Review: Chennai to Abu Dhabi, Jet Airways B737-800, business class

I flew Jet Airways business class on their B737-800 aircraft, which is similar to what is used on domestic flights...the main difference being, these come with in-flight entertainment sets. Here's a review of the flight.




Index of posts


Flight review



MAA-AUH
9W 525 | 4h 20m | 1,844 miles | Business Class

It so happened that I was the only passenger in business class on this flight, so I had the entire cabin to myself. That's a first, I think, though there have been two occasions when I could've upgraded but didn't, only to find that business class was empty on those occasions.

Business class seating - all mine!

Business class is configured as three rows in a 2x2 setting, so a total of 12 seats. The seats are standard business class seats, with adjustable headrests.


Jet Airways B737-8000 business class seat

Each seat has a power outlet in addition to the outlet for the audio jack used for IFE headphones.

Jet Airways B737-8000 business class seat

The seats have sufficient leg room. However, if the person in front of you chooses to recline their seat back entirely, it can be quite difficult to get out of your window seat (as I experienced on my return flight).

Jet Airways B737-8000 business class 

Service started with a cold towel and a welcome drink. Jet Airways doesn't do champagne as a welcome drink, since that would require it to pay duties in India.

Jet Airways B737-8000 business class - welcome drink

However, the crew took drinks and dinner orders while on ground, so that they could start with the prep as soon as possible. Here's the drinks menu.

 
Jet Airways B737-8000 business class - drinks menu (international)

And here's the dinner menu for the flight.

Jet Airways B737-8000 business class - dinner menu

Fast-track immigration cards were also handed out (though I didn't need it as I was only connecting in AUH).

Jet Airways B737-8000 business class - fast-track cards for AUH immigration

There's work going on for the past several weeks on the main runway at MAA, and so we had to use the secondary runway for our departure. On our taxi to the runway, we crossed the old airport terminal, which has been used for cargo operations since the late 1980s.


Chennai International Airport - old terminal


Taxiing to departure point

Soon enough, we were airborne (on time, if I may add). However, it was a cloudy day with a chance of showers, so we had a bit of weather climbing out of Chennai.

Chennai just after climb-out

Chennai just after climb-out

Chennai just after climb-out

It took nearly 40 minutes for the captain to turn off the seatbelts sign, at which point in time the cabin service began. Being the only passenger in business class, my drinks were served quite immediately, with a bowl of warm mixed nuts.

Jet Airways Business Class - champagne and nuts

At first, I didn't feel like having dinner, so I asked for something light. The crew got me a mix of breads, with some butter and hummus!

Jet Airways Business Class - breads, butter and hummus

Soon enough, it was time for glass #2 of the bubbly stuff.

Jet Airways Business Class - champagne and nuts

During all of this, there were several problems with the in-flight entertainment system. The crew had to reboot the system 4 or 5 times during the entire flight, which meant there wasn't enough time to watch anything substantial.

Jet Airways Business Class - In flight entertainment reset

Jet Airways Business Class - In flight entertainment reset

Then, a couple of hours before landing, I started to feel a little hungry, and so I decided to ask for dinner to be served. I chose the lamb, which was served with a salad and some Indian breads, along with steamed rice.

Jet Airways Business Class - Dinner

And dessert, of course!

Jet Airways Business Class - Dessert


And just like that, before I knew it, it was time to buckle up in preparation for our landing. And be prepared for miles and miles of desert.

Approach into AUH


Approach into AUH

Approach into AUH

We landed pretty much on time, weather notwithstanding, which was around dusk.

Landed at AUH

We passed by several rather familiar (!) aircraft, before we reached our parking bay.

Jet Airways aircraft in AUH

And were bussed over to the terminal building.

AUH International - terminal building

As I was connecting, I had to pass through security once again. However, it was all chaotic out there. 

AUH International - security prior to connections

I've never seen such long lines for security. The usual business and first class queue was non-existent, there were passengers everywhere. It was madness, which is quite unusual for Abu Dhabi. I later learnt the reason for this - our arrival time was just around dusk, when most of the security staff (who observed Roza, or the Ramadan fast), had actually gone to break their fasts. So instead of about 16 security booths, only two were actually operational.

Flying as the only passenger in your cabin can be a good thing, but it is also rather boring, especially when the IFE wasn't working well. That apart, the flight was reasonably comfortable, and the F&B was decent.

And the best part of the trip (or at least, one of them) was just coming up! Stay tuned...

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