Top 10 Reasons to Fly Royal Jordanian

I recently flew with Royal Jordanian Airlines for the first time. RJ recently became part of the Oneworld alliance, which means that it now qualifies as a carrier for those limited by the U.S. Fly America policy (see earlier diatribe on said policy, 4/23/07 "Why I Love the Fly America Policy"). I was excited because it was a direct flight from NY to Amman, skipping the long stopovers in Heathrow, Paris or other European airports.

Our flight (originally scheduled to fly at 11:30 pm from JFK) was cancelled (due to "technical problems"). This came as no surprise because the RJ website said that there was no flight scheduled for Flight 262 that day! Yet no such announcement came from the RJ staff at JFK. The long and short of this story is that we were treated with rude disregard, held at the airport all night, finally driven nearly an hour away from the airport and dropped in a nasty motel where we were apparently left and forgotten the next day. No food, information, vouchers were offered.

Despite the mistreatment we passengers experienced at the hands of the RJ staff (one supervisor, in fact), there were positive points as well. One was meeting friendly Jordanians who helped each other out and helped care for the many mothers with babies and old people traveling. If not for the kind consideration of my fellow traveling companions, I would probably still be a resident in the hell hole RJ dumped us in (see below). Another positive aspect was the ability to share with you 10 reasons why you too will want to have the RJ experience.

10. You like Muzak, so for FREE, you can listen to all you want by dialing 1-212-949-0060. Don't worry, no one will answer - more 'music' for you! Someone left the cake out in the rain.... Oh no wait, its not a 1-800 number, thats not free.

9. You like to live 'on the edge', not knowing what will happen next - will you fly? Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not.

8. You like to place wagers on what will happen next based on virtually no information. Not to worry, you won't receive any from RJ. (Note sign behind RJ counter, placed there by a passenger).

7. Joining a gym is too expensive, but you will have the opportunity to fight over the few seats on the van. Don't worry, there won't be ANY RJ employees there to assist the feeble, wheel chair bound, establish any order, or inform us how to find out what to do the next day.

6. You've had few opportunities for the 4 am tour of east Long Island. You are in luck! RJ will (not so happily) drive you around for hours touring the motels of Long Island.

5. You have trouble meeting new people. No problem! RJ will demand that you share a motel room with a complete stranger. Four to a room is suggested (in two beds).

4. You need to lose weight. Here, too, RJ can help: after your flight is cancelled, you will not receive vouchers for food at any time during the next 24 hours. You probably eat too much anyway.

3. You find today's information highway too busy and crowded. RJ will be happy to pare that down by placing you in a motel without working phones or TVs.

2. How many hours have we been in this east Long Island parking lot in August?

and the number one reason to fly with Royal Jordanian Airlines....

1. Hey, its better than driving!