Royal Brunei Airlines

Melbourne to London return Excellent value for money attentive FA's who tended to our needs especially as we are a very big family of 7 with the children aged 18-9 years. The cabin was clean and well presented. The toilets were kept clean. The foot rests were a great addition. Inflight entertainment was good however my eldest daughters didn't work on the way back but she shared her sisters screen. The food was of a high standard and they supplied nutritious vegan food for me. The stop in Dubai while short was good to be able to get out and stretch Dubai airport was clean big with plenty to do. The 3 hr stop in Brunei was again good to stretch but boring and the toilets were disgusting.

We found the Royal Brunei Airline experience was not good for families with young children. The only positive was that air hosts/esses were generally helpful and friendly. In our purchased tickets it said nothing about the additional stopover in Dubai. This was very unsettling for little ones trying to sleep then had to walk the circuit of Dubai airport waiting over an hour only to get back on the plane. Then a wait of 2.5 hours before it quietened down enough for them to sleep. Kids meals were not great and our children are not normally fussy. Kids entertainment was also poor. I would definitely recommend taking your ipad. Finally as we left Heathrow to travel back to Melbourne we purchased some gifts. Being aware of the alcohol restrictions on the plane I clarified this with the sales assistant who assured me it was ok to take aboard. Nothing was mentioned about the alcohol when boarding on the plane at Heathrow. Nor through the Dubai check. However at the last point it was confiscated in Brunei. Everyone felt extremely frustrated and angry that this was not made clear before purchases were made. Obviously no one would have wasted their money if they knew it would be taken away. Overall I would not recommend this airline to families with young children.

Bangkok-Melbourne. Quick and efficient check in at Bangkok. Flight left on time for Brunei. Choice of breakfast served early in flight. IFE a bit limited but not a problem on the short sector. Flight from Brunei to Melbourne was about 40 minutes late because of technical problems. Sat on the tarmac for a while and then good flight to Melbourne. Lunch was served at a very leisurely pace and was good food on good china and cutlery. IFE quite good and seats were very comfortable. They made up most of the lost time en route. Service friendly and addressed by name. Changed seats before flight took off and no problems with staff. Business class almost full but service remained good and friendly for the whole flight. They are a three star airline but give excellent value for money and while this remains I will happily fly with them. Baggage did not priority treatment during the unloading phase at Melbourne airport. ( I am not sure if this is an airline or a ground handling problem as it has also occurred on other airlines where baggage is checked in and has to be transferred to a second or third flight).

My wife and I visit family annually in Australia. We prefer to fly British Airways Virgin or Emirates but have flown Royal Brunei a couple of times. They are a decent enough airline well priced and can provide a good stop over in Brunei. However only use them if you don't require any further connections in Oz or the UK. My wife got delayed on the Qantas connection from Canberra to Melbourne because of fog. She missed the Brunei plane and then discovered because it was a Saturday Royal Brunei had no staff at the airport. They did have a contact number in Brunei but this went unanswered for a few hours. Then my wife was put on hold internationally for 20 minutes before finally being told she would need to buy another ticket for a further £600. In the end she travelled back the next day Emirates. We travel a fair bit but this was still stressful and very expensive. Until Royal Brunei can offer adequate customer service at the airports they serve I would only use them for direct hub to hub flights. Otherwise use BA/Qantas or Emirates who connect through Qantas in Oz or Virgin who obviously have a connection through Virgin Blue.

Having chosen this airline based on reviews here and the competitive price of a return ticket from London to Melbourne I was not disappointed. Service by flight attendants was top-notch even in the dead of night. The Boeing 777s might not be the latest but they are still up to the task; the seats were comfortable and the IFE was perfectly adequate. As previous reviews have pointed out Brunei airport can't presently be compared with Singapore or even Kuala Lumpur but as the cabin crew pointed out on landing there on both the outbound and return legs the airport is undergoing substantial renovation so there's hope for a better layover experience. My only slight gripe was that only one meal was served on the outbound leg from Brunei to Melbourne - lunch - with no snacks or other food served before landing which seemed a bit stingy given the length of the flight. That said the food served was generally excellent - tasty and better than other airline food I've eaten in the past! Boarding at Brunei on the return leg from there to Dubai was a little chaotic but this might have been the fault of the airport rather than the airline. The 2 stop itinerary - Dubai and Brunei - actually suited me quite well as I hate being cooped up in a plane for hours on end. Given the great level of customer service on board and the competitive pricing this airline has a lot to recommend it.

LHR to MEL return - out 23 Aug return 19 Sep 2012. Overall flight experience was excellent. 777 aircraft clean and modern food more than adequate staff were courteous attentive and efficient; seat comfortable and toilets always clean. The entertainment package was pretty good although TV system was flaky on two of the legs. Dubai stop-over was bizarre involving disembarking and ambling around the airport back to the departure gate (don't misplace your boarding pass from LHR as it is required for this process). Brunei stop- over was fine. The terminal is dated but OK for a couple of hours wait between flights. There were two decent places to eat which take plastic so no local currency change involved. Free Wi-Fi from the Coffee Bean café available throughout the departure lounge. Some duty free shops but if you are expecting the Singapore Airport retail experience you will be disappointed. Toilets were dated but very clean and definitely not a problem as has been alluded to in other posts. Duty free alcohol purchases from LHR are not allowed to be taken back onto the MEL connecting flight – this Australian Government regulation seemed to catch some people out although it is mentioned on the RBA website. Flight was originally selected for competitive price but their excellent customer service (higher than many larger airlines) means that I would not hesitate to recommend Royal Brunei Airlines or fly with them again.

Melbourne to London return. The Business Class deal was two for the price of one. The whole trip was most satisfactory. Pleasant service. Food not brilliant excellent flat bed seats. The timetable really worked for my wife and me. A very civilised mid day departure out of Melbourne and a not too early arrival into London Heathrow. Return flight left at 10am and got into Melbourne at 9pm the following day. I was very surprised that the 2 stop flight seemed less arduous than the usual one stop flight with most other carriers. Lounges are fine Royal Brunei use the United Lounge in Melbourne their own in Brunei of course and the excellent Etihad lounge in London. A very nice way to start a long journey. The no alcohol policy is no problem. You can buy supplies at the duty free and the cabin crew will happily serve you on board. The inflight entertainment is a bit bland and of course is nowhere near the state of the art systems. Would I Fly BI again? Absolutely.

Melbourne to London return. Flights departed and arrived on time. Seemed to have more leg room than other economy airlines. Inflight food was excellent a constant supply of soft drinks juices but no snacks offered between meals. Flight attendants courteous and attentive also making sure toilets etc were always clean and tidy. Entertainment could do with an upgrade not a lot to choose from. Cabin crew will allow you to move around if there are spare seats so you can stretch out over 3 seats to sleep. Brunei Transit Lounge toilets need upgrading best to avoid if you can. Small cafe will only accept Brunei or Singapore $ but does have free WiFi. Stop in Dubai to refuel bit of a pain as it is a very long walk to go through customs and back to transit considering the transit lounge is near exit from plane. Overall for the price the airline is very good value and I would travel again.

LHR-BWN-HKG. Not the conventional way of getting to HKG but price was right and with less than an hour in transit the connection was a breeze even though most of the pax were in transit to Melbourne. Check-in at LHR was painfully slow and waited over an hour as there were only 3 Y class desks available. Good crew and food above average notably on the BWN-HKG sector. No alcohol served but plenty of beverage runs. Entertainment system on long haul is ok but some fairly up to date releases and on demand. If not in a hurry RBA is a fairly good option.

Great value for money. Economy seat has more leg room than most. Flight attendants were friendly caring and ready to help. Refreshments served on a regular basis and inflight food was more than acceptable. Aircraft looks well maintained and clean. Entertainment system is not on demand so one has to be quick to catch the films before they play. I preferred to sleep. Brunei airport has very limited products and services so allowing us to browse and shop through Dubai Duty Free was a good thing. The airport cafe had wifi but a bit pricey with their limited products and drinks range. When my 6 year old son developed a fever on board they alerted a medic before landing to make sure he will be fine. Caring flight crew made that flight so much better than most.