Middle East Airlines

RUH-BEY-RUH Y Class. A330 flights on time interior of aircraft clean. Cabin crew well presented friendly and smiling answered call bells. Food very good drinks flowing when requested. Bags off in record time.

Athens to Beirut roundtrip. Both flights departed early and capacity was around fifty percent. Service was great on both flights. MEA staff even managed to retrieve luggage from 45 minute late connecting Continental flight leaving only 15 minutes to connect. Light snack and newspapers offered on both 1.5 hour flights.

LHR-BEY A330-200 aircraft. On climb-out from LHR aircraft was struck by lightning which in itself was quite dramatic and clearly caused some discomfort to a number of passengers. However there was no announcement of reassurance from the flightdeck - in fact there were no announcements from the flight-deck during the entire flight. Mention needs to be made of the seating in Economy on this aircraft – the seat back does not recline as such; rather the seat cushion moves forward bringing down the seat back with it so that there is no intrusion into the space of the passenger behind although as the seat is reclined your own leg-room is reduced. The cabin crew were efficient but with the odd exception surly whilst the catering was certainly above average. Bombay Sapphire Gin in Economy! Lunch comprised Prawn Cocktail choice of Chicken or Salmon Dessert and Cheese all very well presented and tasty. Despite a late departure from LHR arrival at Beirut was on time and I was out of the airport within 15 mins of disembarking the aircraft. A good flight and great value – if only the cabin crew would smile and the flight-deck crew would communicate a good flight would become great.

Brussels-Beirut-Brussels. Even though seats do not recline it was a very comfortable flight. The food was tasty with a variety of drinks (free of charge). Onboard entertainment was up to date some of the movies you could select (each their own screens 6 english and 2 arabic movies available). The staff speak French and English and although they are not the friendliest in the business they do the job well. The only downside for me was that they were out of english newspapers by the time they reached my row.

Beirut to Paris. The flight is scheduled to take off at 2 am from Beirut and once in the air I was hoping to get some sleep. Alas the seats do not recline. We had to endure a 4hr flight to Paris sitting upright. When I asked to stewardess why the seats are non-reclinable her answer was that the feature had led to arguments among passengers! I have heard many excuses and travelled a lot but this was new to me. To cram more seats passengers are made to suffer. There was also poor scrutiny to confirm seat belts were on. Passengers stood up before the plane came to a halt.

Beirut to Paris CDG in Business Class A330. Attentive and professional flight attendants. The seats are comfortable and the cabin is wide and feels airy . A welcome drink and after take off breakfast was served - excellent. The entertainment system is god and sufficient for this 4:30 flight. I was disappointed with the lack of an amenity kit.

BEY-CDG A330 in Business Class. Staff nice but had no idea of safety etc. As it was a flight leaving at 0:00 I slept for some hours. When waking up I asked for breakfast which was the biggest laugh I ever had. I thought I was on candid camera. Imagine in Business Class a dry bread roll with 2 little slices of cheese and a cup of yoghurt. All in all an average Business Class flight seats okay staff okay food terrible!

RUH-BEY-RUH. Both flights on well maintained A330. On demand AVOD with good selection of movies but had seen them before on other airlines. Staff are one of the assets with MEA immaculate dress friendly smiling very efficient and good sense of humour. Food in Y class one of best I have had in a long time Full bar service offered with requests for refills within minutes. I had to change my flight on the return and was charges only 27 dollars with a no problem at all attitude. MEA are a good airline and are better than some of the four star airlines I have flown on.

Riyadh-Beirut-Rome return. Generally service was good but quality of the food depended on where it was loaded. Quality of the food on the flight out of Rome was good but out of Beirut was mediocre. On the way to Rome A319 used somewhat tired and shabby. On the way back A330 in pristine condition. IFE better on A330 but still a very limited range of entertainment. Because we had to change our flight dates (result of delay in getting back to Rome) MEA charged us an additional US$ 340 on our tickets. Reasonable in the circumstances but no account taken for "acts of God".

BEY-LCA. Check-in in Beirut efficient and friendly. Food consisted only of snack and a soft drink - but only a 35 minute flight there is hardly time for more. Prices could be a bit lower especially on short haul routes.