My fourth transatlantic crossing of the week would be on Brussels Airlines, as I’d fly them from London to New York via Brussels. The motivation for this was to fly Brussels Airlines’ new A330-300 business class, which is consistently being offered on their route to New York JFK.
Continue reading: Review: Brussels Airlines A320 Business Class
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
“How can you tell me that is business class when the seats are the same? Those people are getting screwed.”
I mean, they may have been rude and in the wrong for self upgrading, but they do have a point lol
@GuruJanitor Most European airlines market business class as an economy row with a blocked middle seat however, I must admit that seat pitch looks painfully tight.
Seems like a ripoff at 60,000 miles and $313. Those EU “Business Class” accommodations are getting worse and worse and the price is just ridiculous.
"I’m still not exactly sure if this plane had the standard Brussels Airlines or Eurowings interior"
Well, the headrest covers do have the Brussels Airlines logo pattern on them...
@Jeffery I just couple of days flew Aegean and there i business class (surprisingly) has couple of inches more leg room. As before hand looking at seatguru it said it was all the same economy seat but Aegean is one of the rare European airlines that do have extra legroom in business class.
KLM seems to have eliminated the little "caddy" in the middle seat in intra-European flights also. I always found it handy so I could use my tray table for my laptop and keep my drink out of harms way in the middle. Not sure why they're being eliminated. They can't possibly weigh that much.
"Business"-Class intra Europe is just disgusting! That's far from Business-Class, certainly with Brussels Airlines. The only intensive of Carriers is to let the customers pay more, certainly the ones (like me) who can only book a few hours before flight.
For me there is just NO Business-Class in Europe. At least there are some Carriers better than others but...
@Lucky- couldn't you have avoided the long haul UK APD by booking the LHR-BRU leg as a separate ticket? Probably would have saved a net $200.
The space does look tight even for intra-Europe standard. I wonder whether the "real" Brussels metals will have a slightly better product.
@Klavs I've heard nice things about Aegean but we live in a freaky world in terms of service. Comparing North America with Europe, the former has recliner style seats usually in a 2X2 configuration but service is almost non-existent unless the flight exceeds 2 hours. Meanwhile, even the shortest hops in Europe guarantee a meal or snack up front despite the 3X3 standard configuration. I heard it gives European Airlines flexibility in enlarging or reducing the Business Class cabin. I'm sure that any airline willing to take the plunge and introduce a true business class product would rise in popularity. Turkish has this but is located too far east to be strategic for Western European traffic.
In Europe these days when you fly Business Class, it's for everything but the seat...and even then, the food isn't always that great.
Asia does it the best. North American hard product, European soft product, even on short flights as well. A good mix of the two.
“I’m still not exactly sure if this plane had the standard Brussels Airlines or Eurowings interior”
Hot Mess trifecta: Air Berlin bulkhead print, Brussels seat cover, Eurowings livery... Confusing indeed!
@Aaron Very True! You get the best of both worlds in Asia! Albeit, some fares are super high with carriers like ANA, Singapore or Cathay Pacific.
Congratulations... You flew with a repainted Air Berlin aircraft (one-class config), so neither true Brussels Airlines nor Eurowings interior.
It’s decades that many airlines are trading similar seats as Business and it is definitely a rip-off. It’s a joke. I respect more some airlines that have a full economy plane and reserves the front rows to frequent fliers but doesn’t call these Business.
It's good to keep things in perspective - this was a 40 minute flight of less than 200 miles. The seat is tiny and doesn't have any amenities - but what do you really need for a flight this short? And for that matter, pretty much anywhere in Europe is 2 hours or less from BRU... and while not ideal, the seat isn't all that bad.
Consider what you get in European Business class - lounge access, fast track security, you always get a meal regardless of flight length, and yes it does make a difference to have an empty seat next to you. Flying in economy on many European flights is a pretty miserable experience and the empty seat, quieter cabin (on most airlines), and better service is very nice. In any event, it's mostly pax connecting to long-haul flights.
Compare this with US airlines which have a bigger seat, but often only have a snack basket (or nothing on a flight this length), and no lounge access. A different model that seems to work in the respective markets.
...Fortunately she was stern (without being threatening), ...
...Something USA based FA's don't know how to do. They seem to do the opposite... threat... threat... threat...
Yes intra European Business Class Seat is an eco seat. But. I if you have normal size you have no problem on this short distance flights. It’s nice to have a free seat beside AND
You get a real business class lounge. In us you only get United club when you are paying for it not with a domestic first ticket. And I prefer to have a good breakfast in a Lufthansa Business Lounge and then eat nothing on the plan rather to got nothing on the ground in US and not really tasty stuff in the air.
Asia is best. Nothing can compete with it.
These are definitely airBerlin seats. They had some of the worst seats in terms of seat pitch, I always had my knees pushed to the front seat.
For me Brussels Airlines is just terrible, in all classes - the worst value for money tickets. I've flown them a couple of times and was totally not impressed with the service onboard in all classes.
These days they are my last option to fly with.
Even their lounge at BRU on the Schengen side is bad mainly due to overcrowding and food quality has deteriorated (besides the beer on offer).
That particular aircraft was painted in Eurowings livery before LH decided to maintain Brussels Airlines.
I’ve flown quite a lot on Brussels Airlines short haul and always had a very professional and friendly crew. However on all my flights with SN (even early morning flights) I always received a hot towel, newspapers and a bottle of water during boarding as well as Neuhaus pralines and chocolates before landing.
Intra Europe business class is not meant to be a product that people buy because it is good. It exists for two reasons only: People who fly on corporate contracts (for which the flights cost barely more than flex economy) and to feed long haul premium cabins. The product is fit for this purpose, there is no demand for a real business class product, given that 90% of the flights in Europe are 1 hour or less.
Unless having a connecting flight in London or Brussels, there‘s no reason to spend one € for this awful Business Class. Business Premier of Eurostar train is far more comfortable, there are no luggage restrictions and travel time ist not longer, as there‘s no need to go to the Heathrow hell.
Since these seats seem to be exactly the same from the first row to the last,I don't understand what is the problem when people swap seats. Provided of course they choose a row that is completely free. It is not as if they get any of the benefits of a business class ticket.
That's an on-Air Berlin aircraft, with on-Air Berlin seat, hence non middle seat tray. Eurowings, SN and LH interior are a lot fresher than that one if it's a delivery-fresh aircraft.
That is an Air Berlin interior. Real Eurowings and Brussels Airlines have the same Recaro seats as the rest of the Lufthansa group.
“How can you tell me that is business class when the seats are the same?”
“If these seats are no different than the ones you were assigned to, then you shouldn’t have any problem returning to them.”
Just a sidenote:
It was indeed a Brussels cabin - the seats (and their pitch) are theirs, not EWs. That's very often the case currently, LH Group airlines has aquired a lot of planes following the Air Berlin and Germania bankruptcy and therefore shuffled them around a bit.
You couldn't book the First row btw because it's blocked for HON/Senators for quite some time - although that is getting more and more inconsistent currently.
I did BRU - TLV with Brussels Airlines which has to be one of their longest sectors using an A320. Luckily I got row 1. We were well fed, plenty to drink and were given a good selection of Belgian chocolates. When I told her how delicious the chocolates were the purser replied "can you see why I am this size"! Hilarious. As with all good flights it was the crew that made it enjoyable.