Brussels Airlines

In December 2013 I flew London to Brusssels with my thirteen year old son, using two different booking references since he was subsequently returning to London and I was not. Our plane was at first delayed and then we were allowed to board. We sat in the plane for almost two hours without the taking off. During this time we were not allowed to use the lavatories or being served anything to drink or eat before finally being told that everybody had to disembark due to technical problems with the plane, and that everybody would be put on various different other planes to get us to Brussels. Given that the plane was full I queried that we would all fit in on that day's remaining flights since this was already quite late in the evening due to the long wait. I was told not to worry. Some people were then given changed boarding passes and were told to transfer to another aircraft. We did not get any new boarding passes and we came to the aircraft there were no more places on it. We were told that we had to go to a hotel in London for the night. My teenage son who had his own booking reference was told the same. Nobody seemed to query that it might not be suitable for thirteen year old to spend the night alone in a hotel in London and whether he would be capable of finding his own way back to the airport the day after. I insisted that we had to be on the last plane leaving for Brussels since I was injured and on crutches and had difficulty moving about and since we had to be in Brussels that evening. Finally they took somebody else's boarding pass and gave them to us instead, not even changing the names on the passes. This meant that some other people would have been forced off the flight. This procedure is totally against all rules since everybody should be given a chance to elect to stay behind against compensation, and the airline staff should not randomly select who gets to board and who does not. When my son was about to return to London after the holidays, his booking had disappeared and when I called the customer service I was told that his return flight had been automatically deleted since he never boarded the flight from London to Brussels and the system then deleted the return flight. When I informed them he had in fact boarded that flight but that the flight never left due to technical problems and we had to be put another flight they at first did not believe me. Finally they reluctantly and without any type of servicemindedness grumpily agreed to reinstate him on the return flight against a rebooking fee. When I queried this fee they finally gave in and waived the rebooking fee. After this a filed a complaint with their customer service and got an automatic message saying that I would be informed of the result after two week. This was almost two years ago and I am still waiting for any type of response from Brussels Airlines.

Traveled from Freetown to UK recently with Brussels Airlines. Customer care and service I received in Freetown was excellent. The staff were friendly and check in was quick and trouble free. On this flight there is a 40 minute hop to Monrovia where boarded passengers have to wait an hour before continuing on to Brussels. After an hour stop over we continued to Brussels and the crew began the evening meal service. It was clear they wanted to sling their meagre fodder and get passengers settled down so they could do whatever cabin crew do. On previous flights they usually offer you a drink from the bar and offer another while you have your meal. I had one glass of wine and about a quarter of a pint of water. At 5 hours after boarding, I tried in vain to catch a stewardess as she rushed up and down the aisle to get another drink and was eventually informed that if I wanted one, I had to go to the back of the aircraft. So I asked for a drink from the bar and some water but had unfortunately interrupted one of the crew eating her meal. Whilst waiting for my drink I chatted briefly with a colleague who been similarly instructed to seek out water and the stewardess, tucking into her business class food platter, ordered us to be quiet as crew were sleeping! I mean we were about 2 hours out of Monrovia and the crew were already asleep? It must be a very tough job serving one drink from the trolley! The onboard entertainment was very poor and as usual with this airline I couldn't wait to get off at Brussels despite Brussels airport being the most miserable transit in Europe. The transit from Gate B at 5 in the morning directs you to bunch of G4s staff having breakfast who order you to ignore the signs and continue further on. 4 hours in this dirty and soulless place where the staff are ordered not to talk to you, look you in the eye or smile. Then came boarding for Heathrow. The flight had a large number of West Africans in transit to the UK and both airport and airline appear to have a policy to treat these passengers with disdain. They announced boarding about an hour before the flight so we queued and waited half an hour while the boarding staff chatted. Another half an hour to check travel documents and boarding passes but somebody had forgotten to open the doors to the ramp so passenger just backed up and waited resulting in an hour late departure. On my outward journey I noticed that they herd all Africa bound passenger to T Gate where there there is a glass divide with some facilities but no shops, eateries or duty free shops for waiting passengers. In a conversation with an African colleague he commented that Africans are poorly treated at Brussels airport and I have heard this many times over. On the final leg we were lucky enough to have one passenger who chose to scream out biblical passages and sing hymns at the top of her voice. The cabin crew could have politely asked her to respect her fellow passengers but they just ignored it. A journey from hell with the unfriendliest airline and airport. I would like to say "never again" but options to Freetown remain limited. I am looking forward to the commencement of another carrier in Nov 15.

The flight was nice enough with kind staff, but more nightmares occurred. Firstly we were promised a bassinet for our 5month old baby-we spoke to several people who promised we would get the bassinet - but when it came to it we did not get one. On neither flight to Brussels and back to JFK. The flight arrived in due time but not our luggage. We waited for 2 long hours for our luggage. The basement was hot and stuffy, our baby was cranky and tired we were all jetllagged but we had to wait for our luggage 2 hours. Our car service driver charged us a hefty sum for all this extra waiting time as well. When our luggage finally did arrive, not all of it was there. We were busy looking for a box we took a long and couldn't find it. Nobody was there to help us, we tried talking to people but to no avail. Nobody knew how to help us and how to handle the situation. So we left without the last piece of luggage. We called the airport to file a missing item, but no one was willing to help. It took us several days and several trips to the airport to track the missing luggage. We spent the first week of our vacation tracking luggage. We weren't helped by any airport or phone staff, and were left spending loads of money on car services back and forth from the airport to find the missing luggage. Finally when we did track the luggage the airline didn't want to pay for the delivery. It certainly wasn't a great way to spend vacation. We have spoken to many people since from Brussels Airlines that weren't a great help at all.

On short haul flights (BCN to BRU) Brussels Airlines offers cheap tickets as from 69 euro, but that means you'll get a no frills flight. So no snack or drinks and so on. But however there is a difference between Brussels Airlines and a low cost carrier: clean aircraft, nice crew, spacious seats. Definitely good value for money on your trips trough Europe.

Copenhagen to Brussels with Brussels Airlines. The flight attendant who greeted us when we boarded the aircraft hardly smiled. Seating comfort average. Once airborne, the purser served the 4 (four) passengers in business and economy plus and was not seen again. Two flight attendants served the remaining passengers. They stopped at row 4, served coffee to a couple, then rushed 10 rows further down to the rear and never came back. We sat in row 5 and were never asked if we wanted to buy something to eat or drink. The female flight attendant later on rushed to the front of the airplane where she started chatting with the purser. Nobody was interested in the passengers. Before landing, we received a connecting flight information via the PA. It went like "information on your connecting flights is available on the screens inside the terminal." Very helpful! When we left the aircraft, the purser tried hard not to look at us and pretended that she was busy with something. Of course none of the passengers received a "Goodbye". This was my first trip with Brussels Airlines and it is going to be my last. I now understand why the predecessor of Brussels Airlines, Sabena, went bankrupt.

A daytime flight on Brussels Airlines from Brussels to Ouagadougou. Business class Lounge (The Loft) in Brussels was very nice lounge with quite good selection of Belgium beers. Onboard, the business class seats are the same layout as Swiss or Austrian, best seat are 1A and 1K or any throne single seat. Seat transforms to lie flat bed. The menu had 4 choices as main courses (Fish, meat, vegan and pasta). Wine selection was French wine. Good selection of Belgium beer. The food was tasty and served quite quickly. Entertainment is big screen 16 inch, movies selection is quite limited, should be improved. Staff were very professional and dedicated. Very nice flight, and they offer you a gift before landing (box of chocolate), very well appreciated.

Quite average flights on Brussels Airlines, from Venice to Porto via Brussels return. From the price-quality relationship Brussels Airlines is an airline with very basic service compare to the price of the product in the European market (transfer flights via Brussels). The real difference in that scenario can be the crew. On the first segment VCE-BRU the crew members were exceptional. Great job from the cockpit and from the cabin crew members, especially the purser. 10/10 for this segment. All the rest unfortunately just okay, or in the case of the last segment BRU-VCE not even that, cabin crew on this segment not really interested in passengers at all. Totally disorganized check-in, both in Venice and in Porto, in Porto also unfriendly.

Have been shuttling back and forth between BRU and BCN with Brussels Airlines for a while now, a route that is well served in BRU. Brussels Airlines advertised 69EUR fares that were mostly inexistent on the website. The aircraft are old and worn. My ironing board is probably more comfortable than the seat that is offered. Crew were distant and cold and my bag was offloaded at the door and had to be collected on the baggage belt in the airport. To be honest, my experiences on Ryanair on the same route have been more pleasant. "We go the extra smile" in my case just meant: We take some extra money (for the same or lower service).

The Brussels Airlines flight was okay, but they lost one of my luggage and still never resolved this to date. I was the one always chasing them for an update, and there's no phone number for customer service and the email address they provide works, but took over 3 weeks for a reply. It's now over 3 months since my luggage was lost I still haven't heard anything conclusive and was told 4 weeks ago that they were still investigating. On my way back home, one of my luggage did not make it on the plane and was left in London. Now am just hoping they will find it and give it back in a good state. Last year when I travelled with Brussels Airlines, one of my luggage arrived 2 days after me - I thought it was just a single incident but with what happened this year I don't think I'll be using Brussels Airlines again.

Once again, on the long haul from Europe to the USA, a great flight. The aircraft very clean and comfortable. The real strong point was the cabin staff. Friendly, alert, and attentive. No request was too much for them. Outstanding cuisine, and a great choice for all passengers. Spotlight on local Belgian beers. I really felt welcomed, and would not hesitate to recommend to friends and colleagues.