ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  21 February 2008 by  M Kanaks   (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

A cheap ticket is what they offered and cheap was the service I got. The flights were delayed in Brunei, and I missed my connection in Europe. In Brunei, the ground staff had no idea what was happening, toilets dirty, no restaurants for a decent coffee, no alcohol, hot and stuffy. The food onboard was poor compared to a budget european airline. The customer service manager was of no help when I spoke to him on my return. A cheap ticket on a long haul can wind up being a nightmare! Many other disgruntled customers lining up for assistance at the airport.

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  16 February 2008 by  Ken Chan   (Malaysia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

KUL-BWN and return. Check in no problem. The service however is just normal, nothing to shout about, IFE is boring, with lame comedies and entertainment offered. Crew not very friendly, just do their work. On short haul is ok, but on long haul flights, just keep your fingers crossed.

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  15 February 2008 by  R Sriram   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Booked London to Sydney via Brunei leaving on the 22nd of December and reaching Sydney on the 24th December - in time for Christmas and how badly were we let down by RBA. 17 days before the departure got a message from the travel agent that the flight timings have been changed and instead of a 3 hour stopover at Brunei it was an overnight stopover and reaching Sydney only on Christmas day! After a lot of haggling got a flight to leave London on the 23rd with a 11 hour stopover in Brunei on the 24th December and hotel accommodation for that time. Waiting to take the 23.25 hours Sydney flight from Brunei on the 24th December, around midnight, we were told that the flight had been cancelled and that we would be put in a Brisbane flight the next day (25th December) and then to connect to a Qantas flight on the 26th morning from Brisbane to Sydney. We arrived on the 25th December at 9 am for the 11.25 am Brisbane flight and yet again there was over a three hour delay for the flight to take off! Thankfully the return flights were on time (arrival to London delayed by an hour). The inflight entertainment did not work on both legs of the journey. Please do not travel this airline if you want to reach your destination on time, especially if you have kids, and do not expect the ground staff at Brunei to be any helpful. I have complained to the airline and have not received an acknowledgement as yet!

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  12 February 2008 by  Keith Fisher   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Business

We struggled with the in-flight meals, with very little or even no selection - we did not eat any in-flight meals after our first flight to Dubai selecting to eating in between the flights. But the food in the business class lounges in Dubai and Brunei were acceptable! The in flight entertainment films was very limited with nearly 70% comedies and quite a few were quite old. Our main issues were on the return flights - at Sydney airport there was only economy class check-in (no separate Business Class). On joining the flight in Dubai we were horrified to find out that we had to sit separately, we made a bit of a fuss and were told that 2 adjoining seats were not working. We have travelled this route before using Business Class on other airlines and the difference in standard of service is considerably different. I have even sent my complaint into RBA only to have it automatically returned. I feel in summary we had economy + class service for business class prices

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  5 February 2008 by  Adrian Lunandi   (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Sydney to Jakarta with stopovers at Brunei. The trip initially had a stopover 1 hour but 2 weeks prior to the flight the flight magically disappeared and the stopover became an overnight 17 hour stopover. We were told by our agent that we would get accommodation and food as compensation but upon arriving we were told that we didn't get any accommodation. The staff were unhelpful but only after 2 hours did we get the accommodation. We were then told by the staff at customs (also very unhelpful) to pay for our own visa (which we were initially told was covered already) to go to the hotel. Also despite having a phone next to them, they refused to call the staff at the transit desk and instead made us walk there to get it sorted. It took another 30 minutes to get the visa after walking several laps to and from the transit room and customs. The hotel was also very poor, it was more of a motel. The flight to Jakarta was then delayed for about 3 hours the following morning. We were given a lunch voucher to claim. The staff at the cafe (rudest of the bunch) only said we could only get one meal due to the vagueness of the voucher. Only after introducing them to their own phone did we get any communication between the airport staff and finally getting the 3 meals we were supposed to get. The flight was pretty average. Staff unenthusiastic and not very helpful. Food was average for airplane food. The personal entertainment system was alright but the keypads were broken so playing games not possible. The return flight from Jakarta was just as bad. Stopover at Brunei again. Initially 6 hour stopover became 14 hour one. Got the same staff, still unhelpful. Once again we were informed that we got hotel rooms but again we had to battle the staff to get the tickets. This time we were made to pay our visas. The money exchanger would only exchange everything into Brunei money and refused to give change in Australian dollars despite having the money there. It was too much hassle and the lines at customs was too long so we decided to stay in the transit room. The toilets there are dirty and at one point there was no water. This time around there were more passengers with similarly extended stopovers so the cafe offered lunch and dinner to the people applicable. This time a list was sent to the cafe staff and announcements were made over the PA system. The food was the same for lunch and dinner. For lunch they didn't even give any water saying that the tap water was yellow yet they wouldn't give bottled water either. At dinner there was a small glass of bottled water but no dessert. The rest of the transit area is very uninteresting. Only about 5 small shops with rather expensive items. The seats were mostly in very poor condition and not very comfortable. Overall the flight wasn't very good, the airport very bad for an international airport. The only upside is that we got to our destination and back safely.

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  2 January 2008 by  C Libio   (Philippines)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

My first time to fly Royal Brunei Airlines from Jeddah to Manila and return. The following good things - excellent food especially for Asian. Service is good with nice, friendly and attentive flight attendants. The following disappointment : I had my e-ticket on 20 November 2007. I chose this airline because I thought that it has a connecting flight of less than 4 hours only. I had a confirmed flight on 11 December JED-BWN-MNL and 26 Dec MNL-BWN-JED. By chance on 25 December, I have checked on the internet and discovered there is no flight on December 26 from Bandar Seri to Jeddah. On 26 December, my flight going back to Jeddah, the BWN ground staff informed me that they are going to give me a hotel because I have to stay for almost 24 hours in Brunei - they just informed me that they changed schedule since December 1. Okay I have no choice, and accept it. When I checked my hotel voucher, it is written there that I am provided with breakfast only. I approached ground staff as to why it is breakfast only. They said it is from the main office who decide. When I arrived in Brunei, I went to Royal Brunei desk, and told them about this. After more than 30 minutes, they told me that there will be no changes, and that's all they can provide. I am a little disappointed with my first trip with Royal Brunei. They should know it is not my fault that they have changed the schedule one week after I purchased the ticket. Sudden changes of scheduled flight, all the expenses should be shouldered by the airlines including the meal.

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  10 December 2007 by  Steve Collins   (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

I booked Sydney to London LHR return on Royal Brunei - it was the cheapest available (my mistake), departing 29th Oct and returning to Sydney on 2nd of Dec. The nightmares began straight after. 2 weeks before departure, I received an e-mail, informing us that our return dates and times have changed. Our original booking had the flight from LHR in the afternoon straight to Brunei, about 3 hours transit time in Brunei and on to Sydney. The changes they made had our flight from LHR in the morning to Dubai, 2 hours there, and then to Brunei arriving there at 9:30 in the morning and our onward flight to Sydney at 2325 the next night thus arriving Sydney 2 days after our original schedule. We had to extend our leave by 2 days unpaid. To make matters worse there was no offer of hotel accomodation, meals, visa etc. I called back Royal Brunei and after half an hour of argument, they offered me hotel accomodation and breakfast, but refused to provide other meals saying it is too expensive. It was too close to our departure date for me to cancel the booking altogether. Of course, there was no alcohol served (also new experience). The meal was mediocre. Our flight time to Brunei was about 8 hours and we were served one main meal and a muffin with tea or coffee just before arrival in Brunei. On our return trip the lavatory was dirty and one panel with wiring was hanging out. Another 15-20 fellow travellers had the same problem of changes in dates and times. We found out that there were not enough passengers, so they combined 2/3 flights into one. We all joined together to complain and demand accomodation and all meals while in Brunei and visa to be paid by Royal Brunei. It took over 2 hours to organize this. After we came out of the terminal it took another 45 minutes to organize a transport. It was a small mini van. So it had to make 2 trips, the 2nd trip another 45 minutes later. In the hotel same saga continued. They informed us that they will provide only the breakfast. So, before every meal we had to ask for the meal voucher, the receptionist will call Royal Brunei, and issue a coupon. Every passenger had to demand it individually. During check-in for departure to Sydney, the staff again was demanding that we pay the airport tax. It took another half an hour of complain, phone calls etc. to sort it out. The moral of this story: Don't fly Royal Brunei ever and don't go for the cheapest fare unless the airline has a good reputation.

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  4 December 2007 by  Gareth Phillips   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Auckland from London. The seat space was good and one advantage of using smaller aircraft is that the boarding and deplaning were relatively fast. We stopped at Dubai, Brunei and Brisbane before Auckland. At each stop we had to go through customs and immigration and back on board the plane. Each time we did this it took 1-2 hours. This in effect added another 10-12 hours to an already extensive return flight. When you are tired the last thing you want is to troop aimlessly round various airports. As predicted the entertainment system did not work on the way out, but functioned on the return (use the side of the controler which looks like a games control, not the other side which looks like a media control). The food was OK and we managed to sneak a couple of miniatures on board to add to our soft drinks. I probably would not fly again with Royal Brunei Airlines, mainly due to the age of the planes, frequency of stops and poor entertainment systems - if I were a poor student I'd probably not worry too much about the downsides and go for their cheap flights!

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  21 November 2007 by  Carole Flack   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

LHR-DXB-BWN-SYD return. This was economy class with travel assist, the service from all RBA staff was excellent. The seating was comfortable. Meals to a high standard and ample. On our flight out we had individual entertainment systems that worked well. On return flight an older plane with a drop down screen entertainment system. RBA was a very pleasurable experience for a long haul trip and I would have no hesitation to fly again with them.

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  15 November 2007 by  A Crabtree   (UK)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Business

Business class Heathrow to Sydney and return from Brisbane. The service was excellent, flights comfortable and food good - having the opportunity to spend stopover time in the lounges was wonderful and made the long journey pleasant.

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  22 October 2007 by  V Ellis   (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) and return both flights transiting through Banda Seri Begwan. On the flight out of Sydney we were served a full meal and a very light meal into Brunei. This was very ordinary and very small, ok for me but a big eater would have starved. The seats were comfortable and plenty of leg room for my tall husband. However there was no individual Tv screens and the small drop down one was too far away for comfort. On departing Brunei for HCMC (1hr 40 transit) we had our 2 unopened bottles of duty free alcohol and 1 bottle fragrance bought at Sydney Airport Duty Free confiscated by rather heavy handed customs security staff. Even though we showed them our receipt, had previously called the airline to check allowances and the official RBA in flight magazine Muhibah stating that non-Muslims could bring 2 bottles into the country. The magazine made no mention of transit passengers allowances at all. No amount of arguing would allow us to take our goods through to HCMC. The flight to HCMC was uneventful and comfortable. On return to Sydney we dared not buy duty free alcohol in Vietnam for fear of the same happening, only to see other transit passengers in Brunei suffer the same fate as us. Both flights were full with no opportunity to ask for specific seating, but at least they were more modern aircraft with individual TV screens. Again all meals were very small and ordinary. Also was not aware no alcohol served on flights.

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  18 October 2007 by  A Slosarcikova   (Czech Republic)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

FRA-BWN-DPS business there, economy back. I had the chance of experiencing both classes. The planes are not very new but are clean. They claim to have almost flat seats in business but I was always sliding down the seat because of an unfortunate reclining angle. Plus the plane was noisy. On the way back I found out that there was quite enough space in the economy and the service quite good, as well as entertainment system. On the other hand the food was not very good and the economy cabin was even more run down than the business. But the worst thing was the stopovers. From Brunei to Frankfurt we had 2 stopovers, each for over one hour, one in Bangkok and one in Sharjah in the middle of the night and the airport was dirty. The entire trip back took us 24 hours! The desperation was probably increased by the fact that they were not serving alcohol. I am not sure if I would fly Brunei again because of the stops.

ROYAL BRUNEI AIRLINES review :  11 October 2007 by  I McGookin    (Australia)

Customer Trip Rating :

Recommended:

Value for Money:

Cabin Flown:

Economy

Just returned from LHR to Brisbane - can't fault the service but the stops, arghh! London-Dubai get off the plane - they say 20 mins, but more like an hour to embark once again on the same plane to Brunei. At Brunei, off the plane, wait maybe another hour, then headed back to Brisbane. Yes, the overall price is cheaper (especially when travelling with 2 kids) but the old saying you 'get what you pay for', is totally true. Would I fly with Brunei again? No, the main reason all the stops and starts just takes it's toll.