After a positive first experience with Brussels Airlines (BRU-LIS-BRU), I decided to fly them again for another city trip... but, for a change, to the North of Europe. As the fares to Stockholm-Bromma were attractive (read ''low''), my decision was made.
Date : 17/07/2007
Outward flight SN 2303
Plane: OO-DJS
After leaving our car at AirParking (whose charges have gone up but not reached those of the airport's facilities yet), we were dropped at the terminal. As we were in summer I expected a very long queue... but I was fortunately wrong : the check-in procedure was a breeze and I got the so-much desired row 13.
As I had plenty of time to spend in the terminal and my new digital reflex camera, I rushed to shoot as many birds as possible...
OO-VEN – I was rather surprised to notice this Boeing 737-300 has not been fitted wiht winglets yet.
Usinh the long-distance zoom... I could get a decent shot of this DC-10 Cargo.
This Hanain Boeing 767-300 ER was unfortunately not a former Sobelair bird
A Brussels Airlines A.330 waiting for its next African duty.
40 minutes before boarding time we reached the A-pier and I could shoot some activity on the apron as well as some parked planes at the B-pier. My plane was indeed not at its gate yet.
A Brussels Airlines B.Ae. 146-200 (What will happen to them when they are no longer needed?)
OO-DJK - SN's first Avro 85 in a rather tatty exterior condition. I would have expected this ''older'' Avro would have already been painted in the new corporate livery. A few days later the very same bird would fly me back from Stockholm-Bromma to Brussels.
I could pay some attention to the other pier and shoot several birds.
A rather dull Bulgarian AirCharter.
One of Adria's flying bill-board regional jets.
While I was shooting the B-pier planes, ''my'' Avro 85 had already approached its position and I could only get this shot.
The boarding call was made a few minutes before the planned time and it looked like the Avro would be heavy loaded (90-95 %). We were welcomed by a smiling female purser while the other hostess was at the back of the plane. After a smooth take-off, the captain introduced himself as Bart Hellebaut (not Tia ) and announced we might expect some turbulence en route to Bromma.
As far as I could remember from my previous SN (LBA-BRU Sabena then BRU-LED-BRU SN Brussels) the seats were fitted with footrest which have been removed. However I could still appreciate the comfy and wide leather seats.
After an uneventful flight the plane approached its Swedish destination and landed very smoothly.
On the Swedish apron I could sport a Malmö Aviation Avro 100 but none of their logojets. We walked from the plane to the rather small and simple terminal.
From Brussels to Stockholm-City BRU-BMA SN 2303 - 17/07/2007
Thanks for your kind words.sn26567 wrote:Good shots! How about the flight itself? Catering, service, etc.?
Catering : as I flew b.light, I bought a sparking water can. Good value for money as other carriers charges -at least- twice or more for the same product. In-flight sales were high. It looks like Bru.Air is right not to have high prices.
Service : nothing to tell home about : smiling welcome and service but not much information from the flightdeck.
SUMMARY
Airport Services
Check-In service 4/5
Onboard Features
Cabin Safety Procedures 3.5/5
Inflight Entertainment n/a
Airline Magazine / Newspapers / other mags 3/5
Cabin Seat Comfort 4/5
Onboard Catering 4/5
Quality of food - complimentary n/a
Pricing of food / drinks - complimentary 4/5
Cabin Staff Service
Staff service efficiency 3.5/5
Staff attitude & friendliness 4/5
Responding to Passenger requests n/a
Cabin presence through flights 3.5/5
Assisting Parents with children n/a
Staff Language Skills 4/5
Service consistency amongst staff 3/5
Additional "low-cost" rating
Seat allocation / Boarding Systems 4/5
Cabin Cleanliness 4.5/5
Excess Baggage Policy n/a
Hand Luggage Policy n/a
Handling of Delays / Cancellations n/a
Customer Service back-up n/a
Yes, thanks for sharing a positive experience. Let's hope that our flag carrier is heading for a bright future, whatever it may (on their own, take over by BA, Jet...)OO-SBZ wrote:Indeed Chris...Avro wrote:Thanks for sharing this report OO-SBZ !! As you can see I had a similar experience with SN on the same route.
Chris
Despite some bashing, it looks like Bru.Air has got happy flyers
Hopefullysn26567 wrote:This is also my opinion. I hope that some people at Bru.Air will take note...OO-SBZ wrote:Despite some bashing, it looks like Bru.Air has got happy flyers
From my 5 to 6 return flights a year on bugdet carriers, I would rank them as follows:
1. Bru.Air
2. EasyJet
3. HLX (now TUIFly)
4. Vueling
5. GermanWings
6. SkyEurope
...
99. Ryanair