Review of Libyan Wings flight from Tripoli to Istanbul in Economy

Intro

I recently had the opportunity to visit Libya, and I wanted to provide a review on an airline that very few have reviewed (if any). While this is only one report out of the 38 in the series throughout Myanmar, Nepal, and more (which will come when the time is ready), I wanted to shed some light on not just Libyan Wings but those looking to visit Libya.

A quick paragraph on Libya before the review: Libya was a country that frankly blew me away. Much like Somalia, I was quite nervous before heading off to Tripoli, but after playing pickup soccer hours before my flight, dancing along the streets during graduation, and eating sensational food, heck, I am coming back!

So, Libyan Wings, how was it? Originally I was supposed to fly Libyan Wings from Tripoli-Tunis, but I had to change last minute to head over to Istanbul instead (connecting to LHR-EDI). I am so glad I did, as this flight was nothing short of exceptional. To add on, the customers that fly Libyan Wings are overly kind, which I will get to soon 🙂🇱🇾.

How I Booked

Booking a ticket on a Libyan Airline is not easy (and that is putting it nicely). Unless you have a Libyan bank account, any purchase ticket must be paid in cash at a ticket office. Thankfully, my tour operator had a contact in the Libyan Wings ticket office who was able to change my flight from MJI-Tunis (originally 115) to the Istanbul flight for an extra 75$. In my opinion, this isn't bad at all.

It shows online, but must need a local bank account to book it😞. 

Check-In

Following playing some football (which I will write about when I get to Libya), my tour guide told me that if we didn't leave now, I would miss my plane, and it was really time to head off to the airport.

Hey, our team won 9-1 in the hour that we played…

It's a short drive from Tripoli out to Mitiga, roughly around 20-25 minutes, depending on traffic (which can be a pain sometimes in Libya, but don't even start with me now). For those unaware, Mitiga, a military airport, is currently being used, while the new airport should be open by June/July.

We arrived around 8:15 pm for the destined 10:00 pm departure and first had to clear a mandatory security screening for all outbound passengers. We were all in good spirits, laughing about the dumbest things 😂 (but that is what friendship is all about). 

Next up was check-in. Considering that the only late-night departure that Libyan Wings has is this flight, check-in was empty at the time. I asked the gate agent if I could have a window seat, and he was more than happy to assist with my request. 

A couple of minutes later, my boarding pass was printed, and I was off to head upstairs to grab a coffee. Coffee is a huge thing in Libya, with some people drinking 10-12 a day apparently 😳 (it's really good as well).

Ahh, it was time to say goodbye to not just my tour guide but also a friend. He had shown me a country that had shown me nothing but love. Bidding farewell, I headed off to passport control.

Libya isn't all bells and whistles, as they have one downside: immigration. IT TAKES FOREVER. On the way in, the agents would stamp one person and then go away for 5 minutes to talk to their colleagues 😅. Then come back, and rinse and repeat…

Well, I waited and waited, and 20 minutes later, a man finally appeared 😉.

Clearing security, I headed into the waiting room, ready to board the plane.

Boarding

With our boarding time slated for 9 pm, I knew that this was a ruse, just like Air Cote D'Ivoire. Sure enough, 9:30 pm came around when the gate agent announced boarding. A mad rush appeared as if there was one seat left on the plane for 100 people 😅.

The way they do boarding is sort of odd; there is a line on the left to get your boarding pass stamped (the 4th stamp on the same boarding pass), and then once stamped, you head over to the right-hand line to wait for the bus. 

A couple of moments later, a bus arrived to whisk us away to our plane. Mitiga is fascinating, as there are no actual jetbridges, and thus, they board 777s and A330s all through remote stands.

This bus ride was one of the coolest ever, spotting 777s from airlines I had never heard of (FlyOYA?), as well as A330s that have been parked for extended periods of time.

How friggin cool is this. 

Sure enough, we arrived at our A319, waiting to take us over to Istanbul this evening. This jet is an 18-year-old A319 that used to be owned by Philippine Airlines (you will see in the cabin colors) before being bought by Libyan Wings in 2014. It's a beautiful livery, isn't it? 

I have to wonder, and I am curious to hear from people that might have some insight: what are the sanctions on aircraft parts to places like Libya? I was some people working on a Libyan Airlines plane across the way, and it made me think (also with all of the planes parked).

The Seat/Cabin

Stepping onboard, I turned left to be mightily impressed by the business class cabin. Laid out in a 2-2 configuration, Libyan Wings has opted to install 12 business class seats across three rows that feel quite spacious.

I was offered an upgrade for 360 USD, but I didn't have enough cash (no credit cards again). Additionally, for a 3-hour flight, this is a little bit high, in my opinion. 

Moving further back, I entered the barebones economy-class cabin. Laid out in a 3-3 configuration, the first thing that came to mind was the Philippines. These seats are not the greatest in terms of amenities (more on that soon), but I found the legroom to be quite decent (certainly bigger than EU/US carriers). 

Amenities/IFE

Let's just get this out of the way before I move on with the flight 😅. There were no amenities provided on the flight, nor was there a lick of IFE (no wifi or streaming). While I was expecting this, I was also hoping there would be in-seat power. It turns out there wasn't, and my phone was at 12% 😅 because I was playing football instead of charging, lol. 

Departure

At 10 pm sharp, the captain came on to introduce himself and announce our flight time of 3 hours and 10 minutes over to Istanbul. Additionally, he informed us that we were just loading the last of the cargo and that we would be underway momentarily.

Why such a long flight when the blocked distance is 1096 nautical miles? They can't fly over Greece (I think).

I digress, as by 10:07 pm, we pushed back and headed out to the runway to depart to the East.

By 10:19 pm, we were wheels up to Istanbul. 

With all honesty, this was one of the smoothest climbs out I’ve seen in a minute (in terms of the takeoff roll I mean). Although, the next hour would be filled with nonstop bumps… 

Meal Service

No matter how much I wanted to review the meal service on Libyan Wings, I made the decision to head to sleep since I had an all-nighter in Istanbul coming up. Well, as it would turn out, my seatmate is the man, the myth, the legend.

As I was sleeping, the cabin crew came around to offer all passengers a complimentary bottle of water. My seatmate somehow managed to put it in my seatback pocket just for me when I woke up 🙂. I kept it as a souvenir since where else can you get a Libyan bottle of water, huh?

Soon after, I fell right back asleep, potentially from playing football for the first time in a while. It wasn’t long until the meal service was distributed, but I was so shattered I didn’t want to eat. Well, once again, my seatmate had other ideas.

As I was sleeping with my head on the tray table, my seatmate kept my meal on his tray with a little bit of the meal tray resting on my tray table. When I woke up 15 minutes later, he gave it to me. What a properly friendly guy. 

To say the meal was good is an understatement. This was probably the best economy-class meal I’ve had in my life; the beef was tender and juicy, while the yellow rice was succulent. For a moment, I thought about being Oliver Twist and marching up to the galley saying, “Please, sir, may I have some more?”.

Arrival

Just like that, it was time to head off back to bed. With a phone on 4% battery, and a very tired body, I managed to get about 2 hours of sleep.

Snapping out of a deep trance, I happened to wake up as we were on our final approach into Istanbul after a long flight. We touched down behind schedule at 2:30 am, and my oh my, the captain did it again. The best landing I’ve ever experienced. Even better than the Batik Air landing, which I will write about soon. Pure butter. Oh yeah, it seems to be that clapping on landing is a common thing in Libya. 

From there, it was a 10-minute taxi to our gate, where we pulled in at 02:42 local time. Most people with a connecting flight would choose to you know, walk to the connecting flights section, but not me. With my phone now at 1% after the landing photo, I decided to sit around by the gate and get my phone up a little before heading over to the lounge that BA uses.

I am not marking down Libyan Wings for IFE/Wifi. To me, the inflight entertainment was the kindness, and I don't believe it is fair to give them a 0. 

Tourism Bonus (Libya)

I currently have to go through 600+ pictures from Libya and over 3000 from my trip. However, I wanted to share some pictures first of Leptis Magna. So much history packed into this Unesco site. Simply blew me away 

Just wow.

Next up: Sabratha. While similar in terms of history and empires, it was vastly different. Equally beautiful but in different ways. I will share more when I get to the series talking about Egypt Air Cairo-Tripoli. 

I also went swimming inside of Sabratha in the freezing cold ocean. Where else in the world could I go swimming in Libya, in a UNESCO site. By the way, this ocean is simply stunning. 

Additionally, a couple of pictures of downtown Tripoli, including the black market which is fascinating. One can go to a shop, send 650 Libyan Dinar to a friend anywhere in the world (example London), and within minutes, that friend can go to a shop in London and pick it up (think of it as a local Western Union). 

With that I leave you. Have 8 more FRs from the Africa trip, then onto the next series 🙂.