Online Reservation
We had a return ticket booked from MAN but had to make a change to our return date. We were given wrong information by the RWP office who asked us to go back to the issuing agent to make the change. By the time we went back and forth, the penalties on changing the ticket had increased.
The issue was escalated to Mrs Arsalan in the ISB office, before it went to Mr Arshad Khalid and then Faisal and Amna in KHI. The issue took a few days to resolve however in the end, they offered us a free change.
Although an error had been made, the customer service from all the staff I dealt with was excellent; especially with Mr Arshad Khalid who gave me his mobile number and kept me updated on resolving my issue.
Check-In
We arrived early (just before midday). Getting into the airport and past all the check posts within the airport was a mission as it always is, regardless of which airline you are travelling with.
Before getting to the check in desk, SAI employees were checking the passports and visas of all passengers. A lady was told that she could not travel, whilst her child could, because she was not carrying the old passport which had her UK visa in it.
We had to photocopy our passports and each copy was signed off by the SAI employee. Once this was completed, we were able to check-in.
We were checked in by Hina Yasneem and Sajid Ali Boto. Both these SAI employees were so welcoming, helpful and courteous. As six passengers with a 40kg luggage allowance each, we were within our allowance. In addition we were asked if we wanted to check-in any of our hand luggage. We accepted this offer for one bag.
Seat Reservation
Shaheen doesn’t allow you to pre-book your seats. At the check-in desk we requested three window seats and were kindly allocated these. We were therefore sat in 3 rows of two seats each.
Airport Lounge
We paid PKR 1000 each for 6 passengers and were able to use the lounge. It was very cool however the snacks were not replenished and there was not much on offer. Nonetheless, it was nice to sit in a lounge that was air conditioned and on comfortable seats.
Boarding
The flight was called for boarding just after 2pm. There were very long queues therefore we remained seated in the lounge and left once there were very few passengers left at the gate.
Before we got onto the bus, SAI employees checked our boarding passes. I was also greeted by Sajida li Boto again. Both him and his colleague we’re wishing each passenger a safe flight. I NEVER recall any airline employee in Pakistan EVER wishing me a safe flight.
Once again this is testament to each of the Shaheen Air employees who are so polite and courteous with all passengers.
Once the bus got us to the aircraft, there was quite a long queue. There were to sets of passenger boarding stairs, although only the second one was for use by passengers to board the aircraft.
The cabin crew were very welcoming with big smiles and we were shown to our seats which were in the front left of the cabin.
All the passengers were onboard very efficiently and we were ready for departure a few minutes ahead of the scheduled time of 3pm.
Safety announcement and demonstration was done manually, in both English and Urdu.
The cabin crew was made up of 9 cabin crew; all female Cockpit crew was made up of Captain Mohammed Altaf and two FOs.
A small water bottle was provided for each passenger in the seat picket in front of them. PIA and Airblue have never done this. Despite it being very warm, these bottles were nicely chilled which was a pleasant surprise.
Take Off
Cabin was secured efficiently, take off was smooth and exactly on time (3pm).
Hot towels were given approximately half an hour after take off. (Airblue use to give these too, whereas PIA do not)
Aircraft/Flight Time
AP-BML
A330-203
8 hrs 25 mins
This aircraft had a seat layout of 2-4-2 (except some of the last few rows at the rear of the aircraft which were 2-3-2). The cabin was laid out exactly as AP-BMI which is the aircraft I travelled in to ISB.
Cabin Service
We were served fruit juices (carton) and these were very nicely chilled with a wide varirty of options to choose from (Guava, Apple, Red Grape etc). Often with PIA, the drinks are fairly warm.
Meals then followed some half an hour later, with children being served first with chicken noodles and jelly.
Once the children were served the remaining passengers were offered a choice of either chicken or vegetable biryani with salad, raita and halva. Whilst I am not a big fan of eating in the air, the food served by Shaheen was truly outstanding and far superior to PIA and even bettt er than Airblue.
A variety of soft drinks and water were offered when the meal trays were given. This was followed by top-ups and then hot drinks were also served.
Meal trays were also collected efficiently and not left for a long time as I’ve often seen on PIA flights.
Some 2 ½ hours before landing into Manchester, a further meal service was offered. This time it was a very delicious Chicken Pizza with Chicken Tikka Breast. Once again, I was really pleasantly surprised with just how tasty and nice the food was.
We were also offered a variety of soft drinks and water at the time of being served the food. Even so many hours into the flight, all the drinks being served were really nicely chilled, unlike what you get on PIA.
In-flight
Although this aircraft was different to the one we travelled to ISB in, there was no in-flight entertainment in the aircraft at all. I guess this was no different to PIA whose IFE equipment rarely works. However it was a shame as there were no big screens at the front either where you could see progress/route etc (PIA and Airblue did have these).
On the aircraft AP-BMI, there were USB sockets that worked and therefore although I knew we may end up going in a different aircraft, I came on board expecting the same from this aircraft. Although the USB sockets were fitted, they did not power anything so a few hours into the flight my iPad battery was dead. However the passengers on the rest of the row were friendly and so we had a good conversation and this helped with the long journey.
I asked the cabin crew why the USB was not working to which they replied that the aircraft will be grounded at some point to correct this and possibly have some entertainment option/facility installed.
We experienced turbulence a good few times and on each occasion as soon as we did, the cabin crew made announcements to reassure passengers that this was normal.
The cockpit crew made no announcements from the flight deck at take off(other than seats for take-off and landing for the cabin crew) which I think would have been nice given PIA, Airblue and most other airlines do this. It would also have been nice in the absence of the screens which provide updates on the flight.
During the flight, one of the FO came into the galley and I spoke to him at length. He was an ex-Airblue FO and during our conversation, I suggested to him how the cockpit crew should make announcements on flight progress etc from the flight deck. To my surprise, this was done mid-way in the flight. We were told where we currently flying over, height and expected arrival time into MAN.
The cabin was very clean, seats very clean although I think the seats pitch was quite tight. I think in total there were 6 toilets on board; two each at the front, middle and back of the aircraft. The galley was in the front and back of the aircraft. There were two partions in the cabin which also provided a bit of space for some storage. Blankets were available upon request.
Cabin Crew
The service from the cabin crew, just like from all other SIA staff was excellent. It was very noticeable that were really making an effort and striving to satisfy passengers. Once again Drinks and even teas were served happily by the cabin crew in between services (unlike PIA).
The cabin crew on this flight was going to MAN for the very first time. They said all the cabin crew was still on rotation (with anyone yet to go for the second time) and that the airline was very nice in giving everyone an opportunity on the route, rather than selecting a set number of employees. They seemed very happy in their roles and with the airline they are working for (I hate to say it again, but very much unlike PIA)
Landing
We landed into MAN on time just after 7.30pm UK time.
The landing seemed very hard and far from a smooth touch down.
Again on the return what I noticed during the landing announcement was that we were not thanked for choosing Shaheen Air and welcoming us on another flight with them soon.
We were disembarked pretty quickly however the luggage took an extremely long time to arrive. This too was on two conveyor belts without informing passengers.
Overall Summary
My return journey with Shaheen was even better than my journey to ISB.
I cannot emphasize just how excellent the customer service is from every single Shaheen Air employee. Each of them were extremely customer focused, courteous and polite.
The one issue that was there with the rice being undercooked on the outward journey was not present on this leg. The food was excellent and very delicious.
I do think that there should be at least a few big screens with route progress and a few announcements from the flight deck would be nice.
My closing comments; I needed a direct flight, then I would definitely choose Shaheen over PIA and I urge every British Pakistani to support this airline.
Afterall, it is thanks to Shaheen that PIA has lowered their fares from Manchester.
Views from the lounge at ISB Airport
Shaheen Air aircraft A330-203 AP-BML
Childrens Meal Service 1
Meal Service 1
Meal Service 2 PS I forgot to take the childrens second meal service pic
Cabin Photos
