Good morning everybody,
Tomorrow 5/5 I fly SN from BRU to JFK on SN and on 9/5 I fly home again JFK BRU again on SN!
Anybody know if it's a 330-200 or a 330-300 and the regs?
Thank-you very much in advance!
Looking forward to the SN Long Haul Experience! especially now that the trouble in BRU seems to be over!
Stij
5/5/2016 BRU JFK and 9/5/2016 JFK BRU with SN!
Re: 5/5/2016 BRU JFK and 9/5/2016 JFK BRU with SN!
05/05 OO-SFW foreseen, gate B37
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quixoticguide
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Re: 5/5/2016 BRU JFK and 9/5/2016 JFK BRU with SN!
New York will be A333
Visit my flights on: http://www.quixoticguide.com
Re: 5/5/2016 BRU JFK and 9/5/2016 JFK BRU with SN!
Thank-you all!
Trip Report: 5/5/2016 BRU JFK and 9/5/2016 JFK BRU with SN!
Flight: Brussels Airlines SN501
Date : 5 May 2016
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 OO-SFW
From-To: Brussels – New York JFK (BRU-JFK)
Seat: 41K
Scheduled/Effective Time of Departure: 10:50/11:54 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Time of Arrival: 13:10/14:10 (GMT-4)
Scheduled/Effective Duration of the flight: 8:20/8:17
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flig ... 01#99e17d7
This was my first flight from BRU after the attacks.
We arrived with a group of 10 friends in two mini busses around 3,5 hours before scheduled time of departure, this being Thursday May 5th, foreseen as a busy day. We were dropped off by the busses on level 1 and tried to take the elevator to the departures level. That didn’t work, we had to get out at the arrivals, follow some signs, enter Front Park 2, go one level up where normally the cars go up, exit Front Park 2, pass thru the security tent (no queue whatsoever) to arrive in the terminal building.
Some members may say what they want that this is “acceptable”, it’s not: I don’t dare to send my parents over with their bags, it’s poorly indicated and just a mess.
Right, Brussels Airport was just long and wide enough to contain BruAir’s check-in line and it took 50 min to get our bags checked-in. Yes, because of the attacks, some counters were destroyed, but not all counters were even open!!! The check-in agent was very friendly and professional, no remarks there, on the contrary!
There was no line whatsoever in the connector and the staff was friendly and professional as most of the most of the time. We then took a left to the B gates, the automatic passports gates were working without a hitch and with 2:15 left we went for breakfast on the mezzanine. Next we entered the crappy disorganized looking shopping mall that is supposed to increase our passenger experience: it really doesn’t, I remain convinced only Brussels Airport and Skyshops are with this mandatory detour.
An hour before departure we went to the end of the B gates to watch planes take-off from 07R and waited for our full flight to be boarded. When the final boarding call was made, we went to the gate to find more than 50 people standing in two lines for the same checkpoint.
This is when thing became difficult to understand: some pax showed there boarding card and passport to the security personnel to enter the gate area and could go straight to the gate agent and board immediately, some had to wait outside for a check of their documents. When the gate agent then checked the documents, some had to pass an extra check of their hand luggage, some not. The result: the whole situation was a mess and a lot of security personnel was walking around with laptops… and keyboard… We kind of skipped the line and showed our documents and were summoned in and boarded immediately around 10 min before ETD… only to wait another hour before we actually pushed back. My guestimate is that there were a lot of transfer pax who had to have their documents checked. I’m wondering if this really can’t be organized better for a punctual departure: we observed the same situation for the Toronto flight.
And then, after having waited in total for 2 hours, we finally took off for a most enjoyable flight to JFK: everything was perfect: crew, food (tasty Quinoa salad, meatballs, Camembert and chocolate cake + ice cream + pizza), drinks (G&T, wines served from large bottles…), IFE. I have just one remark about the actual flight: the seat: it’s so uncomfortable at the height of the shoulders, it’s almost torture and the headrest kept falling down.
Because of the headwinds, we couldn’t make up our delay and we arrived an hour late at JFK’s terminal 1. I’ll spare the details, but those of our group who hadn’t entered the USA before stood in line for 2 hours, we for only half an hour.
So, in total, from entering the airport to leaving the airport, we waited for 4 hours… Half in BRU, half in JFK.
Flight: Brussels Airlines SN502
Date : 9 May 2016
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 OO-SFM
From-To: New York JFK – Brussels (JFK-BRU)
Seat: 31A
Scheduled/Effective Time of Departure: 18:15/18:44 (GMT-4)
Scheduled/Effective Time of Arrival: 7:40/7:54 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Duration of the flight: 7:25/7:10
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flig ... 2/#9a9cc67
And after spending 4 days in NY, it was time to fly back! Check-in in JFK closes officially 90 min before departure and due to a lot of traffic we beat that by only 5 min.
There was no line whatsoever and we were all checked-in within 15 minutes. Only to stand in line for half an hour at security. After security we went straight for our plane and boarding without standing in line. We pushed back 10 minutes early.
Again a friendly crew, tasty meals (Insalata Caprese, chicken with couscous, American cheese and chocolate cake + Muffin and cereal bar for breakfast), drinks and IFE. But, again, the seat: The problem isn’t limited to one aircraft. I had to use my pillow in order to feel that bar less…
We crossed the pond relatively South, I guess the jetstream must have been very much to the South resulting in a very long flight time. Nobody’s fault.
Therefore we arrived in Brussels a bit late, no harm done… the automatic border control didn’t seem to work properly, but two police officers were present, so border control was easy. We arrived at the belt and our flight was “green”, but bags were coming. Then it turned “red”, a couple of us were already checking the other belts (has happened before) but then all the bags came out…. A full hour after we landed… welcome to Belgium…
Finally, I pity all those picking up pax at the airport: nice, waiting in the wind for an hour because the luggage is delayed.
Conclusions:
Bru Air: apart from the seat, the onboard Bru Air product is excellent! Crews are friendly and professional! But before and after??? Check-in in Brussels took way too long, security at the gate was a mess, border control in JFK took way to long and finally getting our luggage back took way to long as well. Which points are actually under control of SN are unknown to me…
Brussels Airport:
More specifically, the police, stop that “security”-madness: People from our group living in Genk are seriously considering DUS as an alternative for BRU. The reputation is going down the drain and quickly. Maybe a compromise? Keep checking the cars, open the kiss and rides again, but keep screening the pax at the entrances, both on the departure and arrival level. You keep screening, but otherwise the flow is as before. Everybody can live with this…
And no, I consider the mandatory visit to a shopping mall not “a great customer experience” and think not that many pax think it is. It’s just there for revenue, revenue and revenue. And I repeat this comment every once in a while, just to remind Brussels Airport I still dislike their time consuming irritating revenue increasing cardboard (B gates) labyrinth.
Date : 5 May 2016
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 OO-SFW
From-To: Brussels – New York JFK (BRU-JFK)
Seat: 41K
Scheduled/Effective Time of Departure: 10:50/11:54 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Time of Arrival: 13:10/14:10 (GMT-4)
Scheduled/Effective Duration of the flight: 8:20/8:17
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flig ... 01#99e17d7
This was my first flight from BRU after the attacks.
We arrived with a group of 10 friends in two mini busses around 3,5 hours before scheduled time of departure, this being Thursday May 5th, foreseen as a busy day. We were dropped off by the busses on level 1 and tried to take the elevator to the departures level. That didn’t work, we had to get out at the arrivals, follow some signs, enter Front Park 2, go one level up where normally the cars go up, exit Front Park 2, pass thru the security tent (no queue whatsoever) to arrive in the terminal building.
Some members may say what they want that this is “acceptable”, it’s not: I don’t dare to send my parents over with their bags, it’s poorly indicated and just a mess.
Right, Brussels Airport was just long and wide enough to contain BruAir’s check-in line and it took 50 min to get our bags checked-in. Yes, because of the attacks, some counters were destroyed, but not all counters were even open!!! The check-in agent was very friendly and professional, no remarks there, on the contrary!
There was no line whatsoever in the connector and the staff was friendly and professional as most of the most of the time. We then took a left to the B gates, the automatic passports gates were working without a hitch and with 2:15 left we went for breakfast on the mezzanine. Next we entered the crappy disorganized looking shopping mall that is supposed to increase our passenger experience: it really doesn’t, I remain convinced only Brussels Airport and Skyshops are with this mandatory detour.
An hour before departure we went to the end of the B gates to watch planes take-off from 07R and waited for our full flight to be boarded. When the final boarding call was made, we went to the gate to find more than 50 people standing in two lines for the same checkpoint.
This is when thing became difficult to understand: some pax showed there boarding card and passport to the security personnel to enter the gate area and could go straight to the gate agent and board immediately, some had to wait outside for a check of their documents. When the gate agent then checked the documents, some had to pass an extra check of their hand luggage, some not. The result: the whole situation was a mess and a lot of security personnel was walking around with laptops… and keyboard… We kind of skipped the line and showed our documents and were summoned in and boarded immediately around 10 min before ETD… only to wait another hour before we actually pushed back. My guestimate is that there were a lot of transfer pax who had to have their documents checked. I’m wondering if this really can’t be organized better for a punctual departure: we observed the same situation for the Toronto flight.
And then, after having waited in total for 2 hours, we finally took off for a most enjoyable flight to JFK: everything was perfect: crew, food (tasty Quinoa salad, meatballs, Camembert and chocolate cake + ice cream + pizza), drinks (G&T, wines served from large bottles…), IFE. I have just one remark about the actual flight: the seat: it’s so uncomfortable at the height of the shoulders, it’s almost torture and the headrest kept falling down.
Because of the headwinds, we couldn’t make up our delay and we arrived an hour late at JFK’s terminal 1. I’ll spare the details, but those of our group who hadn’t entered the USA before stood in line for 2 hours, we for only half an hour.
So, in total, from entering the airport to leaving the airport, we waited for 4 hours… Half in BRU, half in JFK.
Flight: Brussels Airlines SN502
Date : 9 May 2016
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 OO-SFM
From-To: New York JFK – Brussels (JFK-BRU)
Seat: 31A
Scheduled/Effective Time of Departure: 18:15/18:44 (GMT-4)
Scheduled/Effective Time of Arrival: 7:40/7:54 (GMT+2)
Scheduled/Effective Duration of the flight: 7:25/7:10
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flig ... 2/#9a9cc67
And after spending 4 days in NY, it was time to fly back! Check-in in JFK closes officially 90 min before departure and due to a lot of traffic we beat that by only 5 min.
There was no line whatsoever and we were all checked-in within 15 minutes. Only to stand in line for half an hour at security. After security we went straight for our plane and boarding without standing in line. We pushed back 10 minutes early.Again a friendly crew, tasty meals (Insalata Caprese, chicken with couscous, American cheese and chocolate cake + Muffin and cereal bar for breakfast), drinks and IFE. But, again, the seat: The problem isn’t limited to one aircraft. I had to use my pillow in order to feel that bar less…
We crossed the pond relatively South, I guess the jetstream must have been very much to the South resulting in a very long flight time. Nobody’s fault.
Therefore we arrived in Brussels a bit late, no harm done… the automatic border control didn’t seem to work properly, but two police officers were present, so border control was easy. We arrived at the belt and our flight was “green”, but bags were coming. Then it turned “red”, a couple of us were already checking the other belts (has happened before) but then all the bags came out…. A full hour after we landed… welcome to Belgium…
Finally, I pity all those picking up pax at the airport: nice, waiting in the wind for an hour because the luggage is delayed.
Conclusions:
Bru Air: apart from the seat, the onboard Bru Air product is excellent! Crews are friendly and professional! But before and after??? Check-in in Brussels took way too long, security at the gate was a mess, border control in JFK took way to long and finally getting our luggage back took way to long as well. Which points are actually under control of SN are unknown to me…
Brussels Airport:
More specifically, the police, stop that “security”-madness: People from our group living in Genk are seriously considering DUS as an alternative for BRU. The reputation is going down the drain and quickly. Maybe a compromise? Keep checking the cars, open the kiss and rides again, but keep screening the pax at the entrances, both on the departure and arrival level. You keep screening, but otherwise the flow is as before. Everybody can live with this…
And no, I consider the mandatory visit to a shopping mall not “a great customer experience” and think not that many pax think it is. It’s just there for revenue, revenue and revenue. And I repeat this comment every once in a while, just to remind Brussels Airport I still dislike their time consuming irritating revenue increasing cardboard (B gates) labyrinth.
Re: 5/5/2016 BRU JFK and 9/5/2016 JFK BRU with SN!
Welcome back, Stij.
Didn't you forget to advance your clock by one hour on 30 March? We are now officially in GMT+2 since that date.
I used BRU airport two days before you, with still full checks and pre-checks, but all went very smoothly, admittedly without luggage. But I can't agree more with your opinion about security madness!
I tried the new SN A330 seats only during a demonstration in b.house back in January 2013, and I didn't find them uncomfortable. Oh yes, also on Tomorrowland flights to FRA and BSL: no reason to complain! But of course these were short flights.
The ices are a nice touch after the meals. I remember Sabena already had them.
Didn't you forget to advance your clock by one hour on 30 March? We are now officially in GMT+2 since that date.
I used BRU airport two days before you, with still full checks and pre-checks, but all went very smoothly, admittedly without luggage. But I can't agree more with your opinion about security madness!
I tried the new SN A330 seats only during a demonstration in b.house back in January 2013, and I didn't find them uncomfortable. Oh yes, also on Tomorrowland flights to FRA and BSL: no reason to complain! But of course these were short flights.
André
ex Sabena #26567
ex Sabena #26567
Re: 5/5/2016 BRU JFK and 9/5/2016 JFK BRU with SN!
Right, and JFK is UTC-4.sn26567 wrote:Welcome back, Stij.
Didn't you forget to advance your clock by one hour on 30 March? We are now officially in GMT+2 since that date.
Nice report Stij, and I fully agree with your remarks regarding the "security" madness and the compulsory shopping mall excursion.
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Charlie Roy
- Posts: 523
- Joined: 29 Aug 2006, 22:20
- Location: Europa
Re: 5/5/2016 BRU JFK and 9/5/2016 JFK BRU with SN!
Nice report. I believe this shopping mall detour is not health and safety compliant. The passage is too restricted. In an emergency it could be a bottleneck.And no, I consider the mandatory visit to a shopping mall not “a great customer experience” and think not that many pax think it is. It’s just there for revenue, revenue and revenue.
Re: 5/5/2016 BRU JFK and 9/5/2016 JFK BRU with SN!
For a short flight, I can agree! But try to sleep on them! I had a chat about this with the crew and they fully agreed and suggested I gave some feedback about this on SN's website. I still must do this.sn26567 wrote:I tried the new SN A330 seats only during a demonstration in b.house back in January 2013, and I didn't find them uncomfortable. Oh yes, also on Tomorrowland flights to FRA and BSL: no reason to complain! But of course these were short flights.
One thing about the "seat" I forgot to mention is the legroom: this is absolutely fabulous compared to the competition. SN should use this in its marketing!
Cheers,
Stij
Re: 5/5/2016 BRU JFK and 9/5/2016 JFK BRU with SN!
Well, writing a report after being awake for 30 hours wasn't such a great idea!convair wrote:Right, and JFK is UTC-4.sn26567 wrote:Welcome back, Stij.
Didn't you forget to advance your clock by one hour on 30 March? We are now officially in GMT+2 since that date.
I'll correct!Cheers,
Stij