Jazeera Airways. Nope, I’d never heard of them either, not before booking a flight with them a few weeks ago. Based out of Kuwait, seemingly they are the Middle East’s cheap, no-frills carrier (some, Jazeera themselves included, prefer the term low-fares), the region’s Ryanair if you will, an unfortunate comparison & they hardly deserve. For starters they don’t overload your e-mail inbox prior to departure with reminders; they don’t require you to check-in online or remortgage your house if you fail to pre-print your boarding pass; & they have no checked baggage fees. And a good thing too because people in this part of the world don’t travel light – in the line for check-in I was left wondering if I was boarding a cargo plane as opposed to a passenger one. Oh, and they give you food too. Yep, I was treated to two pre-packed chicken tandoori rolls & two pre-packed apple danishes today – two flights (Istanbul-Kuwait & Kuwait-Dubai) equals two treats. So I guess Jazeera Airways are not like Ryanair at all. And that’s good. Or is it?
Kuwait Airport en route from Istanbul, Turkey, to Dubai. I spent about an hour in this terminal, standing in lines & rushing to change planes. I came very close to missing the connecting flight but I’m still thankful I didn’t have more time at my disposal – it’s a bit of a hole to be fair. And the three security guys at the boarding gate almost took from me the duty-free booze I purchased in Istanbul taking in turns, like some badly choreographed act, the opportunity to mutter a reason why – I heard everything from ‘not allowed in Kuwait’ to ‘too much’ & even ‘too strong’, whatever that meant. None of that made any sense to me as I was simply transferring so I stood my ground. They eventually let me keep my dirty cargo and I was on my way, clinking duty-free bag and all the contents of which means I won’t have to pay as much of a sin tax for booze in Dubai and I would otherwise have to. I took this awfully grainy picture with my iPod from the plane as it was pushing back from the gate. Kuwait International Airport, Kuwait. April 11th, 2014
Just landed in #kuwait Never knew I was coming here! http://t.co/FVIX8zUH2n #travel #ttot #dmbtravel
— davidMbyrne.com (@ByrneDavidM) April 11, 2014
All was good with my new favourite Middle Eastern no-fri… sorry, low-fares airline. But the relationship turned sour once I arrived in Dubai.
This is where you end up after a flight from Istanbul to Dubai via Kuwait if the baggage team in Kuwait International Airport (& I’m assuming there is such a thing) forget to do their job, the Baggage Services desk in Dubai International Airport, UAE. April 11th, 2014 (iPod Touch)
Yes, my bag is spending the night in Kuwait. Poor thing. I miss it. I bet it misses me too. This was not how the first night of my 5-star return to glitzy Dubai was supposed to go. I’m sitting here in my (very nice) Dubai hotel room with nothing but the sweaty clothes I wore today, my daypack with my electronics & essentials (passport, credit cards etc.) & of course my Istanbul booze (caps still unmolested). The rest of my stuff will be here tomorrow & no-frills/low-fares means I have to go back to the airport to rendezvous with my backpack. Yep they, Jazzera Airways, are not even going to send it to me. I take back all I said about Ryanair. They never left my bag behind. Come to think of it, no airline ever has. First time for everything I guess. Bloody Jazzera Airways.
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