My Christmas holiday in Jordan is over, and I’m heading back from Amman airport with Austrian. Well it is the base of Royal Jordanian, and in theory I should visit and review their flagship lounge. Their lounge however, has a very low bar as all airlines (yes, including Star Alliance and Skyteam) have access, together with Priority Pass holders. The reviews I saw online also put me off.
There’s a another Priority Pass lounge called Petra, which looks better but also small in the meantime. The final option is the brand new (opened in August 2023) Marhaba Plaza Premium lounge. There’s no review available yet when I searched, but given my many positive experiences with Plaza Premium I wasn’t too worried to be a trailblazer!
Austrian didn’t pay for security fast lane but there aren’t many passengers fortunately. Passing through security and border control is very swift – lady at the counter is very friendly with a sweet smile. I find the locals in Jordan very warm and welcoming.
Passing the duty free shops and you’ll see Plaza Premium’s reception.
They accept Amex Platinum, Priority Pass, LoungeKey and Dragonpass. Validate with whatever membership you have and head upstairs for the real lounge.
It is located on a mezzanine floor (?) and completely open plan – there are no walls so you have full exposure to the natural light, which is great. I like this kind of design, and some other airports like PEK and PVG have something quite similar.
Many armchairs for you to choose from:
A small kids club:
Draft beer and the house wine are free, whereas other alcoholic drinks are chargeable.
A cute tea station:
Let’s check out the buffet:
Hot plates of the day:
- Chicken garlic coriander
- Season vegetables sauteed
- Meatballs with barbeque sauce
- Vegetable curry
- Roasted potato wedge
- White steamed rice
There are quite a few options for desserts as well, and baklava lights up my day! One thing I have to say though, I don’t like the food very much.
The staff are very attentive, and comes to check up on me regularly. I enjoyed my cheerful conversations with the bartender Mahmoud.
In summary it is a very good lounge, and again Plaza Premium didn’t disappoint. I don’t think they have any airline partner (yet) so it’s very quiet when I was here. If you are flying from Amman it’s probably the best lounge at the moment.
Since we are here, I’ll share a few photos of Austrian’s business class too. I’m on the (relatively uncommon) E190, although you may have seen a lot of them if you’ve been to London City Airport.
It is a very narrow aircraft with only four seats abreast.
In the business class cabin seats are the same. But unlike BA, Austrian has blocked your adjacent seat so you are guaranteed more space, making it slightly more exclusive. My flight has only 30-odd passengers though so it wouldn’t make a difference.
Here are the amenity bag and my food, and my review is completed!
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