I proceeded to the boarding area, where the waiting area was full. Boarding started some 45 minutes before take-off, and I was given priority boarding.


photo c-boarding-1photo c-boarding-2photo c-boarding-3

[p]The aircraft for today was one of MEA’s newest addition to its fleet. OD-MEE is one of MEA’s strong Airbus A330-200 powered by Rolls-Royce engines. The aircraft joined MEA’s fleet in May 2016. Upon entering the cabin I was welcomed by two MEA’s female cabin-crew. They were extremely, nice and professional. The guided me to my seat which was 33K. Back to the interior of this A330, the economy class seats are very neat, clean, and comfortable. They are recline-able seats and offers a good legroom

[/p]


photo d-cabin-1photo d-cabin-2photo d-cabin-5

We started our push-back at 3:40 a.m. sharp as scheduled. Upon pushback, MEA’s special interactive in-flight safety demo started. MEA’s special safety video is a very creative one that can capture the passengers’ attention while highlighting the Lebanese beauty, heritage, and tourism. The video is available on Youtube in three languages.


photo e-saf-3photo e-saf-4photo e-saf-6

We reached the threshold of rwy 33R, and waited our turn for take-off. Soon we were airborne.


photo f-tax-1photo f-tax-2photo f-tax-3

Upon cruising to our flight level of 40,000 feet, I navigated through this aircraft’s special IFE. It has a unique special design, yet what I liked the most is the “Voyager” page which is designated for aviation-geeks who can trace their flight in a more aviation-interactive way


photo g-gui-1photo g-gui-3photo g-gui-4

Upon reaching flight level of 10,000 feet, seatbelts signs were turned-off, the cabin crew initiated the service by distributing earphones and inflight menus. MEA’s inflight menu has a unique design like a newspaper that contains some historical information about MEA & Lebanon in addition to some travel tips.


photo h-men-3photo h-men-4photo h-men-5

As for the food today we had a choice between the famous “Lebanese Knefeh” which is a traditional oriental sweet served with soft cheese and sugar syrup. The other choice was scrambled eggs served with mashed potatoes. I opted for the scrambled egg. Upon receiving the tray, I was shocked by the large size of the tray and its contents. It contained “Labneh” (similar to Greek yogurt), kashkaval cheese, the main dish, butter, bread, croissants, marmalade jar, and fruits. All these were served with your choice of soft-drinks, alcoholic drinks, juices, coffee, or tea. I opted for the tea.


photo i-meal-2-98458photo i-meal-3-56538photo i-meal-4-13511

I was also surprised to see that MEA is still one of very few airlines to use metal cutlery.


photo j-fork-1

Croissants were served hot and fresh from a cart.


photo k-cro-1

Marmalade were served by glass-jars instead of plastic boxes like other airlines in economy


photo l-jam-2

Fruit platter was very delicious


photo m-frt-1

During the flight, the cabin crew passed by with their inflight dutyfree shop cart. Unfortunately I was sleep and couldn’t take any picture of the cart. Upon flying over Iraq, the sun started raising up as we were in our final 30 minutes before reaching Beirut. The sun rays started accessing the cabin and passengers started waking-up


photo n-sunrise-1photo o-des-1photo o-des-2

You can immediately recognize that you are over the Lebanese airspace upon glimpsing the snow over the Lebanese mountains. Few moments later spoilers were deployed and we had a smooth touchdown at Beirut-Rafic Hariri Airport.


photo o-des-4photo p-lan-1photo p-lan-2

One last view of the sexy bird


photo olba

Immigration, customs clearance, and passport control were finished in 20 minutes


photo q-im-01photo q-im-02
See more

Verdict

Middle East Airlines

9.8/10
Cabin10.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering10.0

Marhaba Lounge

5.8/10
Comfort4.0
Meal/catering7.0
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Services6.0

Dubai - DXB

8.1/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services7.5
Cleanliness9.0

Beirut - BEY

6.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access7.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness5.0

Conclusion

Another perfect flight with MEA. The crew were very friendly and very efficient. Food served was generous, and the IFE is just perfect. I heard that MEA will soon integrate WIFI on its planes which will be a ++. Immigration at both Dubai and Beirut were efficient, although the airport at Beirut is undergoing renovation to compete with other regional airports

The nightmare of this flight was the MARHABA lounge at Dubai that needs to be upgraded from a low-profile café to feel like a lounge

Information on the route Dubai (DXB) Beirut (BEY)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 7 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Dubai (DXB) → Beirut (BEY).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Middle East Airlines avec 8.6/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 3 heures et 46 minutes.

  More information

1 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !

Login to post a comment.