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Finally booked my journey home!

I've had an enormous surge of visitors over the past week, (if you're new then a big hello to you!) so those who are new may not know about my plea for help on my route home.

Well I'm happy to say it's finally been booked and now subject to American Airlines' standard practice of taking up to 3 days to issue my ticket.

It looks like this:

Cathay Pacific New Regional Business Class: TPE-HKG-SIN

a woman sitting in an airplane using a laptop

Etihad Pearl Business Class: SIN-AUH-AMM

a close-up of a seat

British Airways Club World: AMM-LHR

a woman reading a magazine in an airplaneI'll actually be sat in seat 1A as the AMM-LHR route is served by a newly-refurbished ex-BMI mid-haul A321.

And on GCMap:

a map of the world
Dark Green = Cathay Pacific, Orange = Etihad, Blue = British Airways

The flights from Taipei to Amman cost me 30,000 American Airlines miles plus ?13 in taxes (they originally wanted me to pay an extra ?5 in offline ticketing charges, but I persuaded them to waive it), and the Amman to London sector cost 25,000 Avios plus ?66.70. And because it arrives at 07:05am I should be able to use the British Airways Arrivals Lounge at London Heathrow, though I'll have to hop on a train as I land in a different terminal.

The fun/masochistic part about this itinerary is that I have a 13 hour transfer at Abu Dhabi Airport where I'm not allowed to go landside because of the Israel stamp in my passport, followed by another 13 hour layover at Amman Airport. I don't even have any Jordanian Dinars on me to pay for the landing visa to go landside!

I went through Amman Airport last September and tried out the Crown Lounge. While the food and beverages are sub par in my opinion, there is a darkened resting room which I'm sure I'll appreciate after spending the whole night milling around AUH!

a reception desk in a building
Royal Jordanian's Crown Lounge at Amman International Airport

a sign on a wall

chairs in a room with a wall behind them
It's actually a lot darker in the room than this picture suggests. This photo had a 2 second shutter I think!

To be honest I'd have preferred to take a more convoluted route as this falls within 15% MPM for the TPE-AMM route and only uses two airlines. I was hoping to fly Malaysia Airlines and Royal Jordanian but I couldn't get the flight times to connect nicely and they would have required overnight stays.

I would also have liked to at least eke out the route to hit the MPM+25% limit which would have given more bang for the buck. Unfortunately I need to get home ASAP to pack my belongings and move house.

So I ask you, my fellow readers, what the heck shall I do in AUH airport between the hours of midnight at 1pm? Leave your suggestions below…

6 Comments

  1. I had a 5+ hour wait at AUH a year ago. The Etihad business class lounge has some nice “quiet rooms” which contain long sofas which you can basically lie down on, with a pillow and blanket. I managed to get a few hours sleep.

    1. I just managed to use one of the quiet rooms (or “snooze room” as the lounge agents calls it) for some good quality sleep. The sofas are surprisingly comfortable!

      I won’t have the same luxury in AMM though because my flight is on BA so I’ll have to use Royal Jordanian’s crown lounge.

  2. I had a 5+ hour wait at AUH a year ago. The Etihad business class lounge has some nice “quiet rooms” which contain long sofas which you can basically lie down on, with a pillow and blanket. I managed to get a few hours sleep.

    1. I just managed to use one of the quiet rooms (or “snooze room” as the lounge agents calls it) for some good quality sleep. The sofas are surprisingly comfortable!

      I won’t have the same luxury in AMM though because my flight is on BA so I’ll have to use Royal Jordanian’s crown lounge.

  3. I just managed to use one of the quiet rooms (or “snooze room” as the lounge agents calls it) for some good quality sleep. The sofas are surprisingly comfortable!

    I won’t have the same luxury in AMM though because my flight is on BA so I’ll have to use Royal Jordanian’s crown lounge.

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