Review of Middle East Airlines flight Frankfurt Beirut in Economy

Flight ME218
Class Economy
Seat 41A
Aircraft Airbus A330-200
Flight time 03:00
Take-off 02 Nov 19, 12:00
Arrival at 02 Nov 19, 16:35
ME 66 reviews
PilotEchoMike
Published on 16th December 2019

Introdution & Boarding


Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome once again to another Flight-Report from Frankfurt, this time to Beirut on board Middle East Airlines, in Economy Class. 

This flight is operated by MEA, and scheduled as an Airbus A330 every Saturday. 

Originally coming from London, I have opted to fly on this flight as the timing was most suitable for me, my previous leg was an LCY-FRA as well. Having passed through this airport two weeks before this flight, I expected passing through security twice, but this time I passed through only once! This is weird, I still can't figure out why I passed twice in Frankfurt on my flight to Bangkok. 

Having passed through connections and rushing a bit, I have directly found my bird at the gate, being prepared to go to Beirut.  


Airline: Middle East Airlines - Air Liban
Aircraft type: Airbus A330-243RR 
Routing: FRA-BEY / Frankfurt to Beirut
Alliance: Skyteam
Alliance Tier Holder: Gold Cedar (Elite Plus) + Miles and Bonus (Gold Star Alliance)  


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Boarding priorities was respected, knowingly MEA is part of the Skyteam alliance. 


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on board mea - a330 od-mee


Once we stepped on board, we were greeted by smiling cabin crew, it is always a good thing to be greeted with a smile, don't you think? Better not being greeted with a grumpy face. 

Anyways… newspaper anyone?


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Usually this aircraft type operated long haul flights, with MEA the longest would be 7 hours to Africa. Yet, the airline is deploying this aircraft on a short 4 hour trip to Germany, you can expect a higher level of comfort than the single aisle. 
Therefore, have a look at the legroom, it is quite enough for this sector!  


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A little sneak-peak into the cabin, what do you think? This aircraft's cabin is unique to all other MEA cabins, it is the most recent aircraft to date (OD-MEE). But note that the new aircraft coming soon to MEA will have a totally refurbished and renewed cabin. Stay tuned ;) 


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That's the bird that took me two weeks ago from the date of this trip! Lovely trip on this one! Below you can find the report of this leg.



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Look at this beautiful winglet!  Note the CRJ in the background landing on runway 07R!


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And off we go, taxiing to Runway 18 for departure to Beirut. Runway most commonly used on this route. 


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V1, VR (Rotate), Positive rate gear up! Amazing greenery on Departure from Frankfurt as always! A Frankfurt Airport signature hehe.


departure runway 18 & Climb


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Getting into clouds :) 


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And less clouds.. I am starting to get hungry! 


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cruising


Ah I am starting to smell food. Looks like chicken and fish on the menu today. As we were climbing, the cabin crew were distributing paper menus. I have first opted for the chicken, but I wouldn't let my fellow Flight-Reporters behind, so I ordered a second dish also, because I was not hungry ;) 


As a first look, the meal included a pasta salad alongside with cheese and crackers, the main chicken course and a chocolate cake.


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In more depth, this is the Chicken proposed: 


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Chicken was very delicious and tasty. And then, my little surprise to Flight-Report. The cabin crew was very friendly and was very happy to give me another meal. 


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This was the fish, perfectly cooked, rice was cooked right spot on, but carrots and zucchini were slightly over cooked. Yum


Then let's enjoy the view after filling up the stomach. 


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As we started approaching to Beirut, the sun was setting, keep reading to enjoy this spectacular view! 


Approach to beirut - ils 16 via balma


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While approaching Beirut, the colours were so beautiful! The sun was reflecting on buildings and windows, how much would you rate the pictures below? 


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Very close to runway 16…


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We are low and leveling to building levels at this point.. 


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landing, taxi & deboarding


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Touchdown!


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Now taxiing to the gate in Beirut Hariri International Airport


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The sun is waving us good-bye! Almost there, parking gate 20.


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The deboarding process took quite a short time, and gave us a beautiful view to our aircraft and gave a good chance to wave good bye. 


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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this trip! Please let me know in the comments section what you think of that flight! 

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Verdict

Middle East Airlines

8.6/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Meal/catering9.5

Frankfurt - FRA

9.5/10
Efficiency9.0
Access10.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness10.0

Beirut - BEY

7.5/10
Efficiency9.0
Access7.5
Services7.0
Cleanliness6.5

Conclusion

Airline performance:

Cabin was lovely, more than enough for this short leg, but the movie selection was a bit limited. The direct competition with Lufthansa gives MEA the highest score on this route, as MEA has an IFE and legroom is better, plus the cabin's ambiance gives a spacious atmosphere.

The cabin crew was very nice and professional on the flight, and was very grateful for this great meal.

I would expect WiFi on this aircraft at least, but I know MEA will introduce WiFi on their new fleet. Why not the current ones as well?

As for the food, no comment, spot on. It was amazing and so delicious. I am always stunned by Frankfurt's catering!

Many thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more!!

Information on the route Frankfurt (FRA) Beirut (BEY)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 4 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Frankfurt (FRA) → 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 33 minutes.

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