BA 392
BRU – LHR
Seat 5F
Airbus A321 G-EUUY
Morning came early as we headed for Brussels airport to begin the long journey home. I really like this airport, it’s very nicely laid out with a lot of room. The kiosk wouldn’t scan our passports for some reason, but only one person ahead of us in the business class check-in. We got our boarding passes as well as the onward flight to LAX.
Security using fast track was cleared after about ten minutes, five of which was devoted to a secondary inspection of my bag. Mrs. AKDan and I were bringing back quite a few gifts and I figured the massive amounts of chocolate in the bag would set off a question. Turns out BRU must know what chocolate looks like, however the bars of handmade soap apparently needed another look. After a professional and polite interaction that couldn’t possibly be replicated in the United States, we cleared exit immigration and headed for the BA lounge which is accessed above the “B” concourse via stairs or elevators.
It was a few minutes before 06:00, and the lounge apparently didn’t open until then. Note that the Oneworld website lists this lounge as opening at 05:30. We waited about five minutes and entered to a very attractive lounge. The lounge consisted of two sides linked by a central hallway behind the service facilities.
To the left was seating along with a conference style table with computers and a drinks bar that was stocked with juices and sparkling wine. There is also a beverage station here with a coffee machine and coolers with canned and bottled drinks available.
The right side consists of several seating areas that were set off by walls that made many private “rooms.” There was a duplicate beverage station as well as a buffet dining area. The buffet setup was fairly small and held mostly pastries, cereal, and yogurt at that time of the morning. In addition, there was one wall with computer workstations and a printer setup for work.
There were a few televisions around and two flight information displays on either end of the lounge, as well as a wardrobe and luggage storage options. A variety of reading material was also stocked. I would imagine this lounge could get crowded, but I really like the physical layout of the separate rooms. We only spent about an hour before our flight was ready to board, but it would have been a good place to get work done or relax with travel companions.
We headed downstairs to our gate and boarded an A321 aircraft. This was a standard 3 and 3 configurations with middle seat blocked. Flying time was given as about 45 minutes, including a bit of a hold outside of LHR. We pushed back on time and took off after a few minutes.
The crew quickly served a breakfast, if there was a choice I did not hear one. The plate included scrambled eggs, sausage, mushrooms, and pork. It was accompanied by a small fruit cup, a blueberry and honey granola bar, and bread given from the basket. The meal was generally very good, and was served with drinks with refills offered during the short flight.
