Trip Report: Brussels Airlines Business Class to Lisbon
Brussels Airlines in Business Class should qualify as hum-drum as it comes. Lounge access and some basic food, but you get the same Economy Class seating with a blocked middle. And nothing in the way of entertainment. On a normal flight, it doesn't matter, as you'll spend longer in the lounge than in-flight.
Three hours to Lisbon is another matter: nudging, but not quite, into medium haul territory. So what do Brussels Airlines do?
Make the whole process pretty slick and pleasant, with quick check in, a lovely lounge, and two good meals.
I arrived about 3 hours prior to the flight and had a brief wander around Brussels airport. Fortunately, I could check in at the machines, and then go straight to security and the lounges. All Brussels Airlines Business Class passengers receive access to The Loft by Brussels Airlines, a solid business class lounge, but before I went there, I also nipped through passport control, to go to the Suite lounge.
I thought the long haul non-Schengen lounge, called The Suite lounge, might be better, but it was packed to the rafters, and then some, so swiftly left, through passport control again, and went back to the Loft.
Brussels Airline's The Loft lounge is designed for Schengen (inter-Europe) flights, so I wasn't expecting much, but it turned out the lounge is pretty good, and chic. It is a large lounge, at over 2,000 square meters, designed for over 500 passengers.
Brussels Airlines has also incorporated elements from the Tintin universe, and there is a small display cabinet with bowler hats and miniature rockets, among other props with great historical value.
There are two dining areas, and at breakfast time hot waffles, along with a large salad bar. Early though it is was, there was also a circular self serve bar, designed in partnership with Beer Company AB Inbev.
There are several Belgian beers on draft, where you can operate the tap yourself, as well as two red and two white wines plus Champagne.
I arrived at the gate about 10 minutes before scheduled boarding, and queued with the Business Class and Star Alliance Gold queue. This was a major mistake - half the plane seemed to be Star Golds, and this queue was longer than economy. However, there were separate busses to take economy and Business Class to the aircraft, and amazingly I was the only passenger on the business class bus.
I needn't have worried about getting to the aircraft: there were only a few other passengers in Business Class, and I had three seats to myself.
Brussels Airlines' Business Class seats are basically economy seats, in black leather with a blocked middle and a fancy headrest, featuring the Brussels Airlines "little b" logo. Impressive, the Recaro slimline is not.
The rest of Brussels Airlines economy class has a standard 3-3 configuration. Seat pitch is 31 inches, which is tight, if standard.
However, the aircraft itself is a novelty, Just an Airbus A320 it had received a novelty TinTin livery, and the paint job looked superb. The crew actively encouraged passengers to take photos of the aircraft - the complete opposite of TAP Air Portugal, who as I discovered later that day, ban passengers from taking photos.
The aircraft is called Rackham, inspired by the famous shark submarine from the Tintin comic "Red Rackham's Treasure".
On the inside of the plane, the rear cabin walls have also been reworked and carry images of Tintin and Captain Haddock from the same comic album, which is available for reading on board.
However, Brussels Airlines has no other IFE, WiFi, or power sockets, so the comic book is all you get for Entertainment, except for newspapers. These came around the business class cabin on a small trolley just before the doors were shut.
As we left, the Brussels Airlines Smurf plane 'AeroSmurf', was just coming into a gate too.
Brussels Airlines Business Class inflight meals
Water bottles were handed out to the passengers in Business Class during boarding, and the crew came around with hot towels in Business Class.
Then, being an early morning flight, Brussels Airlines offered a full breakfast platter.
It consisting of a bowl with turkey and ham, a bowl of fruit, yoghurt, bakery including croissants, jam, excellent Belgian butter, and a box of Jules Destrooper Belgian Almond Thins.
Orange Juice and Tea, with bags of Majest English Breakfast, along with small bars of Neuhaus chocolates, worked wonders to perk me up.
The crew handed out plenty more Neuhaus chocolates, in both milk and dark variety.
The Business Class cabin was then offered anything we wanted from the Economy Class buy-on-board menu, provided by Foodmaker, a fast casual restaurant in Brussels. It has quite a few items you don't expect on an aircraft, like pizza, chips, waffles, and a croque monsieur sandwich, all at around five euro. However, unlike on other airlines, the buy on board menu was free in Business Class.
To test out the menu, I decided to have a full, if early, lunch.
Starting out with a gin and tonic, then a pizza.
It was pepperoni, quite hot, and took about 20 minutes to be cooked and served.
With it I got a great bottle of rose wine, which was served in a proper 'glass' glass.
I finished with a Leffe Blonde beer, which again was excellent.
Throughout, I was surprised by the excellent service from the cabin crew, who really went the extra mile. Chatting to them later, they were relieved to be on a long sector, where they could give a little extra time to the cabin, rather than a straight up and down flight, which is always a real rush.
The flight landed at Lisbon airport about 15 minutes early, and it was a pleasant walk up the airbridge into the modern terminal. A few off us tried to take photos of the plane again, but unlike at Brussels, we were pounced on by the airport staff, and immediately told to delete photos, because photography is banned at the airport. It wasn't a particularly pleasant welcome.
Brussels Airlines inter-Europe Business Class Review
The seats in Business Class really don't justify the fare.
However, add in a large and good lounge, pleasant staff, and (two) tasty meals, and it is a much better prospect.
I often struggle to work out why I should pony up for a short haul Business Class flight, but in this case it is worth it, particularly it is an add on to a long haul flight to Europe.
See the full Trip Report: Brussels Airlines Business Class to Lisbon video:
Brussels Airlines Business Class to Lisbon
| |
|---|---|
Brussels Airlines longest Inter-Europe flight, from Brussels to Lisbon turns into a delight.
| |
Great flight by lux-traveller, September 1, 2019 rated: 3 out of 5  In Business Class there is an Excellent lounge, two hot meals including pizza, and decent bar on board.
| |
| Seats: | 4 - Standard economy seats with a little more space |
| Food: | 6 - Surprisingly good, two hot meals |
| Service: | 7 - Very good crew, who repeatedly offered extras from the menu |
| IFE: | 0 - None, other than inflight magazine and Tintin books.
|
Recommended
Brussels Airlines opens The Loft loungeBrussels Airlines opens The Loft lounge at Brussels Airport
Tintin livery for Brussels AirlinesA320 is painted in a livery showing Tintin and his beloved dog Snowy riding in a submarine.
Brussels Airlines launches unique lounge conceptBrussels Airlines has opened The Loft lounge at Brussels Airport, a new business lounge centred around comfort, technology, design and Belgian gastronomy
Trip report: Malaysia Airlines Business Class Kuala Lumpur to SydneyThe new Kuala Lumpur lounges, and the new MH A330 Business Class seat.