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Royal Air Maroc Rabat to London Economy Class Flight Review

Royal Air Maroc Rabat to London economy cabin flight review

Royal Air Maroc , more commonly known as RAM, is a four star rated airline by Skytrax

RAM is fully owned by the Goverment of Morocco and has it headquarters located within Casablanca Airport. From its Casablanca base, RAM operates a domestic network within in Morocco, as well as scheduled international flights to Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America.

This is my Economy Class experience flying from Rabat, Morocco to London Heathrow.

Flight : AT804 Departure 15.10

Route: Rabat (RBA) to London Heathrow (LHR)

Seat: 19F (Economy Class )

84 seats / 2-2 configuration

Duration: 3hrs

Plane Type: Airbus Embraer E190

RAM Embraer 190 Seat map — Embraer E190 seat map ( via http://www.seatguru.com )

Boarding

Boarding was a swift affair due to less than 100 people boarding , just having the one aisle was tricky with everyone trying to stuff their luggage in the overhead lockers , but once boarding was complete we were up and away on time.

Cabin and Seat

The economy cabin on the Embraer E190 has 84 seats in a 2-2 configuration , with a seat pitch of 32 inches and width of just 17 inches. I found the actual seat pretty comfortable with good padding, but a tad snug around the hips.

At 5ft 7 I found the leg room ok, but I would have struggled if the flight was much longer. pillows and blankets were avalible on request, but the cabin temperature was fine for me. As on most short haul flights, there was no seats back TV’s nor were there any amentiy kits, also no in seat power.

Economy legroom

Seat view

Food Service

I was surprised to see that a full meal was on offer on this realitively short flight. There was a choice of pasta or fish , I prefer to stick to quite plain food when I fly, so I went for the fish , which was hot and surprisingly tasty. There were two drinks services during the flight, though sadly just soft drinks in the economy cabin , with tea and coffee being served after the meal.

In My Opinion …..

I’ll be honest , I’m not a fan of smaller planes , purely down to the bump factor , smaller the plane bigger the bumps during turbulance. The flight whilst a tad bumpy over the English Channel, the rest of the flight was fine. The service onboard was prompt and efficient. and the meal service and complimentary drinks was a welcome change to pay food & drink charges on most airlines these days. My only annoyance was the single aisle , it was nigh impossible to go to the toilet and get back to your seat without getting stuck behind the catering trolley, but it’s not really something that can be avoided.

RAM Short Haul Economy Class flights include :

One piece of checked luggage weighing 23kg

One piece of hand luggage weighing 10kg

Full meal service

Complimentary soft drinks

For more info on more destinations and fares, check out the Royal Air Maroc website at http://www.royalairmaroc.com

Looking for Accommodation in Rabat ?

Check out the best hotel in town Sofitel Jardin Des Roses

http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-6813-sofitel-rabat-jardin-des-roses/index.shtml

For things to do and see in Rabat , Check out how I spent my time there using the hashtag

#SeemoreofMorocco

Please note my flight was kindly hosted by Royal Air Maroc in order to write this review , but as usual my thoughts & opinions are all my own.

Gulf Air A330 Bahrain to London Heathrow Economy Cabin Flight Review

gulf air economy flight review

Gulf Air is the principal flag carrier of Bahrain, the airline operates scheduled services to 41 destinations in 23 countries across Africa, Asia and Europe, all flights transit thru their hub airport in Bahrain. Gulf Air operate two cabins of service , Economy and their aptly named Falcon Gold Business Class cabin.

This is my Economy cabin inflight passenger experience from Gulf Air’s Hub airport in Bahrain to London Heathrow.

Flight: GF0003 10.10am

Route: Bahrain (BAH ) to London Heathrow (LHR )

Duration: 7 hours 35 mins

Seat : 20A ( Economy Cabin )

172 seats / 2-4-2 configuration

Airbus A330

Boarding

Boarding started promptly approx 40 minutes before take off , Falcon Gold passengers boarded first and then there seemed to a bit of a scrum for everyone else.

The Crew welcomed everyone on onboard at the door, even those of us turning right.

I note that economy passengers are permitted to pre book lounge access for approx £49 per person when booking your flight.

Seat & Cabin

When flying in the Economy Cabin with Gulf Air on the A330 , If you want legroom for days, I highly recommend you to consider paying to reserve a seat in row 20 ( approx £40 per person per leg ) As a frequent flyer never have I seen the legroom that Gulf Air offers in their bulk head seats, like never ever. If your beaten to row 20 , you can try row 40 , but as these are exit seats there are strict rules as to who is & isnt allowed to occupy these ( ie no under 12’s ).

When arriving at my seat to the envy of the other cabin passengers who not been quite so diligent with their seat choice research ( check http://www.seatguru.com for the best seat info ) , there was a small but adequate pillow , but sadly no blankets or amenity kits are given out in the economy cabin.

Entertainment

This is the area in which Gulf Air could improve the most. I had flown out two weeks earlier and was disappointed to note that they were still showing the same movies as on my outward journey. The movies are extremely limited ( approx 10/15 current block buster movies) , and a number of bollywood movies. The TV offering was also quite limited, so probably best to load up the i pad with your favorites shows. On the plus side the tv monitor had a USB charger point which is always useful in keeping things charged.

If your sitting in the bulkhead seat the tv screen is located down the side of the seat, which again restricts the width of the seat some what.

Sealed headphones were handed out upon boarding , they were perfectly fine to use and were promptly collected before landing.

Food Service

The first drink service was approx 30 minutes after take off , with a drink and a small snack.

After my excellent Falcon Gold experience on my outbound flight ( Read about it here https://wp.me/p4AB93-25T ) I knew that the Economy food offering was always going to be a bit of a come down. I have a criteria in regards to plane food , can I identify it ? , Is It edible and is it hot ? If It passes all that I’m good to go.

Approx half way into the flight lunch was served, I was surprised to note that there were three meal choices on offer, chicken , fish and veggie. I plumped for the chicken & mash which despite it’s appearance was both hot and edible, this was the only meal served on the flight.

There was another drink service after the meal, and crew were happy to serve individual drinks when requested.

In My Opinion……

Economy plane travel is never going to be a particularly enjoyable experience, more like something to be endured. With some careful planning, the right seat choice and a loaded i pad, the Gulf Air experience was certainly bearable. Whilst I personally found the seat width quite snug around the hips (18 inches ), the legroom more than compensated and I was perfectly comfortable on a relatively short 7 hour flight, and I would certainly consider Gulf Air for long haul journeys. I also note that its possible to bid for an upgrade prior to the flight, so you could strike lucky and grab a cut price upgrade.

For more information and fare details, check out the Gulf Air website http://www.GulfAir.com

Please note my flight was kindly hosted by Gulf Air in order to write this review , but as usual all views & opinions are my own.

Etihad Airways #A380 London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi Economy Cabin Flight Review ….

Etihad airways A380 flight review

So after months of trying to get on an A380, I finally managed to nail one down for my flight over to Abu Dhabi .

Here’s my In flight review….

A friendly welcome from the etihad crew

Prior to my flight I’d pored over the seat map, with all the premium seats upstairs and the whole lower deck all economy, there was definitely a touch of them and us. The stairway to heaven was firmly roped off during the flight, lest one of us commoners should manage to stumble our way upstairs for a peek.

This way to plane heaven …..

I hit the jackpot when I managed to bag seat 76k , it’s a window seat in the rear section of the plane, where the seat in front has been removed on both sides so A or K is a winner. The rear section only has 9 rows so it felt far less crowded than the front cabins, plus you got served food & drink faster so I would definately pick the back section again.

The rear cabin

Magic seat 76k , legroom for days ….

So once I got settled in my seat , it was time to check out the in seat entertainment ….

A massive 11 inch screen with in seat power

The inflight entertainment has piles of channels than I could hope to get thru in a 7 hour flight , there was plenty of choice from the usual latest blockbusters to a good choice of classic favourites. Plus due to the USB seat power you can keep your own devices fully charged throughout the flight. The noise cancelling headphone are pretty nifty too, complete with a nick proof adapter , I mean where is the trust these days ?.

Kleptomaniac proof headphones

I also found the onboard camera fascinating, and got a bird eye view of one of the best takeoff’s, I’ve had like ever , I found the A380 unbelievably quiet and smooth on both take off and landing .

Take off A380 style

Food wise I was kept well fed & watered, I ordered a low calorie meal and it was delivered promptly to my seat at the start of the meal service , consisting of steamed cod and bizarrely mushy peas, but it was tasty and hit the spot and drinks and snacks were availible on demand unlike some other cost cutting airlines who think you can sit on a flight for 10 hours with only 2 drinks services, no such problems here.

So in review, my first A380 experience was pretty amazing , it was great to watch the plane in flight on the cameras and service was prompt and efficient what more can you ask ?. As a regular visitor to the Middle East, would definitely reccommend giving Etihad a try.

for more info on getting on board check out http://www.etihad.com

Boarding

Cabin and Seat

Food Service

In My Opinion …..

Looking for Accommodation in Rabat ?

#SeemoreofMorocco

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