As I mentioned in my previous post I flew with Wataniya Airways to Dubai tonight. It was a very comfy flight since I flew first class. They are my clients so if I say they’re amazing many of you won’t believe me so I will just talk about some of their features.
When you get to the Wataniya Airways airport (Sheikh Saad Terminal) you will be greeted by a Wataniya Airways employee that will check you in while you wait in the first class lounge. When its time for you to board a Wataniya Airways employee will come to you and take you through emigration and then a private car will drive you to the plane. It feels like you’re traveling on a private jet basically.
The seats of the plane are very comfy, look great and are designed by Recaro who are known for their racing seats. First class have a very cool inflight entertainment system which consists of a huge 10.6inch touchscreen. Other than the on demand video the coolest feature has to be the fact you can plug in your iPod or any video device and watch your movies on the planes 10.6inch screen since it has RCA inputs which are located on the side of the seat. A power socket is also available. Finally you can currently send SMS’s and use your phones Internet connection while on the plane which was the first time I experience that. This is a feature available to everyone on board not just first class. Also by next month you should be able to make voice calls with your phone from the plane.
When you land in Dubai you are then guided through the airport by Marhaba employees. They are hired by Wataniya Airways for all their passengers not just first class to offer any kind of assistance needed. Overall a pretty great experience, I love their private airport. Because its just for Wataniya Airways there isn’t any kind of crowd and everything works a lot quicker. Will post pictures of the airport in a few days. If anyone has any questions regarding my experience you can post them in the comments and I will try my best to answer them.
Oh and one more thing. The duty free shop is digital, you flip through the products available for sale on your touch screen and you add whatever product you want into your cart. The flight attendants then bring you your items. I thought that was also pretty cool.
Update: Turns out in flight voice calls WON’T be available next month.
50 replies on “First flight with Wataniya Airways”
Whoa ! 3ajeeeb !
Great review! When did they start? Where all will they be offering flights to? They seem a lot more pricier than Jazeera, so I guess they arent an LCC, but are more targeted towards the upper middle class?
Yeah they are a premium airline not an economy one. They started around a week ago flights to Dubai but they get their second plane end of the month and then they start flights to other destinations like Beirut and Bahrain.
With all these fun features, it’s a shame the flights are short 🙂
Virgin Atlantic of the Middle East. I know many people who are willing to pay the premium, including myself. For me, the worst part of every flight is the crowded airport not the airplanes. Mark, do they have first, business, and economy class or just first and business?
i like going to the airport so am not a big fan of the whole private airport
but it seems the services on the plane are good and kinda WOW
I think just flying from the new airport is worth paying any price to get away from the hectic and crappy Kuwait Airport. Secondly that is one very fun entertainment system..
If I remember correctly their first class seats go back further then those of Emirates Airlines! And their First Class tickets are cheaper by about 100 KD from Emirates Business class tickets! Worth the flight for a frequent flier, now just to wait for their frequent flier miles!
i still believe that mark is just marketing them. 😛
Nice… Will try them as soon as I can. Thanks Mark.
I hope those nice gadgets and services survive the test of time and frequent consumer rape.
thats pretty pimp.
any pictures for the seats , please ?
also .. is the 10 inch screen avilabe in econamy class ?
Why did they call that airport sheikh saad terminal. I know he did alot. but why are we becoming saudi and UAE. Naming everything on Sheikhs i dont have anything against them. But they should consider the people.
we need another discount airline,
Wow ! love the entertainment system and duty free shopping remote. Do the Recaro seats come with a 3 point harness ? 😛
Nice. If only Kuwait Airways could follow suit.
Or just make Wataniya the national airline!
Also Mark… how come no Superbowl commercials? Or atleast a link where they’re all consolidated in the same place. And, more info on the infoconnect? I guess DSL prices are updated in the forum.
How can you send SMS? Is it from your own phone? Is there network coverage when you’re up in the sky?
https://adage.com/superbowl09/article?article_id=134136
Superbowl commercials
pretty cooooool
What I like best about Wataniya is their signature refrain – ” Guests”
for passengers flying them. The name : ‘Wataniya’, though, smacks of some kind of a poultry or a utilities provider.
Yaaay
ig3ad ! ;P
Nice. All they need now is alcohol.
Boldr,
I agree with you. It is becoming over done lately with Sheikh Jaber and Saad (both I really love). My view on the subject is that a stadium or a bridge named after a person will deteriorate and degrade over time and someday they have to be demolished or abandoned. I see this as disrespectful to that person.
Well…. you said all about the rosy departure at the airport…. i would appreciate if you could post a comment on the arrival…!
Let me tell you its not the same… travelled, experienced but the return blew all the positive comments away!
And their transfer service is supposed to be free for first class passengers… but they charge KD8…. now who wod wanna fight over that?
Hi Mark ,,
great review and it was as I think a good trip .
I will travel with Wataniya airways on 25-26 Feb. so im waiting to see the difference .
regards ..
SEEDO
Mark why didn’t you take pictures of the seats ? If you have some pictures please post them.
What I really like about Wataniya is their signature refrain – “Guests” for passengers flying with them. It may be very Kingfisher and all but at least, it shows they take their customer needs and wants seriously. Can’t wait for them to start flying to Marsa Alam, Maldives and Istanbul.
Will be going to dubai on friday with this airlines, but I’m going economy so :S
Prices were cheaper than Jazeera by a few KD. What’s impressive was that First Class on Wataniya is cheaper than Jazeera Plus (which is basically the same as economy only you don’t have to pay for your sandwich)
Hope economy on Wataniya Airways also has its percs
what about the food they serve you? Hope you convinced them to serve burgers :p
That is hot!
Is this the airline owned by Sheikh Hamed Al-Sabah?
I need Long Haul !!!!
mark that’s good but my question how much did it coast u and is the wi~fi
free or do i have to bay for that to and what kind of meals do they serf is it good or not and well they start to fly to usa and London or just like jazeera airways??
Yupp liliuokalani … he IS
Mark is just MARKeting them 😛 thats for sure ….
some reviews maybe miss-guiding some are worthwhile!!!!
i heard that kuwait airways well shut down and Wataniya airways well take over and be the national airline can any one conform that??!!
@dana #29
yes…that what i heard if i m nt wrong………
the flights are cool ,they were actually going 2 start on 08th Feb but changed it to 24th Feb i was there in first class and its really excellent and cheaper than others Emirates and KU Business class ……..but u have to b e careful with penalties and all………rest is fine…..
amazing the first class got over booked more than 3 times can u imagine
very nice review…just waiting to try it out myself…
All these comments and #25 sounds great ! Holla for Wataniya CEO !!
BoBader: Its first class and premium economy
Wi-Fi: No the touch screens are only in First
Kuwait: Haven’t watched any of the superbowl ads, catching up on the internet now!
ME: Yeah from my own phone, like you connect to Zain or Wataniya or whatever, once you are on the flight you connect to a network called OnAir.
b: There is no wifi onboard.
khaloody: They started already last month
but mark you said (Internet connection while on the plane) what do u mean by that u told me that their is no wifi so how can i connect to the internet? is it built into the touch screen in the airplane u mean??and is it free?? i know that’s a long and maybe a stupid question lool
You access the Internet via the Data connection on your phone.
@mark….
by mistake intead of 24th Jan i wrote 24th Feb kikikiki my bad……..
and now waitng for BEY- and BAH to start in march
very nice work i would like someday to check it out
Your update just brought a big smile to my face. Can you imagine what will it be like even if one quarter of the guests are going yakitty yak yak on their mobiles in-flight?!! Good grief, no.
Allowing SMSes, e-mails,Net access and fax is wonderful but certainly, not phone calls.
Back in 2006, I used wi-fi on my flight from Kuwait to Frankfurt, in flight wi-fi that is, it was on lufthansa airlines
Mark,
I’m really glad that you found yourself an airline which will keep you busy from writing BS about Kuwait Airways. Correction: Wataniya isn’t the only airline to operate from Sheikh Saad Terminal. United Aviation also operates from there. I have to agree that you did a pretty good job in advertising them on your blog. I wonder how much discount do they offer you since your firm is marketing them?
Finally, Wataniya is an achievement as advertised but thanks to the foreign management.
Mark, How much was the ticket from q8 to Dubai?