RwandAir 700
Brussels (BRU) – London (LGW)
Saturday, November 10
Depart: 5:00PM
Arrive: 5:10PM
Duration: 1hr10min
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Seat: 6A (Business Class)
In the previous installment I reviewed RwandAir’s business class from Kigali to Brussels, and I figured I should break off the next segment into a separate installment, given how long the previous review got.
RwandAir’s flight to London Gatwick operates via Brussels in both directions, meaning that the airline can essentially serve two markets with one “direct” flight. However, RwandAir doesn’t sell tickets exclusively between Brussels and London, as some airlines may do (this would be considered a “fifth freedom” route — for example, Garuda Indonesia used to sell tickets between London Gatwick and Amsterdam).
When we arrived at Brussels Airport many passengers deplaned — those continuing to London Gatwick, as well as the crew, stayed onboard.
In business class, only about one third of the passengers got off in Brussels, meaning about 20 people were continuing to London. Based on what I saw, I’d say the ratio was similar in economy as well.
Refueling started as soon as we got to the gate (at 4PM), and was complete by 4:20PM. At 4:40PM the door closed, at which point Captain Carlos announced our flight time of 40 minutes, and our cruising altitude of 18,000 feet.
We pushed back at 4:45PM, and started our quick taxi to our departure runway. It was a very quiet afternoon at Brussels Airport.
Taxiing Brussels Airport
There’s something so special about flying as the sun sets, so this flight was pure perfection, given that we were chasing the sun the whole way.
Taxiing Brussels Airport
We had a rolling takeoff on runway 25R at 4:55PM. The takeoff roll was extremely quick (I imagine we didn’t have that much fuel, and we also had fewer passengers), and the climb out easily one of the steepest I’ve had in a widebody.
Taxiing Brussels Airport
Below the clouds there was pretty landscape…
View after takeoff from Brussels
View after takeoff from Brussels
…but above the (thin layer of) clouds, it was even more beautiful.
View enroute to London
View enroute to London
Right after takeoff I turned on my entertainment screen to check out the map for our flight.
Airshow enroute to London
Airshow enroute to London
Airshow enroute to London
Just 10 minutes after takeoff the captain announced that we were starting to cross the Channel, and that we would be descending in about five minutes.
Crossing the English Channel
It took all of just a few minutes to cross the Channel…
Crossing the English Channel
Airshow approaching London
The crew came through the cabin to provide a quick drink service. I ordered a Diet Coke, though they were out of ice on this flight, so it was quite warm. As a snack they offered the same macadamia nuts I had twice before that day. Grrr…
Drink & nuts enroute to London
The seatbelt sign was turned on pretty early, given that we were going through some pretty thick clouds on our descent.
View approaching London
View approaching London
We touched down at Gatwick Airport at 4:35PM, and from there had a 10 minute taxi to our arrival gate. This might come as a surprise, but I don’t think I’ve ever flown through Gatwick Airport before. I thought the bridge above the apron was so cool-looking.
Arriving at Gatwick Airport
We parked at our arrival gate by 4:45PM, just a couple of gates down from a TUI 787.
Arriving at Gatwick Airport
RwandAir A330 bottom line
There’s obviously not all that much to say about this flight, given how quick it was. The highlight of this flight was the beautiful views, given the extended sunset we experienced.
I do find it interesting that RwandAir doesn’t sell tickets exclusively between Brussels and London, and that passengers can stay onboard the plane in Brussels. It’s also interesting to me that the crew works the same flight the entire way, rather than laying over in Brussels — that’s a pretty long day for them, but I guess RwandAir’s contracts allow that, and it’s certainly more cost effective.
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.