BRU-MAN-BRU with SN on 17-18 Jun 04

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sn26567
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Post by sn26567 »

Upon receiving the prestigious SkyTrax award, Peter Davies said (source: SN BRussels Airlines press release):
"Thus, in order to always better answer to the expectations of its clients, SN has recently launched the concept Brussels Bistro and has introduced in its catering in business and economy class typically Belgian high quality : Corona Lotus waffles, Stella and Maes beers, Neuhaus chocolates, cheeses Passendaele, Vieux Bruges, Bouquet des Moines, Affligem, Rochefort, Maredsous, hams Ganda, jambon d’Ardenne, Chaudfontaine water…"
What I saw in the "Brussels" Bistro was Dutch Gouda cheese and Prise d'Eau Dutch water...
Last edited by sn26567 on 21 Jun 2004, 10:03, edited 1 time in total.
André
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Post by sn26567 »

And now the return trip MAN-BRU on 18 June on SN 2178 (sdt: 15:55).

I was at the airport quite early (14:10) and I already had my boarding pass (for seat 10F) delivered at BRU the day before. I thus had a lot of time to wander around, but I did not see any special bird other than the Emirates B777.

The plane was an Avro RJ100 (instead of the normally scheduled ARJ85), reg. OO-DWK, in the latest SN BA colours. Boarding was on-time and push-back occurred 5 minutes late, due to the absence of a tractor at the scheduled time.

Purser Wim Derijcke welcomed us on board and Captain Stokman also made a welcoming message. The cabin crew consisted of 2 flight attendants, which is becoming standard on the Avro now, against three in earlier times.

My seat was under the wing, with the view partly hindered by the engines. And frankly (to the attention of Louise) I prefer seat 9F above the wing on the A319 to seat 10F under the wing on the Avro.

Load factor was about 70%, but only three passengers in C class.

Once in the air, the purser starting serving the snacks in C class and the stewardess was very busy alone in Y class, until she got the help from her colleague who was quickly finished in business.

The afternoon Brussels Bistro was already well known to me: a choice between a piece of pie or raw vegetables in a dip sauce and pretzels. For health reasons I chose the latter, together with a Stella Artois (no choice between Stella or Maes, as claimed by Peter Davies in his SkyTrax award press release). But that was fine with me: I prefer Stella. Again there was a Prise d'Eau Dutch water. Right before landing the stewardess handed 2 Neuhaus chocolates to all passengers.

Not much to see because of the clouds. The landing (5 minutes ahead of schedule) was exceptionally on a wet 25R and the plane went to a gate on the A pier, meaning that we had to be bussed to the B terminal for passport control, thus loosing the advantage of being early. In addition, the bus dropped us in the middle of the terminal instead of close to the police control.

Note to Mr BIAC: when people are bussed to the B terminal for passport control, could you please ask the bus drivers to drop them close to the control area rather than in the middle of the terminal, which compels them to walk a long distance. Or maybe are you worried about their health and think that a stroll would benefit them?

End of a nice flight...
Last edited by sn26567 on 21 Jun 2004, 10:35, edited 2 times in total.
André
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vflies
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Post by vflies »

Air_Lac wrote:Belgian airlines (not only SNBA) should act as ambassadors for Belgium and Belgian products.
Very good point!
If they try to position themselves as national carriers, there should be more than a Belgian registration to prove them right!

I remember that Sabena used to offer a Belgian dish among the choices for their long-haul services and that was a great idea!

I can't understand that they don't manage some reciprocal agreement with some Belgian companies, like American carriers do (United has "proudly served" Starbucks coffee for free for years now on all their flights and Delta only serves beverages from fellow ATL-based Coca-Cola Cy)

VFlies

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Post by vflies »

Nice report, André, as usual but very factual, few quality-related or personal comments this time...
Couldn't say if you were a satisfied passenger from what I read there. ;-)

VFlies

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Post by Avro »

Thanks for the nice report on the second part of your trip André.
agree that the cabin crews are friendly and polite, but I have to say that 75% of the cabin crews we came across were not good at the job - they were totally inefficient! That is a real pity because in some respects, SNBA is nowhere near as good as Sabena when it comes to the onboard service
Come on Comet. How many flights on SN have you taken until now ??? Only 2 if i'm not mistaken. Do you really think that you can judge an airline with only 2 flights ???? With all the reviews on this site I think it is exaggerated to say that 75% of the cabin crews aren't good at their jobs !!!! Personally I never had a bad experience with them.

From my point of view the SN Brussels service is as good and in some fields even better than the old Sabena one. I find the staff a lot more PASSIONATE ABOUT YOU than in the Sabena time.
They just should be cautious not to reduce the standards if they want to keep in the top of the league of the SkyTrax awards.
I totally agree with you. They should be very cautious not to reduce the service on any flights, or it could have a very bad influence on their image.

Ciao
Chris
Last edited by Avro on 21 Jun 2004, 22:47, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by VC10 »

Nice, interesting report Andre, and, you also got your lovely Belgian Chocolates... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
The Voice of Freedom will never be silenced.

Trisha

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Post by Comet »

sn26567 wrote:
My seat was under the wing, with the view partly hindered by the engines. And frankly (to the attention of Louise) I prefer seat 9F above the wing on the A319 to seat 10F under the wing on the Avro.
Why was there such an uproar when I said I preferred the Avro to the A319? Others on here like the Avro and don't get hassled about it!
:dammit: As I have already said countless times, I like the Avro because an aircraft with a high placed wing is much better for video and photography than an aircraft with a low wing like you find on the A319. The best seats on the Avro are row 12 and the ones behind that because from row 12 you get the back engine view, and then right at the back your view is more or less uninterrupted.

And that is all I am saying about it :lol: :shutup:
Sabena and Sobelair - gone but never forgotten.
Louise

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Post by sn26567 »

I just uploaded the picture of the A319 OO-SSG upon arrival in Manchester:

Image
André
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Post by Sabena_690 »

Thanks again for the very nice report André!

Within 3 weeks, it's my turn to report about an SNBA flight from BRU to MAN ;)

If I may believe Galileo and Amadeus, the AR1 of my flight has changed to a BAe146-200!! Let's hope that it stays like this...

Frederic
Brussels Airlines - Flying Your Way

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Re: BRU-MAN-BRU with SN on 17-18 Jun 04

Post by sn26567 »

sn26567 wrote:The distribution of the Brussels Bistro boxes went quite fast: a nicely coloured box, with ham/cheese and pickles sandwich (made by Supplair in Amsterdam!!!), a glass of that same Dutch mineral water with a strange French name "Prise d'eau", a mini Twix bar, milk, sugar, salt, pepper, a refreshing towel and a serviette. Than she served the drinks. I chose a can of Belgian Stella Artois (25 cl), which did indeed taste better than the British variety. Before landing, the two small Belgian chocolates by Neuhaus (bitter and milk) were missing! It seems that the quality of the Bistro dinner is going down since my previous evening trip to MAN.
I had sent a message to the Corporate Communication dept. of SN Brussels to relate my experience and suggest that, in view of the menu served, they call it Amsterdam Bistro. I got a very courteous response, saying in short that:

1) My e-mail regarding 'Brussels bistro' was forwarded to the Inflight Catering dept.

2) SN is definitely not disinvesting in inflight catering.

3) The Brussels Bistro meals have not changed since they were introduced 3 months ago and their composition depends on the stage length of the flight and 'if time permits' standard.

4) The chocolates are standard, and SN will check what went wrong during my flight. It was most probably 'an isolated case'.

I would like to personally thank SNBA for this kind response, forthe willigness to solve problems and for the "Passionate about you" spirit that was introduced and that now has become a trademark attitude among SN Brussels Airlines staff.

I guess that the fact that there was a difference in the Brussels Bistro meals on SN 2181 on 11 March and on 17 June was due to the fact that in the first case it was an Avro RJ 100 and in the second an Airbus A319. On 11 March I had received a raisin bread roll filled with cheese, a small plastic box filled with tortellini, pork meat and vegetables, a glass of a Dutch mineral water "Prise d'eau", plastic cutlery, milk, sugar, salt, pepper, a refreshing towel and a serviette. And before landing two small Belgian chocolates by Neuhaus (bitter and milk).
Last edited by sn26567 on 23 Jun 2004, 11:03, edited 1 time in total.
André
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Post by blackhawk »

Nice to see that SNBA is taking care of your mail. That's what I call service!

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Re: BRU-MAN-BRU with SN on 17-18 Jun 04

Post by Comet »

sn26567 wrote:
4) The chocolates are standard, and SN will check what went wrong during my flight. It was most probably 'an isolated case'.
If they are standard, then can someone tell me where they were on flight SN2047 between Brussels and Birmingham on 31st March 2004??????? There was no sign of any chocolates being handed out on that flight.

We had them both ways with VLM, who also handed out sweets before take off on both services. SNBA have alot to learn from VLM in some ways.
Sabena and Sobelair - gone but never forgotten.
Louise

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Post by Avro »

It's nice to see that SN immeadiately responded in a very helpful way.
4) The chocolates are standard, and SN will check what went wrong during my flight. It was most probably 'an isolated case'.
If SNBA is reading this message I would like to tell them that like Comet allready mentioned it is NOT an isolated case. I don't no if it's always the same crew that doesn't hand them out, but the same happened to one of my family members when he came back from IST recently.

Greetz
Chris
Last edited by Avro on 15 Aug 2007, 19:47, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by sn26567 »

He he! Maybe some crew members like the Neuhaus chocolates very much :)
André
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Post by blackhawk »

And you all now it's said that chocolat is an aphrodisiacum ;)

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Post by Avro »

sn26567 wrote:He he! Maybe some crew members like the Neuhaus chocolates very much :)
LOL :lol: :lol: SN will have to investigate on that as well !!!

Chris

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