Brussels Airlines announces new short haul product

[RTM]

same prices I paid earlier, but minus the checked in luggage etc.. they could have been more honest by maintaining the current b.lite and b.flex and while stripping the b.lite to the absolute minimun like checked in luggage only for B.flex, seat choice etc..

b.lite becomes Light&Relax, still 23kg checked in Luggage...
http://www.brusselsairlines.com/nl-be/m ... jking.aspx

[b720]

Not really, as on most fares to GVA, for instance, starting EUR 75 O.W> and it is called check and go! or even 85 EUr (CHECK and GO) except for the 06:30 flight departing BRU Check n Go starts at EUR 30 or 39.
I checked for end of Nov. not for end of Sept. Same prices we paid on B.lite. As the EUR 99 fares were also on the unearthly hours. They have simply stripped b.lite into the min. and kept the same prices.

Another issue is the outrageously expensive B.Business (again on the GVA sector as an example). starting EUR 414 O.W. Unless one is connecting from GVA and back onto SN's long haul network in C class one must be out of their mind to pay EUR 828 for a seat that is exactly the same as that in B.lite and B.Flex. Not even a curtain to split the cabin. Seat pitch is the same (except row 1). The gourmet meal (often a cold meal). and the warm napkin are the only perks..plus lounge access to differ from b.flex. Even the miles accumulated are often the same or less than those on b.flex! SN needs to remodel the whole Business concept, or drop the prices (of Business) dramatically!

[Inquirer]

I've quite a few outstanding tickets on Brussels for the coming months and my travel agency confirmed me yesterday those in b.light entitle a seat in Light&relax, whereas the ones planned in b.flex are automatically transferred in Flex&Fast, which I think is a good deal, especially for the b.light tickets, as I now get the option to take a flight earlier for free.
Now the really cool thing would be to actually be able to use this more often! However, most of the time, I end up pushing my departure flight back. haha. :eh:

[OO-ITR]

"Zit op een wolk zodra je instapt" (sit on a cloud as soon you are on board). I find their seats on European flights extremely uncomfortable and I'm not the only one.

Probably that is because they don't ONLY mean the seat when they say that you are sitting on a cloud. You should see it in a broader perspective...

[loran4721]

I've read the condition attached to the Check&Go formula and I'd like more detail about:
- (max) size of cabin trolley, meant as dimension HxWxL? Weight limit?
- if I remember correctly (their website is down...) it says "cabin lugguage and carryall". Is there a more detailed definition of "carryall"? A backpack? A small backpack? How small is small?

It's here :

http://www.brusselsairlines.com/en-be/p ... fault.aspx

thank you airzurxtrot for your replay.


It will be interesting to see the Check&Go customer feedback on how strict the enforcing: being a former Ryanair flyer, its seems to me that penalties for "upgrading at the airport" to checked lugguage are higher, sometimes way higher than FR's and weight allowance worse than FR's (12kg vs 15kg).
The only "plus" is the additional carryall, like a laptop bag: some bags can be quite big, for 17-19 inch models, and heavy :):):):):)
With Easyjet at leastthere was no weight limit, providing it's reasonable and you can set on your own the trolley on the the overhead containers...

[loran4721]

b.lite becomes Light&Relax, still 23kg checked in Luggage...
http://www.brusselsairlines.com/nl-be/m ... jking.aspx

but then don't forget to add 40 euro (for a return flight)... that is the (fixed) price differential between C&G and L&R on all flights I consulted.

To be confirmed, but I share b720's opinion: they rebranded B.light into Check&Go stripping the checked lugguage and lowering the weight allowance from 23 to 12... and even then, it should be seen whether the availability of Check&Go tickets will be substantial or just a figleaf... while the bulk of tickets remains Light&Relax: costing +40 euro than the previous B.Light of course

[White Light]

by OO-ITR » 30 minutes ago
White Light wrote:"Zit op een wolk zodra je instapt" (sit on a cloud as soon you are on board). I find their seats on European flights extremely uncomfortable and I'm not the only one.Probably that is because they don't ONLY mean the seat when they say that you are sitting on a cloud. You should see it in a broader perspective...

OK, I'll see it in a broader perspective : once on board, I wait in the aisle for people to put their hand baggage and clothes in the overhead luggage bins before I can get to my seat; then I sit on an uncomfortable seat in a hot aircraft cabin ; have to pay for water very much needed after a short while in a cabin without adequate air ventilation. "Zit op een wolk zodra je instapt"

[Lysexpat]

I've quite a few outstanding tickets on Brussels for the coming months and my travel agency confirmed me yesterday those in b.light entitle a seat in Light&relax, which I think is a good deal, especially for the b.light tickets, as I now get the option to take a flight earlier for free. :

Just one small detail: "subject to availability in the same travel class"

[rix]

Hello,
Anyone here can confirm if Miles&More Frequent Travellers would still benefit from one extra piece of checked luggage when travelling on Check&Go fares ?

[tolipanebas]

Light&Relax is costing +40 euro than the previous B.Light

If you'd take a closer look at the new product overview and what is contained in it, you'd see Light&Relax is coming not just with a checked luggage allowance like B.light, but also with the newly added flexibility to change to any earlier flight on the same day and this for a premium of just €5 per flight (€10 return) vs. B.light, so your remark about the 40 euro premium is factually wrong to start with...

But in case you really don't want this new flexibility feature, yet want to travel with a suitcase, then you can simply book a Check&Go ticket and add checked luggage to it: that way you'll create the well known B.light ticket yourself, once again.
If you'd do so, you'll notice checked luggage costs only €15 per flight at Brussels Airlines, which is the lowest checked luggage fee in the industry combined with the most generous weight allowance, so you'd end up at a total ticket price starting at €99 (i.e. €69 + 2x€15), which incidentally is what B.light tickets started at too, so exactly where is the raise in fares then? :think:

To put it simple:
Brussels Airlines is turning itself into an "à la carte" airline, so when you book a seat you can pretty much add whatever possible service or comfort feature to that seat you'd want and that feature alone.
Some of these features are packed into pre-determined bundles like e.g. Light&Relax for booking convenience, but there's no requirement to take any pre-determined bundle and all of its features comprised, you know? You can just as well modulate your own ticket starting from a Check&Go ticket and pay only for what you really want: if you do so, you can rebuild your own traditional economy ticket again and just as I've done above, see for yourself that indeed you'll pay exactly the same for it.

Brussels Airlines is not the one presenting brutal price raises for all as a 'product improvement'. :wave:

[b720]

Pls stop talking about the check n go fare being EUR 69, it isn't! The absolute vast majority will be paying much more than EUR 69 on a check n go fare.

[sean1982]

well it seems that FR has managed to undercut SN once again.
Today FR has launched our business plus pack!
Starting at 69.99EUR passengers who will book business plus will receive the following:
Unlimited flight changes with free change on the day of travel
20 kg baggage allowance
Fast track at airport security
Priority boarding
Cabin bag garantueed on board
and premium seating with extra leg room

That's right, all of that for 0.99EUR more than SN's LCC ticket.

more info
http://www.ryanair.com/ie/business-plus/

example

BRU-BCN retour in october
with FR business plus : 159.98 EUR
SN flex&fast : 378.42EUR

[Inquirer]

That's right, all of that for 0.99EUR more than SN's LCC ticket.

Now you've got me confused, Sean, because you are comparing a return ticket price at brussels airlines to a one way ticket price at ryanair.

From the sound of it, this looks like ryanair's Light and Relax but with luggage added as a standard and it costs a minimum of 140 euro for a return ticket at ryanair.
To get the same deal as on ryanair, you'd need to book a return ticket at Brussels Airlines which is minimum 109 euro for the Light&Relax ticket + 2 times 15 euro for the bag, so 139 euro in total.
Not to nitpick, but for 1 euro less, they also give you 3 kgs more luggage while doing so.

Seems like consumers will have to compare on an individual basis each time, which is the whole point of course, but not exactly whay you'd expect from an airline which brags about it's incredibly low prices.

[sean1982]

euhm no .... this is a competing product to SN's flex&fast not check&go or light&relax
Thus the price difference is enormous.

[RoMax]

Pls stop talking about the check n go fare being EUR 69, it isn't! The absolute vast majority will be paying much more than EUR 69 on a check n go fare.

And who paid 99 euro for B.light? The vast majority of these passengers also paid much more (some destinations have never been available for the as from 99 price, others in very limited quantities for a temporary lower (promotion based) price.
If you buy Check&Go and add checked luggage both ways (so +30 Euro), you still have prices at or below the old b.light rates. Light&Relax is indeed more expensive than the old b.light, but you get more flexibility (something which is a key element for business passengers in Europe and no business passengers do not always take the premium and business class options, as pointed by the fact that lots of business passengers fly LCC's).

[Inquirer]

Please don't take this the bad way, as I trying to tell you kindly you got it wrong IMHO,
but I think you urenglty need to read what light&relax includes, Sean.
Add a bag at 2 x 15 euro to a light&relax ticket it and you end up with exactly what ryanair offers here.

[RoMax]

euhm no .... this is a competing product to SN's flex&fast not check&go or light&relax
Thus the price difference is enormous.

Not really, unless FR offers: free catering, free newspapers/magazines, free refund of cancelled tickets, FR talks about unlimited flexibility (but one of FR's best operational results, in this case turns into a disadvantage, availability of tickets when changes have to be made on very short notice), fast track security is available at just 8 of their bases (SN serves more FSC airports in their network, most of them offer fast lane security), 23kg iso 20kg, 12kg hand luggage iso 10kg, priority check-in counter at the airport for pax that did not have the time to check-in online e.g. because their flight plans change last minute, lounge access, etc.

I'm sure many budget-friendly business travellers (mostly those that plan their trips on their own and not subject to company policy) will go for this FR option. But so will several budget friendly passengers that also like a bit more quality, book SN's lowest fare tickets iso flying with FR.

[sean1982]

again, no:

light and relax:

Free change to an earlier flight .... FR allows free changing to earlier or later flight
Free selection of seats ....FR offers selection of our seats with more legroom, in other words, front of the aircraft or overwing exits
No fast lane .... FR offers fast lane (only at selected airports at this time, but will be extended in the future)

flight changes before the day of travel:
SN charges 45EUR plus difference in fare .... FR only charges difference in fare


check-in: no longer needed at FR as with the new app (which I'm sure every business person will have) the updated boarding card immediatly becomes available, no need to waste time running to a check in desk

The only thing that is NOT included with FR business plus vs. SN flex&fast is a free snack

[RoMax]

The only thing that is NOT included with FR business plus vs. SN flex&fast is a free snack

No.

Light&Relax doesn't include several of the flexibility/premium options you have with this FR business offer, that's certainly true, but lacks many to be on par with Flex&Fast (do I need to repeat them, or are you actually going to take the effort to actually read my previous post).

[sean1982]

Let's agree then that FR's business plus is hanging between light&relax and flex&fast .... but at 69.99EUR serioulsy undercutting SN's prices for a similar service.