Trip Report: airblue, Lahore to Dubai (March 2019)

Trip Report: airblue - Lahore to Dubai
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I was supposed to be traveling from Pakistan to Dhaka on SriLankan, but my flight was cancelled due to the airspace closure.  I then had to rebook a flight to Dubai and the only option that was available was airblue.  Airblue is a Pakistani-based airline that has been in operation since 2004, operates an all-economy fleet, and operates domestic as well as select international flights.  With a fleet size of 8 aircraft, their operations are limited with usually one flight a day.  

This was my problem with them during my previous encounter with them – my last experience with the airline was about 7 years ago and it was the same route, Lahore to Dubai, but the return was from Abu Dhabi.  The outbound flight never came and thus the return was cancelled and it was handled very badly; after that I tried to avoid flying on the airline (see full review here).  Given this, I was not looking forward to the flight but this was the only option available given the circumstances.

Navigating through the airblue website is generally easy and user-friendly.  You can easily search for your flight, see what options are available, and select the flight.  Once you have selected your flight and entered your details, you can then either choose to hold the flight or book directly with a credit card.  In my previous experience, I had booked with a credit card and had difficulty at the airport as the credit card needed to be verified.  To avoid all that, I put my reservation on hold and could go to the local sales office or any travel agent, pay the fee and received a print out of my ticket. 

My flight was scheduled to depart Lahore at 02:20am and arrive into Dubai at 5:35am.  I went to the airport early for 2 reasons: 1) on the website, there is no option to preselect your seat or to check-in, so the only option to check-in and receive your boarding pass is at the airport; and it is on a first-come, first-serve basis (you can request seat assignments with the travel agent or through the phone, but it is a request and it is not guaranteed); and 2) given the flights had only recently opened, I wanted to ensure I was able to secure my seat.  I arrived at the airport at 11p and the counter was scheduled to open at 11:30p.  Around 11:15p, the check-in staff arrived and opened the counters early to allow the waiting passengers to check-in. 

The ticket price includes complimentary checked-baggage allowance of 20kg and hand-carry   I did not have any baggage to check-in, and my hand carry was not weighed on the outbound.  Given the flight time and my previous experience with the airline and their limited seat-pitch, I had requested an exit row seat and the request was granted.  I proceeded to the gate as the flight was scheduled to depart at 2:20am with boarding beginning at 1:30am.  1:30am came and went but there was no announcement of the flight, but around 2am an announcement was made stating will start soon.  Boarding started around 2:15am and passengers were loaded from the rear to the front.  Even though boarding started late, passengers were boarded and seated and we pushed back around 2:30am.  Right after boarding, newspapers in both English and Urdu were passed out the customers, and this was the only form of onboard entertainment.  Manual safety demonstrations were done and we took off for Dubai.
allowance of 7kg.

The operating aircraft was an Airbus A320 in a 3-3 configuration.  The plane looked in good condition(most of the planes have been previously operated by other carriers) with new overhead panels and controls.  The seats were slimline so there width of the seat was narrow, and there was minimal to no cushion/padding on the seat so it was uncomfortable from the start.  The seats itself are basic as there is only a tray table and a seatback pocket.  There are no PTVs, either in the seatback or overhead, and in the seatback pocket was only the safety card and an airsickness bag; no inflight magazine or other materials.  It was really a no-frills type of aircraft (in my previous experience, there were overhead screens that had shown a kids movie during the flight)

The normal flight time to Dubai is about 3hr, but the plane needed to take a longer route considering the closed airspace and this made the flight time 3hr45mins.   The lights inside the aircraft were dimmed for takeoff, and they remained dimmed for the first 1hr30min of the flight.  As it was in the middle of the night, most passengers were already asleep anyway so this allowed for the passengers to get more rest.  About 2hrs in the flight, the cabin lights were turned on and the inflight service commenced.  A complimentary meal plus drinks were provided (the crew did come around with water for everyone as soon as we reached cruising altitude).  There was only selection for the meal and the meal consisted of chicken masala, rice, kheer (dessert), and yogurt (you could apparently request a vegetarian meal from either the travel agent or directly with the airline, but the request is not always guaranteed).  This was served along with complimentary soft drinks, juice, and later tea and coffee were also served (along with water again).  The meal size was decent, not too small but not too large either and would be sufficient for the 3-hour flight.  About 30minutes after the meal trays were cleared, we started our decent into Dubai and we landed right on-time. 

My return flight was the next day but the timings for this flight were departure scheduled at 1:20p and with arrival of 5:30pm.  Again, I was not able to preselect my seat nor checkin online so I went to the airport early to do both.  My return flight was similar to the outbound except for the following:

• I decided to try a regular seat instead of an exit row; that was a mistake.  The operating aircraft was an Airbus A320 (previously operated by Ural Airlines) and it was definitely a smaller and older plane.  The seatpitch and seat width were both definitely smaller, in fact when I sat in my regular seat my knees literally could not fit into the seat (I am 6’1); I had to sit sideways in order to fit into the seat.  Luckily an exit row seat was unoccupied so I quickly moved there as soon as boarding was completed.
• The incoming aircraft was late, and this delayed our departure.  Boarding time was initially scheduled for 12:30pm, but we did not end up boarding until 1:30pm.  Also, because of the delay we missed our departure slot and had to wait for another one, adding more time to the delay.  While we were on the ground waiting for pushback, the airhostesses did come around with water for the passengers
• As the operating aircraft was smaller, the airline and the ground staff were very strict about enforcing the 7kg handcarry rule.  They went around the waiting area weighing and tagging passengers handcarry.  It was a bit disruptive but the checkin staff did mention that 7kg was the handcarry limit, and this included any duty-free items purchased (which is the first I had heard for any airline).

Other than these items, the return flight was similar to the outbound; newspapers were distributed, the inflight service commenced only about halfway through the flight (even though this was an afternoon flight), the seat was a basic seat with no inflight entertainment, and seat padding was minimal.  As we departed late, we also landed about an hour behind schedule.

Overall, it was an interesting flight experience with airblue.  They seem to be a hybrid between a full-cost and a low-cost carrier.  Their ticket prices include complimentary checked baggage as well as hand-carry, and they also provide complimentary meal and drink service; however, there is no entertainment on-board, the seat pitch, width, and cushion are all minimal. I booked a higher fare for this flight as I booked last minute and the airspace had just opened so there was a lot of demand; however, even normally the fares for this flight seem higher given the experience.  You pay a high price and in return get a combo of full-cost and low-cost airline experience.