Where will you fly in 2011?

[sn26567]

CRJ900, you seem to take strange routes via ZRH, FRA or MUC when there are direct flights from BRU! E.g. going to LYS via ZRH trebles the travel time as compared to the direct flights...

[CRJ 900]

Hi André,

This is quite relative when you see my total travel time. Coming from the North of Antwerp province my car travel is already longer 2 ringroads, you know!
The main reason to do this is the much better service offered by Swiss and Lufthansa, compared to SN or AF for example. I think they just offer a great quality/price ratio.
I never need to wait longer than 30 - 45 minutes in ZRH or MUC. If the transit time is longer, I don't take transit flights.
To LYS for example the Swiss flight is landing earlier than the first SN flight. I could take the early AF flight but I don't really like their product and prefer to stay within Star.
I really hope SN will offer the same service as LX or LH once they will be completely LH property.
This is absolutely no offense to the staff who do really great work. I simply don't like the B-light/B-flex policy.
Rgds,
CRJ 900
PS I'm definitely not the only one doing this. On the MUC and ZRH flights there are always 10 - 20 people doing the same. And I mean not the exotic transfers, but to destinations also served directly from BRU like BCN, VLC, HEL, LIS, LYS,...

[sn26567]

Thanks for your explanations.

PS I'm definitely not the only one doing this. On the MUC and ZRH flights there are always 10 - 20 people doing the same. And I mean not the exotic transfers, but to destinations also served directly from BRU like BCN, VLC, HEL, LIS, LYS,...

This means that SN could, without too many efforts, easily increase its load factor by 10% or more!

[CRJ 900]

Hi André,
It might indeed help to increase the loadfactor, although I doubt it would be >10%.
You have to put my remark in perspective: I 'm always taking the morning flights (between 6h45 - 9h30). These are full with business men. A lot of them transfering. I have no idea about travel behaviour on later flights. Secondly, not all connecting passengers on these LH or LX flights connecting to destinations also flown out of BRU would use SN. For example BCN could be done on Vueling/Iberia, same for VLC only flown now by Vueling. LIS by TAP, etc.
But you are indeed right that with a small change SN could attract (or re-attract) passenger by just using the same policy as their future mother company LH or sister company LX. This is a remark I often hear from colleague passengers when talking to them on the plane or lounge. They prefer now LX/LH, but would definitely consider using more SN if service equals (= leaving B-light/B-flex). Personally, I would use them more again!
Rgds,
CRJ 900
PS When I flew to TLV in february with LX, there were +/-15 passengers connecting on that flight in ZRH out of BRU. Even if there are multiple flights out of BRU per day with EL AL and SN. Not completely surprisingly looking at the difference in comfort on LX A330 and narrowbodies of El Al or SN. Even ticket price was cheaper!

[Comet]

The original flights we booked have both been cancelled and we have been put on later flights both ways. I just wish BMI had told us what was happening! If I hadn't have gone onto their website to look at our booking we would not have known that our flight back landed too late to allow us to catch the last train home and that we had to fork out for an extra night in Leeds! I know flights can be altered and withdrawn but I think the airline should have a duty to tell the passengers rather than saying nothing! This is not the first time it has happened with BMI but at least last time they contacted us to tell us of the situation.

[HighInTheSky]

Update 2:

30/04 BRU-HRG SN A32F Y-class
14/05 HRG-BRU SN A32F Y-class

07/06 BRU-FRA LH EM195 C-class
07/06 FRA-BOS LH B744 C-class

11/06 BOS-ZRH LX A343 C-class
12/06 ZRH-BRU LX RJ100 C-class

04/07 BRU-LYS SN RJ100 Y Flex-class
07/07 LYS-BRU SN RJ85 Y Flex-class

03/08 BRU-ZRH LX RJ100 C-class
03/08 ZRH-BUD LX RJ100 C-class

06/08 BUD-ZRH LX F100 C-class
06/08 ZRH-BRU LX RJ100 C-class

22/10 BRU-MUC LH EM195 C-class
22/10 MUC-PEK LH A346 F-class

27/10 PEK-PVG CA A343 F-class

29/10 PVG-BKK TG A333 C-class
29/10 BKK-USH TG B734 C-class

05/11 USH-BKK PG A32F C-class
05/11 BKK-PEK TG B744 F-class

06/11 PEK-FRA LH A388 C-class
06/11 FRA-BRU LH A32F C-class

10/12 BRU-ZRH LX A32F C-class
10/12 ZRH-ORD LX A333 C-class

13/12 ORD-ZRH LX A333 F-class
14/12 ZRH-BRU LX A32F C-class


Probably there will be another flight to Vancouver at the end of December too. Will keep you posted!

[Zorba]

So far:

18/07 BRU - TXL RJ100 (Brussels Airlines)
21/07 TXL - BRU RJ100 (Brussels Airlines)

31/08 BRU - ZRH RJ100 (Swiss)
31/08 ZRH - LAX A340 (Swiss)
17/09 LAX - ZRH A340 (Swiss)
18/09 ZRH - BRU A319 (Swiss)

[thalenoi]

Final for 2011:

Flown sofar:
06/03 FD3985 UTH-HKT
12/03 FD3984 HKT-UTH
27/04 FD3361 UTH-BKK
27/04 EY401 BKK-AUH
28/04 EY057 AUH-BRU
06/05 AC833 BRU-YUL
12/05 AC832 YUL-BRU
29/05 EY058 BRU-AUH
29/05 EY402 AUH-BKK
30/05 TG0002 BKK-UTH
11/07 FD3361 UHT-BKK
13/07 FD3364 BKK-UTH
08/08 FD3365 UTH-BKK
09/08 EY407 BKK-AUH
09/08 EY007 AUH-FRA

Booked:

23/08 EY002 FRA-AUH
23/08 EY402 AUH-BKK
24/08 TG002 BKK-UTH
13/09 FD3985 UTH-HKT
19/09 FD3984 HKT-UTH
30/10 FD3367 UTH-BKK
31/10 EY407 BKK-AUH
31/10 EY055 AUH-BRU
21/11 EY056 BRU-AUH
22/11 EY408 AUH-BKK
23/11 FD3366 BKK-UTH

Well that's 26 flights for 2011, not bad.
Note the Air Asia FD3366/3367 is FD's third daily flight BKK-Udon Thani around midday beginning October I think. Thai flies 3x, Nok 2x and even a Thai Orient 1x? Total 9 daily flights Bangkok-Udon Thani, getting easier to plan international connecting flights out of UTH.

[chineseboy]

@ thalenoi

interesting routes! may I ask you what are you doing for living? is thailand your second home base?

regards Chineseboy ( actually 50% chinese and 50% thai )

[Didymus]

Booked:
CDG - SIN AF B77W
SIN - KUL AK A320
KUL - MES AK A320
MES - SIN VF A320
SIN - CDG AF B77W

Planned:
MES - KUT Susi Air Cessna Caravan
KUT - MES Susi Air Cessna Caravan or Nusantara Buana Air NC-212-200

[airazurxtror]

Booked :
CRL-NYO-BGY-CRL to end augustus
CRL-BGY-CRL
and CRL-CIA-CRL in september
CRL-PSA-CRL
MST-SXF-MST
and CRL-RYG-TSF-CRL to fill october
BRU-BMA-BRU in november - that month still rather empty, to be completed
BRU-VIE-BRU with Luchtzak fans !!
BRU-OSL-BRU to end the year
All day return trips, as usual
With a wink to Cathay belgium !!

[thalenoi]

@ thalenoi

interesting routes! may I ask you what are you doing for living? is thailand your second home base?

regards Chineseboy ( actually 50% chinese and 50% thai )

Retired, fed up with the rat race, living 10 months/year in Thailand, still need to get out from time to time to keep my sanity!

[capetown]

A minor update - and my first ever JAF and FQ flights coming up next week ...

Update :

Flown :

2/2 BRU-BCN (VY A320)
4/2 BCN-BRU (VY A320)
14/4 AMS-DXB-BKK (EK 777-200; EK A380)
17/4 BKK - LPQ (PG ATR72)
21/4 LPQ- BKK (PG ATR72)
22/4 BKK - KBV (TG 737)
30/4 KBV - BKK (TG 737)
2/5 BKK-DXB-AMS (EK A380 ; EK 777-200)
26/5 BRU-CPH (SK A321)
26/5 CPH-BRU (SK A319)
1/6 BRU-BCN (VY A320)
4/6 BCN-BRU (VY A320)
20/7 BRU-DOH-BKK (QR A330-200 ; QR 777-300)
31/7 BKK-DOH-BRU (QR 777-300 ; QR A330-200)

Yet to come :
7/9 BRU-PFO (JAF - no clue as to aircraft type - 738 ?)
11/9 PFO-BRU (FQ - A320 i guess ?)

[sn26567]

7/9 BRU-PFO (JAF - no clue as to aircraft type - 738 ?)

When I flew to PFO in January it was a 737-700.

[capetown]

7/9 BRU-PFO (JAF - no clue as to aircraft type - 738 ?)

When I flew to PFO in January it was a 737-700.

Thank you - I just read your trip report ... I booked the whole trip with Neckermann - and I fly JAF outbound, but FQ inbound to BRU. Reading your report, this whole 'meal' thing seems rather complicated. I wanted premium - but Neckermann told me that this was only possible on the PFO-BRU part of the trip (FQ). So I paid for that ; No premium is available for BRU-PFO with JAF I was told. But if I'm reading your report correctly, I might as well be starving, as you seem to suggest that JAF only offers free meals to "Thomas Cook"-passengers (and JAF customers who ordered in advance). I belong to the Neckermann species so it seems as if me and my girlfriend are about to fall between to chairs on the BRU-PFO flight. Or is there like a possibility to still order food or drinks (against payment, obviously) on board ?

[sn26567]

Or is there like a possibility to still order food or drinks (against payment, obviously) on board ?

Yes, this is certainly possible, but the choice might be limited to a few snacks ...

[airtrainer]

Update :

19/09 ... BRU-BCN ... Vueling ... Airbus A320
19/09 ... BCN-MAH ... Air Europa ... Embraer 190
19/09 ... MAH-BCN ... Spanair ... MD87
21/09 ... BCN-CAG ... Ryanair ... Boeing 737-800
22/09 ... CAG-CRL ... Ryanair ... Boeing 737-800
28/09 ... CRL-BGY ... Ryanair ... Boeing 737-800
28/09 ... BGY-CRL ... Ryanair ... Boeing 737-800
29/10 ... BRU-FRA ... Lufthansa Cityline ... Embraer 190
29/10 ... FRA-FCO ... Lufthansa ... A321
01/11 ... FCO-BRU ... Brussels Airlines ... A319
15/12 ... BRU-IAD ... United ... Boeing 777-200
15/12 ... IAD-LGA ... United Express ... Embraer 170
20/12 ... JFK-FRA ... Lufthansa ... Boeing 747-400
21/12 ... FRA-BRU ... Lufthansa ...Airbus A319

[CRJ 900]

Hi,
I flew yesterday my flights with LX from BRU to DUB via ZRH.
It were very nice flights: BRU - ZRH on A319 (HB-IPS) and ZRH - DUB on A321 (HB-IDC). On both flights the LF was nearly 100%. Transfer in ZRH: short and smooth as always. I can only agree with the selection of ZRH as best European Airport.
Now coming back to my discussion earlier on in this topic and to give André and other forum readers an idea:
On the plane LX announced already the transfer destinations, in total 12.
4 of them not served out of BRU (at least not on regular basis) : Dar Es Salaam, Split (don't know if it still is served on Saturday's out of BRU with OU?), Nurnberg and St-Petersburg.
8 other destinations served out of BRU (7 of them by SN or *-partners): Stuttgart, Nice, Cairo, Istanbul, Genève, Bucharest, Nairobi and Dublin.
Arriving in ZRH we were bussed to the exit/transfer zone. I was on the first bus which took +/- 30 - 40% of the passengers. Of these passengers 15 made a transfer. If I make an extrapolation, you may assume that at least 25 people made a transfer in ZRH. Also on my DUB flight there was at least one other passenger than me connecting from BRU.
So you can say LX is doing good business out of BRU.
Returning at the end of the week via FRA on LH. Altough not the best airport to connect compared to MUC or ZRH. If announced by LH, I 'll come back with the transfer figures on the flight from DUB - FRA, especially the ones for BRU.
Rgds
CRJ 900

[Kapitein]

I did BRU - ARN - BRU in February with SK
Still to come:
BRU - DOH - via KUL - HKT and back with QR
CRL - VLC with FR

[Bottie]

I flew:

FEB:

BRU-LHR-PHX
MZJ-AVQ-TUS-MZJ
PHX-LHR-BRU


SEP:

BRU-LHR-LAX
MZJ-TUS-DMA-MZJ

Coming up:

PHX-LHR-BRU