Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines from Brussels to Lisbon. This time not just delayed, also unfriendly and not professional. Even the bus driver from the gate to the aircraft had an urge to show his unfriendliness. Boarding by bus to the airplane from Schengen to Non-Schengen part of the terminal is a total mess, bussing from the gate in a cramped bus, waiting in the bus, than later on in the rain to get to the staircases which lead to the airbridge, waiting inside the airbridge since the aircraft has not been ready (cleaned) yet, then in the aircraft to get a slot since we missed the original one. Cabin crew not helpful, especially when it comes to cabin baggage problems. And this happens especially since they introduced the new fare concept. The baggage was on the belt 55 minutes after landing.

We went to Vienna last year with Brussels Airlines to celebrate new years evening in the magnific city of Vienna. Because of the snow and cold weather the engines were frozen and they need to de-froze them. So, we had a delay of +2hrs. Actually, we had to sit down for 2h in the airplane. The staff was not that friendly and there were noisy babies aboard. The flight was not what we expected, because we arrived late in Vienna. The plane comfort was okay. I had good flights in the past with Brussels Airlines, but this was really not okay.

Is Brussels Airlines a low cost airline? Booked a flight from Brussels to Davao (Philippines) and back with Singapore Airlines. First leg was Brussels to Frankfurt, one hour flight on an A320 (Lufthansa), with snacks and drinks served for free. Frankfurt -Singapore with an A380 (Singapore Airlines), of course as much foods and drinks you want for free. Singapore to Cebu with a Boeing 737 (Silkair), three hour flight with warm meals and drinks for free. Fourth leg: Cebu - Davao (B 737 Silkair), 45 minute flight with snacks and drinks for free. Return flights, once again foods and drinks for free. Then Milan to Brussels on Brussels Airlines A319, one hour flight and to my surprise I had to pay for drinks or snacks. When we fly low cost airlines like Ryanair or Easyjet we know we have to pay extra for drinks and/or foods. But if I pay 1000€ for a world flight I expect to have drinks included. I will surely do my very best to avoid flying Brussels Airlines again. Expensive flights and no service.

The Brussels Airlines Business lounge at Brussels is terrible! Friendly staff in the airplane. Seats are not very comfortable. Food is moderate. I forgot my reading glasses in the plane. The same day I reported this to the service desk with the exact place were I forgot this. Till this day I got no answer.

I was traveling with Brussels Airlines from Venice to London, with a quick stopover in Brussels. My first flight from Venice to Brussels was delayed. A flight attendant onboard told me I would make my connecting no problem. Nonetheless, I still ran to my gate after security took forever and I still missed my connecting flight from Brussels to London because of the first delay. I then had to go to their customer service desk to find a new flight I could go on. The desk only had 1 person working there with at least 3 or 4 people waiting. After about 30 min or so, one more person came. The line was reaching to at least 10 people with each person taking around 15 to 45 min. I waited in their line for about an hour. Then they sent me on a British Airways flight 5 hours later. I asked twice if they are sure my luggage would be in London when I arrive, they replied "absolutely". I eventually got to London (after another delay from British Airways) and they did not have my luggage there. It got delivered the next day with one my zippers broken. A terrible experience with this airline.

The big issue was the fact that Brussel Airlines had to provide a low cost subcontractor (HiFly) for the flight SN205/206 Brussels to Dakar operated on the 16th August with 2 hours 10 minutes delay. We paid to fly with Brussels Airlines and not with an other airline (Hifly) which does not meet the kind of services I was expecting during the flight. No vouchers provided to us in order to get a snack during the delay time.

Tel Aviv to Washington Dulles via Brussels, Once on the aircraft, I liked the entertainment, food was okay, and crew was very pleasant. On the bad side, their customer service, or lack of it, was a major problem. Given their limited phone hours I was never able to connect with a person to obtain a seat assignment. This, in spite of a week of calling at long distance rates. Horrible. Additionally, on my flight over, my bags never made the transfer. Although not the fault of the airline (my flight from Dulles was delayed, so there wasn't enough time to handle the transfer), the company handling baggage was horrible. After registering with them, you are given a receipt and told to check their website for the status of your baggage. No phone number to call. Additionally, while standing in line to talk with someone, I noticed that they have a window for First Class passengers. When I saw that they bothered to have a special window for them, I knew I was in trouble. I wish to ad that while my luggage appeared the next day, my friend's baggage did not arrive for days. Finally, the company is in the process of eliminating regular check in at Tel Aviv. They expect you to use a Kiosk. I "assume" that will mean no staff, which is funny since during my check-in they could not issue boarding passes for 15 minutes due to a systems glitch. Standing there I had to wonder what people are expected to do if faced with a non working kiosk. In conclusion, prior to booking with them, I would try calling them to determine if they are now reachable should you require help, and ask if they will have staff at your airport should you encounter any problems. And finally, I would bring along a carry-on with everything you need to get by for a few days, should your baggage disappear.

I flew with Brussels Airlines to Angola via Belgium and overall it was good. Although the flight attendants mainly spoke French with only a few being able to speak English (which surprised me because Angolans speak Portuguese and not one of the attendants could speak Portuguese) which meant that I had to translate a lot of things for other passengers who only spoke Portuguese. The food was good considering its airplane food and the flight attendants were generous with the drinks. The inflight entertainment was one of the best I've come across in a very long time with a wide range of movies and TV shows. The plane did get cold during our night flight but the attendants gave us blankets when we asked which was nice. Very comfortable seats which reclined well and enough leg room for me (5ft 6).

In general, flying with Brussels Airlines is ok. However, if you have a problem, that's where you run into trouble. The airline has no customer service contact number - you have to call reservations and get them to handle issues (lost baggage, cancelled flights etc.) The phone centre staff are poor, they quite simply don't know what they should do. If you send an email - you'll be waiting 3 or 4 months for a reply. Generally, they don't want to deal with problems, they just ignore their customers.

Flew with Brussels Airlines from Prague to Manchester and found them to be accommodating and friendly. Overall, the flight was on time and service decent. Would consider again if doing a short haul in Europe.