6 reviews
Hello everyone, and welcome to a new flight report on Yemenia, the national carrier of Yemen, but this time in business class! :D I was so excited for this flight report that I thought nothing would help me unwind and beat the jet lag but to write this report!
Yemenia was founded in the 1940s during the time of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen. At its peak, it served flights to London, Johannesburg, Jakarta, and other destinations in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The company is a true survivor given all the political instability that it had overcome. In 2022, it managed to gain 12 million USD in net profit against a 133 million USD in operational revenue with Sana'a market making 60% of the sales. It managed to add 3 planes 2X A320 and one A330 since 2022 with another A330 to join in 2024.
As some of you might know from the previous report and due to the blockade, Sana'a, unlike Aden, is only allowed one flight a day to one destination only, that being Amman. In total, 6 flights a week, leaving Sundays with no scheduled flight, with Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday being serviced by the lovely A330 (7O-AFE) and the rest using today's plane 7O-AFF. This flight is considered a humanitarian flight catered towards the sick who fly to either Jordan, Egypt, or India for medical treatment. Therefore, securing a seat is always a privilege, and you make your plans based on the dates you can secure and not the other way around. I remember being at the main office waiting for 5 hours, hoping that there would be a cancellation, as all flights are full almost every day, even though the fare in economy class for this short flight costs 710 USD, which must be paid in USD and not in Riyals.
Now, today's flight is again special for a different reason. These past few days, the UK and US have been conducting airstrikes at various locations in the northern parts of Yemen. The airport was struck twice, so I was grateful that the flights continued to operate given that they are our lifeline to the outside world. Honestly, it is the only flight in the world that I don't take for granted. However, I will still judge this product as any other flight but will still be realistic and won't let my my experiences with Emirates, Singapore and the other fancy airlines that spoiled me and raised my expectations to influence a lot my expectations for this flight.
Heading to Amman's Queen Alia International Airport involved me taking an Uber and a bus. There is an airport-city bus that stops at various stops and is much cheaper to get into the city than a taxi. I paid on the bus 3.30 JOD instead of 23 JOD to get to the airport. The bus is serviced by a company called Sariyah Express and runs every 30 minutes. I was closest to the 7th Circle roundabout bus stop, but unfortunately, there are no details where that stop is actually located. Luckily, I found it on Google maps, as some other travelers have located it and marked it. It took around 30 minutes to get to the airport.
The bus left me at the assigned spot by the exit of the arrivals level. I needed to get up to the third level to get to the departures hall. I arrived at the airport too early with 4 hours to explore. I love the architecture of the new terminal with its arches and domes as it makes it feel spacious. However, I had an issue as upon entrance, I felt like the natural pathway takes you directly to passport control and not the check-in counters that are split into section A to the right side and B to the left with passport control in the middle.
Upon arrival at the check-in counter, it was still closed, and you can't check in online for Yemenia flights, so I had to wait until 9 am. Once the counter opened, one single queue was formed for all classes. However, there was a dedicated counter for business passengers.
I was allowed to skip the line once I aligned with the dedicated counter. I was worried about extra weight, as Yemenia allows 40 KG for their J passengers and 30 KG for their Y passengers. I had more since a previous flight I took allows 2 bags of 23 each for economy class. They charge 8 JOD per kilogram, and a lot of people paid since most people had multiple bags. Luckily, I didn't since I was transiting. So Yemenia understood that many people use Amman as a transit point, given that it is the only access to Sana'a, so they allow you if you are transiting within 24 hours from a previous flight to use the same weight allowance from the previous flight. Now, I wasn't sure that it was gonna be the case for me since I did enter the city albeit for less than 24 hours.
Bags were tagged with red priority tags, and my request for a window seat was gladly met. I like that they use the dedicated boarding passes that are unique to the airlines and not those generic airport ones. I was then informed that Yemenia uses the Crown Lounge. That was good news as it is the better lounge in AMM.
I couldn't find the entrance to the lounge at first, but it is located close to Starbucks. Here is a list of the airlines that use this lounge.
The lounge is on the upper floor and was spacious. It overlooks the main hall of the duty-free and restaurants. I found the food offerings to be decent with many breakfast regulars such as croissants, eggs, salads, hummus, bread, manakeesh, beverages, etc. The seating area was split into two, and there were many seats available. It was luminous and a good space to spend some time before a flight. However, the difficulty of finding a place to charge took a lot of points out for me.
Around 11 am, I headed toward my gate 24, which involved a decent amount of walking. It is a bus gate, so it was on the lower level. Yemenia always seems to depart from the gate according to my experience. I arrived when people were already boarding. I asked if there was a bus for J passengers and got mixed answers from the boarding agents, with some saying yes and others no. Then one of the staff was like put them all in one bus. I didn't like that attitude, but I didn't care really as both doors are open, and once you arrive at the plane, they check your seat number and tell you which stairs to take. There were, I guess, no boarding zones, but they did get those who need a wheelchair or assistance first.
Other than the supervisor who wore the Yemenia badge, all the other staff I dealt with were not affiliated with Yemenia, so I think the airport handles the operations for the airline. Upon exiting the bus, I was told to use the first staircase. Upon arrival, a lovely crew welcomed me on board and showed me my seat. There was someone sitting there, so he kindly asked my seatmate to move.
Yemenia uses a 2-2 layout in 3 rows for their business class on this plane. The seats are wide and comfortable with amble legroom space. There were two dedicated crew members for our cabin. Both were welcoming and smiling. Upon seating, I was offered a chilled water bottle, and my seatmate asked for some warm water, which was answered. I thought that was it, but I was then offered a pre-takeoff drink. It was a choice of different juices and the one I got was refreshing. Then I thought that was it, but lo and behold, a warm scented cloth/towel was also distributed. That simple thing made me happy because it was exactly what I needed at that moment. After that, I fastened my seatbelt and was ready for takeoff, but it was a little warm, so I took off my jacket, and the crew took it to hang it. There were individual air vents though, which is always nice.
My seatmate was lovely, and we kept talking about many topics, which was appreciated as there was no entertainment system unlike on their A330. An hour into the flight, a meal was served; we had 3 choices for lunch (Beef Haneeth, Chicken Mandi, or Chicken Haneeth). I chose the chicken Mandi, which was great. The food felt like it came directly from a local restaurant and was fresh and flavorful. There was some vegetable stew, a salad, a chocolate cake, and bread rolls with cheese. The cake was so good; it was soft and fluffy. I didn't touch the other sides. The sad thing about the meal was the utensils, which were plastic and not their regular metal ones and the presentation didn't help. I don't know what happened to them as they used to serve food in lovely china dinnerware and had metal utensils. They offered more juices for those who wanted. The crew then passed with a fruit platter for you to choose from. I declined as I was full. The quantity was big and an extra option in comparison to what is offered in Y. Later, coffee or tea were offered in these lovely Yemenia-branded tea cups with those Middle Eastern designs.
The crew kept checking if we needed anything, and if they didn't show up, they quickly responded to the call button. I wanted a photo of the cockpit taken by one of them, but the crew kindly refused and explained why, and I was fine with it. Midway into the flight, I started feeling cold while watching an episode of Griselda Blanco’s show on Netflix. I asked if I could get a blanket, and indeed I was given one, and the rest of the passengers too. The blanket felt nice. It is definitely better than other blankets I have tried elsewhere. Prior to landing, the crew distributed the arrival cards and handed me a pen when I asked for one. A quick side note, I love how on Yemenia and unlike some other Middle Eastern airlines, female crew get to decide if they want to wear a hijab or not, and I noticed it was 50-50 from the other crew members who passed into our cabin.
With a sharp turn to the left from the Red Sea, we started our descent and entered mainland Yemen. Landing in Sanaa tends to be turbulent given all the mountains surrounding it, but we landed and made it safely. Upon arrival, I couldn't help but notice the hangars that were struck and the damaged structures. We parked next to the A330 that looked like it was being cleaned and perhaps prepared for tomorrow's flight to Amman. The sad thing is that this plane that I was on will continue to Aden, but it is not allowed to carry passengers. Every day there are ferry flights between Sana’a and Aden, but they go to waste for whatever political situation affecting them. If the domestic flight is opened, it would put such relief as from Aden, you can fly to Cairo, Mumbai, Saudi, and several other designations both local and international. For example, for me to fly to the incredible island of Socotra, from Sanaa, I need to fly SAH-AMM-AUH-SCT instead of SAH-ADE-SCT. If you are wondering why not drive to Aden, well because it is a hell of a journey through mountains and many checkpoints making it unsafe.
At SAH, we had a dedicated bus that took us to immigration. It was so quick to enter the country given that we were the first passengers and had our arrival cards already filled. The bags came out fast as well, which was a first for me at SAH and was the cherry on top.
Overall Experience: 7/10
The journey with Yemenia proved to be a unique and privileged experience, considering the challenging circumstances surrounding its operations. They did however perform better that some of my other experiences in J.
Departure Process: 8/10
The commute to Queen Alia International Airport was cost-effective and efficient, with the Sariyah Express bus providing a budget-friendly option. However, the lack of clear signage at the 7th Circle roundabout bus stop and the initial confusion in the airport's new terminal design slightly detracted from the departure experience.
Check-In and Lounge: 7/10
Despite the check-in counter delay, the dedicated counter for business passengers and the flexibility regarding baggage weight for transit passengers within 24 hours were commendable. The Crown Lounge offered a spacious and luminous environment with decent food offerings, though charging points were challenging to find.
Boarding and Flight: 7/10
The boarding process could be improved. However, the attentive crew, pre-takeoff amenities, and a flavorful in-flight meal enhanced the overall flight experience. The crew's prompt response to requests, comfort amenities like blankets, and personalized service contributed to an enjoyable flight.
Arrival Process: 9/10
The arrival in Sana'a was swift, with dedicated buses, quick baggage retrieval , and efficient immigration processes. Most people are locals so transport is always arranged but taxis are available.
Final Note:
Yemenia, under challenging circumstances, provided a noteworthy journey and found it to be better than my J experience with Lufthansa and Austrian for flights of similar length. I would consider flying J with them again if departing from Amman but less likely from SAH. The experience would be more elevated if the food was more presentable and the plane was a bit cleaner.
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