Recently I returned to Saudi Arabia and to the city of Al Jubail. This was trip number 4 to Al Jubail and the accommodations, food and city sights have not changed. This trip was different in that the only Delta flights were from Dothan to Atlanta – all other flights were on KLM which is a partner to Delta. In the past I have used Delta to get me to Amsterdam and then KLM has carried me to Dammam, Saudi Arabia followed by an airport transfer to Al Jubail. The arrival into Dammam is not great at 1:10 AM and the departure is even worse at 2:20 AM.
This was my first flight to experience a Boeing 787 on a long distance route and I will have to say that based on the experience I will always try to use this route and plane from KLM, Delta normally flies the Airbus A330 or Boeing 767/777 on this route.
Also, for those that fly out of Dothan good news is coming. The regional sardine can (CRJ 200) is being phased out and replaced with a larger version, the 700/900. The planes are larger and an overall better experience for the 30+ minutes that you are in the air. The negative part of this change is the number of flights have currently been reduced to 2 per day from Dothan to Atlanta. This change in the number of flights makes the connection more difficult and there is always the price difference in flying out of Dothan vs Atlanta if you don’t secure a flight early.
Here are a few photos of the travel side of the trip.
Amsterdam to Atlanta - clear skies
KLM 787-10 - Atlanta to Amsterdam / Amsterdam to Atlanta