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Ariana Afghan Airlines Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports
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ARIANA AFGHAN AIRLINES review : 2 February 2009 : by K Slomp
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
We flew Ariana from Delhi to Kabul after our Indian Airlines flight was cancelled earlier in
the morning. It was somewhat chaotic getting our boarding passes and we left about an hour
and a half late. Once on the plane (an old 747) we were treated to a good flight along with
a good meal. Because we were late the customs office at the airport was not open so we had to
go to the information ministry in Kabul to get our exit cards.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Dick Drury
14 November 2008 Customer Trip Rating : 
DXB-KBL. I was pleased to fly Ariana on my first trip to Afghanistan for 33 years, on what appeared
to be the same Boeing 727 that I departed on in 1975. This plane was in quite good shape for its
age, cabin and toilet clean enough, food good and attendants friendly. There were comparatively few
passengers, causing me to suspect that the other early morning flights to Kabul from Dubai by Kam
and Pamir are offering cheaper fares. Here's the tip about transiting to Terminal 2 if your original
flight arrives (as most do) in Terminal 1 - if you have check in baggage you must go through
immigration, claim your bag and take a taxi to Terminal 1 where you check in and depart through
immigration again. But, if you have only hand luggage, this is not necessary. Instead of queuing and
going through immigration on arrival in Dubai, go to the separate desk (i'm not sure what it's
called), and present your Ariana or other ticket. You will be issued your boarding pass and go back
outside to board an old beat-up bus with the other light-travelling expats etc, for the trip across
the airport to terminal 2, free of charge. The same thing in the other direction. Bon voyage! Oh,
one more thing, don't expect flight departures from Kabul to be on time, they can be hours late so
book with plenty of transit time for your onward connection in Dubai.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Qaseem Ghausy
8 January 2008 Customer Trip Rating : 
I had a flight from Kabul-Dubai, and I have already booked my next flight to Africa, but in Dubai
from terminal 1 to terminal 2 none companies of the airport helped us for transferring our luggage
to the destination flight. Staff hey told me none of Afghan Airlines are paying fees for carriage
luggage from Afghanistan to any country via Dubai, so Afghan Citizen need to have Dubai visa, if
they have any plan to go via Dubai to any country else. Otherwise he/she must have Dubai visa, even
for few minutes to carry your luggage from 1 to 2 terminal.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Elona Desilva
12 November 2007 Customer Trip Rating : n/a
I arrived Dubai by Delta to terminal 1 and then transferred to terminal 2 where Ariana departs from.
B-727 was almost full of passengers and I seated in Economy class. The flight attendants were polite
and friendly - they served a delicious breakfast.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Neil McDonald
31 May 2007 Customer Trip Rating : n/a
Dubai to Kabul, found the service good considering all the difficulties
of operating from a country like Afghanistan, would be happy to fly with
Kam again.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Amir Jan
5 October 2006
KBL/DBX Had to pay $50 bribe to the Ariana ticket office agent to be
able to book the flight. At the airport, passengers were handled like
herd of cattle. The toilets in the terminal were as dirty and filthy as
the one on the aircraft. Inflight safety and service, one could write
home about. Airbus over 28 years old, dirty filthy. The Business class
was almost fully occupied by Ariana employees and their friends from Y
class.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Michael Hartmann
18 June 2006
DXB-KBL on Airbus 300. Old but biz seating on large chairs okay,
although no foot rests integral to seats. There are foam cushions in
front of some seats as footrests. Food adequate. No entertainment but
only 2.5 hours. It got me there.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Ortwin Schmidt
18 May 2006
FRA-KBL. Very professional check-in agents at Frankfurt-Airport. Just
one staff member of Ariana was present at the counter. She was friendly
and nice. Due to excess baggage of passengers we had to wait more than
one and half hour in the line, every passenger had more than 50-80 Kg
bags, quite different to other airlines. Food was ok and the flight
attendents were international, like Afghan, French, African, Arabic etc.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Peter Jansenbusch
20 April 2006
Frankfurt to Kabul, and from Dubai to Kabul. Since they are not allowed to fly to Germany with their own airplanes, they work with some other airlines. This
time they took "Eritrean Airlines. Flights from Dubai to Kabul and back are somehow okay - food bad, airplanes old, delay without comment, free seating, chaos in Kabul. Next time I
try Kam Air. From Frankfurt right now you can book Ariana, because now they changed to EagleAir - this was ok.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Martijn Smid
20 February 2005
KBL-DBX on Ariana. This was one of the more interEsting flights. After 5
hours of delay from kabul (no representation of Ariana seen during this)
We finalLy took off from Kabul (Also no explanation on board). However
bad it sounds, this is something you might expect from an airliner from
such a troubled country. One thing however you do expect is that the
plane in the end is going to the city that is shown on your ticket and
boarding pass, in this case Dubai. After 2.5 hours the plane landed in
Ras al Khaiman and did not continue any further to Dubai. Again not one
word of explanation of Ariana. My advise do not use Ariana unless you
like very long unexplained delays and don't mind ending up in the wrong
city. To be honest the food even when leaving Kabul was okay
Ariana Afghan Airlines by J Gould
30 November 2005
DXB-KBL return. On the first leg no safety procedures were conducted.
The crew member sitting at row 4 on the starboard side used his seat
belt as a loop over his shoulder never using the buckle or harness
provided. On the return flight the 727 was old and my seat kept
reclining way back, causing the pax behind me to get irritated.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by André Krummacher
7 October 2005
Various times KBL-DXB-KBL and KBL-DYU (Dushanbe)-KBL. One of the worst
and scariest airlines I have ever used. I always flew with one of their
old Boing 727-228 (advanced series). Their planes doesn´t look
trustworthy at all. Rumors go that Ariana uses spare parts from their
blown up 727s. UN pilots told me that they observed Ariana engineers
repairing an engine and having no clue what they were actually doing.
The toilets are the most disgusting I have ever seen. Do not try the
food when flying out of Kabul! My scariest experience was on a flight
DYU-KBL. The pilot lost orientation (either they had no navigation
systems on board or they were broken) and was trying to find Kabul.
Thus, we flew on a very low altitude and fellow passenger and I feared
that we are going to crash into the mountains. Fortunately, the weather
was good so we made it to Kabul "safely". Never again!
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Erik Turner
23 December 2004
KBL-DLI-KBL. Pleasantly surprised given all the bad rap Ariana gets. Far from luxury but got me from
A to B in relative comfort. The Airbus was OK, criticism above is exaggerated. The ancient 727 on
the way back looked worrying - first time I flew with something older than I am - but was better
than expected.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Dave Stanley
17 September 2004
I think I could write a book on Ariana, having used them frequently on domestic and international
routes since November 2002. I met a guy who was actually on their first flight out of Dubai after
the war in July 2002. They almost made it to Kabul, the wheels did actually hit the runway causing
the oxygen masks and baggage lockers to fall down. Then they went and made an emergency landing in
Peshawar, where the pilot had to ask the few passengers for money to pay for fuel. After some visa
problems they took off and went back to Sharjah. They made it to Kabul the next day.
My own experiences are not quite as exciting. Ariana have a few ancient 727's and two Airbus
AB300's which were donated by India. The 727's are generally very dirty and I have never had the
courage to use the toilets. I am sure many bits of them have been raided from the blown up 727's in
the park outside Kabul airport (look to the right as you drive away). Take care as you get on or
off using the rear steps as the engine is likely to drip oil or fuel on you. The Airbuses are in a
bit better condition, although they are still far from good (remember Air India did not want them
any more). I was told by a source that one of the Ariana pilots failed his training on them and was
still flying. I had a very rough landing going into Dubai on one so I guess we had him.
Some general advice. Always buy return tickets outside of Afghanistan. The ticketing arrangements
in Kabul are chaotic, bureaucratic and confusing (you will need a translator/fixer). Do not eat the
food on flights out of Kabul during the summer (I made that mistake). Try not to use Ariana during
Ramadan since the already chaotic schedule is totally ignored and many flights are cancelled. If
you are nervous about flying, find a different airline.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by Mitchell MacLeod
11 January 2004
DXB-KBL. Ancient A300B4 donated by the Indian government was substituted for the 727-200 that
was
originally on our itinerary. Adriana flies out of Dubai Terminal 2 which means you have to take a
taxi from the immaculate Terminal 1 - T2 reminded me of a bus station. The plane was dirty, smelly
and otherwise would have been in the desert. I was famished and ate the hot breakfast that was
offered (and did not get sick from it), which is more than you can say for some
airlines. Our company has extensive dealings with Adriana, and their
service is spotty to say the least. The planes are old, the planes do not fly in anything but clear
weather, and most if not all flights were canned for the Haj this past week, leaving all our people
stranded here extra days.
Ariana Afghan Airlines by P Sharaf
10 January 2004
Ariana Afghan Airlines from Kabul-Jakarta and found the service good in considering Afghanistan
is a poor country. The FA's were friendly although they do not know
what they're doing. The plane wasn't full, inflight catering is below average
(take some food before
take off), cabin interior not clean but for the price I paid I can't expect more.
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