N1120A

Well, the photos look excellent and I'm sending this post from my Surface Pro 2, so you know I like that product addition, so that's a start.

o mikros

Be careful if you try to do this -- it is in theory possible but if you accidentally cross certain one-way boundaries (e.g. customs, and maybe immigration as well), you will not be able to enter the A pier without a boarding pass for a flight departing from one of those gates.

I've never tried to do this since I'm BRU-based and therefore always originating or ending here, but next time I'm through there I'll try to snoop more thoroughly and report back on whether this is possible. As an aside, though, the SN lounge dragons are among the more strict and may decline you entry and send you back to the B pier and its lounge.

vitrysk_kille

We were one of the first guests there it looks. early morning on Friday Even check-in staff didn't know new lounge was open. The lounge is great, breakfast options were the best I ever experienced with airport lounges in Europe... All in all it makes really nice impression. The only problem is sitting area - good enough for single travellers, while couples are really limited in choice - almost no possibilities on runway side of the lounge. Only one coffee machine was working properly as well Still... It's a mile ahead maaaany *G lounges across EU.

Dan72

Do we know if the B gates non-Schengen lounge will get any refurbishment? It would be good if they improved the food over there.

hugolover

While I can see its a great lounge-in fact the OH was there Saturday and said it was. The cynic in me finds it rather odd that SN are chucking money on their short-haul EU network considering their finances and the direction it is taken. SN is now under "attack" from both U2 and FR in BRU, a battle they cannot win in the end I fear. Sure the EU money will keep certain routes but its going to be a difficult few years for SN. Meanwhile, the part of the company that is supposed to be profitable dealing with Africa is lumbered with poor lounges in the B terminal.

toomanybooks

Great review, thanks.

"Four beers on tap - Stella Artois, Leffe Blonde, Leffe Brune, Hoegaarden"

In Belgium, the home of the greatest beers in the world, they come up with these 4? Yuck.

malmostoso

Well, it's inBev. Could have been a Bud Light...

o mikros

Perhaps their west African network is where they're ahead of the competition, but I don't think that's where a lot of their high-euro business travel is coming from. They have always branded themselves as the nicer, more relaxing alternative to the LCC like U2 and FR, and now this is something that will even better differentiate them. The A pier lounge is always full of businessmen in suits -- many of them undoubtedly involved in EU/EEC activities -- while the B lounge rarely gets very full. I guess there aren't as many status passengers on those routes, so the existing lounge is adequate for their needs.

Though I do agree with the post about improving the food options; perhaps they can just start catering both lounges with the same spread.

malmostoso

In the morning with the 3 UA flights, and the AC flight, it gets pretty busy. I was there last week and it took me a while to find a place to sit.

I believe the B lounge could be greatly improved by removing that horrible "aquarium" in the middle. It breaks the lounge into 3 "hallways", and makes it feel pretty claustrofobic.

Ghentleman

Many pax are on a connection Africa-Shengen or US-Shengen hence do use this lounge on the in- or outbound. For Africa, there's also the Sunrise lounge in T.
The old lounge really was in dire need of a refurbishment. The lounge in B is still OK, maybe they will improve the catering there too.
And regarding "chucking money", I don't think the refurbishment of the lounge takes a big chunk out of the budget, at least if you compare it to what it costs to operate an aircraft.

o mikros

True, and I'm usually on one of those three UA flights when I'm in the B pier, so I know what you're talking about. However, the overall congestion still seems substantially lower than what I've experienced in the main A lounge, especially with the nightmare that was their temporary lounge downstairs. Perhaps it's exactly because of this "only crowded in the morning" that they decided not to put a lot of money into acquiring more real estate on that side, while they absolutely had to get more space for the A lounge.

My wife agrees with you on the B lounge layout so I guess I'm in the minority, in that I like the dedicated quiet space there. However, (1) many people don't respect that it's a quiet zone and (2) they could just as easily tuck it away in a corner, such as in the section behind the check-in desk.

joshwex90

But for those of us on connections USA-nonSchengen (or vice versa) because the price tends to be better routing through BRU and I find the transfers in BRU quite easy and simple, we have the pretty bad lounges in B. And when I connect, I seem to connect with not a small number of *G/C pax

Atuchan

I, for one, long for the refurbishment of the Pier B SN lounge. I think it is a disgrace for the SN to keep the international long-haul/Non-Shengen lounge in that state. No shower or bathroom in the lounge and the congestion in the morning is quite something.

Atuchan

I will be flying through BRU on Saturday to go to Rwanda. I will try to go through the immigration to check out the new lounge in A and then walk to T (rather then take a transfer bus from B to T). I can not wait to try it.

o mikros

Please let us know if this works! I couldn't see a way to navigate the setup without persuading a Belgian immigration official to let you through an area which is supposed to only be for people transiting to Schengen destinations.