BRU-BMA 10/08/2007
Airline: Brussels airlines
Aircraft: Avro RJ100
Registration: OO-DWD
Flight: SN2303
Seat: 17F
b.flex 1 pax
b.light 83 pax
Boarding started on time and the flight was well booked in b.light. The b.flex class however was nearly empty with only one person in the three rows of b.flex.
The boarding went quickly and while entering the plane, the b.light pax got their menu handed over by one of the two flight attendants. As soon as everybody was seated the usual safety announcements where made and the new codeshare agreement with Jet Airways was announced. The announcements where made in three languages (English, French and Dutch) with an additional Swedish tape. I had seat 17F which gave a nice view outside! As always on the SN’s Avros the pitch was ok and the seats comfortable even though you see they were a little bit worn out.
Despite the heavy loadfactor in the b.light section of the plane, I had some luck as the only no show passenegers of the flight where those seated next to me. I thus had three seats for alone
Once everything was ready we quickly taxied to runway 25R. During the taxi the cockpit crew introduced themselves and whished us a nice flight. The take off roll was probably heavily de-rated as it took a very long time for the plane to accelerate and to get airborne. As a passenger you were hardly pushed back into your seat. Once in flight the crew started with the catering sales. As I was seated at the rear of the plane, the breakfast wasn’t available anymore when it was my turn to order the snacks. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to test the pastries they offer during the flight :-s As I was hungry I decided to taste the tuna sandwich which was unfortunately not available as well. In the end I had the cheese sandwich and ordered a SPA water with it. To be honest I was a little bit disappointed in the quality of the cheese sandwich. This is probably the only negative point I have to mention, but the sandwich was nothing special. Additionally it didn’t seem very fresh. For the same price I had better sandwiches on other airlines.. It’s maybe a point where Brussels airlines could improve their inflight catering!! As people pay separately for their food they expect more than if it's included in the ticket price. At least I do...
The rest of the flight was uneventful. The crew performed their job in a professional way being both friendly and helpful. We landed on time and in a heavy rain shower on runway 30 at Bromma airport. We had some crosswinds or gusts as we first touched down on one of the main gears follwoed by the other one seconds after. That was a funny experience.
BMA-BRU 15/08/2007
Airline: Brussels airlines
Aircraft: Avro RJ85
Registration: OO-DJT
Flight: SN2304
Seat: 4A
b.flex 5 pax
b.light ~50 pax
After a short but very nice stay in the beautiful city of Stockholm it was time to head back towards Brussels. This time it would be OO-DJT which would take us back to Belgium. And what a nice surprise to see that I would still be flying a plane having the very nice S-tail painted on the fuselage !! probably the last time
Once again the crew proceeded with the boarding on time and the passengers were quickly seated. This time the passengers didn’t get their b.light menu while boarding but during the flight. Once the usual announcements where made, the plane quickly taxied towards runway 12. It lined up and the cockpit crew announced to the passengers that we would take off in about 30 seconds. As Bromma has a short runway (a bit like Tempelhof, Florence or London city) the brakes where activated while you could hear the four engines spooling up rapidly. Once the sound was stabilized we stayed at full power with brakes on for several seconds. Then the brakes where rapidly released and the plane accelerated like a rocket. After a short take-off roll we where airborne. It’s agreat take-off where you feel all the power of the airplane. A big contrast with the heavily de-rated take off I got in Brussels . A
s I had a window seat on the left side of the airplane I had the opportunity to see the city of Stockholm one last time before it disappeared behind the clouds.
Once in flight the crew handed over the menus to the b.light passengers. Quickly after it was time to buy the food. As I was again hungry
I decided to taste the tuna sandwich. This time they still had some!! The contrast between the tuna sandwich and the cheese sandwich was very large. The tuna sandwich tastes good and is IMHO much better than the poor cheese sandwich. The rest of the flight was uneventful and the crew worked again in a professional and friendly way!! After a little bit more than 2hours of flight we landed on runway 25L with 5 minutes delay on the schedule.
All in all, the first experience with b.light was positive. I had two enjoyable flights and SN managed to bring me from A to B on time with a comparable service as other low cost airlines. In addition to that you have the possibility to choose your seats which is a very nice feature. I would definitley recommend SN. Despite the fact that it isn't the same as before you get good value for your money. Even though I miss the good old day where you could get a free meal and Neuhaus chocolates, the b.light concept doesn’t seem to be bad at all!!!
Last but not least, for both flights I proceeded with the internet check-in on SN’s website. It went smooth and is nicely implemented on the website.
I hope you enjoyed the report.
Chris
Next trips coming soon:
AUG 31 MRS-CDG AF 7665
SEP 7 BRU-THF SN 2587
SEP 8 THF-BRU SN 2586
Maybe one of the crew members doing these flights reads this
Would be nice to meet some crew people on board.PS: I have some pictures which will be following very soon.. but due to some computer troubles I wasn't able to download them yet.
