Ghentleman

Starting 18th of June 2013, BRU starts a new BRU-IAD route with a A330. Has the same layout at the A330 running the BRU-JFK route, with flat-bed J.
Departures fit nicely in the UA schedule, so this really is a valuable addition for anyone flying out of BRU like me.

More info: press release

SN515 Brussels 17:30 Washington 20:15 2/4/5/6/7
SN516 Washington 22:35 Brussels 12:10 2/4/5/6/7

hugolover

But its also rather oddly market, this SN flight fits perfectly connecting to UA flights in IAD...well won't it be cheaper just to fly UA then, and there is a UA flight!

oliver2002

Maybe UA will withdraw... remember they revenue share under the A++ ATI @:-)

EricTheNerd

I certainly appreciate the later departure times (and the new J seats)

Atuchan

I don't get the schedule. While it is nice to be able to fly out from IAD later in the day, the flight arrival at BRU is too late to catch any Africa bound flights. Aren't they counting on connection flights fro BRU?

Ghentleman

The UA arrives at in BRU 615, some flights to Africa (BJL, CKY, ABJ, COO, ...) don't leave 'till the afternoon. I'm sure the 1210 SN arrival will be much more comfortable for these flights.
More choice basically, also for connections to Europe.

christianj

Can anyone that has taken the IAD-BRU flight comment on the service in Business Class. I am most interested in if they offer full meal service since the flight leaves so late. (I'm used to being on BA that late through LHR and you eat in the IAD lounge.) I'm booked on this flight at the end of the week. Due to the late departure does it make sense to wait till 11:30ish or so until they start serving or should I eat at the airport?

Cedos

Hello

I flew BRU-IAD twice last fall. Passenger load in C was very low (and seems to be consistently low from my discussion with flight attendants).

Service in business was top notch (almost F-like): several round of champagne (Laurent Perrier, which is pretty good for C class I think), choice of starter and main meals. Since the load was so low, the pursuer came back to offer additional starters (and later additional main meals). The quality of the food was above LH and LX.

Only downside (not sure if I was unlucky): reliability. Out of 4 IAD-BRU or BRU-IAD, one got delayed by 2 hours (it was a IAD-BRU and took off past midnight) and one got cancelled on the same day.

All in all, if timing is convenient, I would pick SN over any other airline (LX, LH, US carrieris) for East costs trips. Quality of the trip is much better

Cedoc

christianj

Thanks for the information Cedoc! I had read that the service itself was very good and your details confirm that. I just don't know if I want to wait till that late to eat just to experience the service or try and get as much sleep as possible.

I am suprised about the light loads you mention. I have checked SN flights in the past for trips I needed out of IAD to Europe and suprisingly they had some of the highest fares along with OS. I wonder if the pricing is causing the light loads. If that is the case you would think they would adjust the pricing to increase the loads. Suprisingly on this trip we got the cheapest RT (AMEX Platinum 2for1 Business Class fare) with an outbound on SN and then a return on OS via VIE booked as an LH booking.

oliver2002

The SN flights out of IAD & JFK are sold by UA as part of the A++ ATI, so loads should be OK as they can also be sold to people purchasing under the 'fly america' act, ie US Govt employees and contractors. Not to forget the vast industries settled in N. VA and the feeder traffic provided by UA into IAD.

TRAVELSIG

I am not surprised this is a popular route given to the two centers and surrounding areas- I also imagine loads will be quite good as my previous understanding was that BRU was quite a profitable route for UA.

greg

I flew SN's IAD-BRU flight on December 26th in Business. It was a pleasant flight. The departure is late but they do serve a full dinner. I did not find the meal service especially elaborate. In fact, they put down a linen and then on top of that a tray with the starter, salad and desert. They then came by with 3 entree choices served from the cart. On our flight the choices were duck, scallops, or truffle ravioli.

I thought there wine selections were pretty nice. The L-P champagne is delicious and they had a very nice white burgundy and a st. Emilion (Bordeaux) that was very good. Their American red was a Bogle Syrah which I did not try.

One thing I found was that it gets light half way across the Atlantic due to the late departure from IAD. I only slept about an hour. Our flight was just under 7 hours.

They do a breakfast tray that was fine. Fresh squeezed orange juice.

I thought the staff on SN were very nice. Our crew seemed to be mainly Flemish origin. Very professional, classy, and nice.

The seats are nice. Returned home on the Lufthansa 747-8i in business and those were better - and I thought Lufthansa's business was on par with Brussels Airlines.

Hope you have a good trip. Let us know how it goes.

ankdc

SN has this as a 330-200. Is this the case? What's the difference in J seating between the -200 and -300 and which is preferable?

Ghentleman

SN has flown this route with the A330-200 lately. Seats and layout are the same on the -200 and -300, the 300 has 30 seats in 7 rows while the 200 has 22 in 5 rows. When travelling alone, try to get one of the solo seats (see seatguru).

MichielR

According to AirlineRoute, the new IAD route is already going seasonal...

http://airlineroute.net/2014/07/02/sn-iad-w14/