Arnur

Hi,

I'm going to fly SN 3290 from TLV to BRU and onwards to BRS (SN 2059) later this week and am considering to bid for an upgrade to Bizz & Class. I have taken this flight before and found that five hours on a cramped A320 without so much as a free glass of water was not a fun experience. C on the flight looks totally empty, so I'm optimistic that the minimum bid of 95 Euro would work. The questions is what I would get for it, having never flown Bizz & Class on SN (I have flown C on SN's long-haul network, I'm aware that's a very different product). I'm *A Gold, so I already have lounge access etc. in TLV. Does anyone have any experience what the catering is like on SN 3290? Otherwise, the main difference seems to be the empty middle seat, right? What about miles for upgraded flights?

Any insight would be much appreciated!
Artur

NYC1

The main difference is the empty middle seat, which is a big thing relatively speaking. It takes the experience from horrible to mediocre. I wouldn’t do it for the catering etc. That’s a bonus. Just having some room to breathe is key.

mkilmo

The main question is whether the flight is full or not.

If it is full, 95 EUR is indeed a good bid for the extra space (and you can take as much water with you on board the plane in TLV).

If it is not full, I wouldn't bother. Last time, I go a whole row for myself (just OLCI for a not too front row).

craz

personally I wouldnt waste the money. Its a coach seat in biz and the other poster said correctly the only difference is the middle seat being empty but its still there and leg room is the same as well.See if the 2nd exit row has seats if it does grab that you wont be sorry, tons of leg room. and its $0

Also its a 4hr flight and not 5 anyway, I usually take some drinks from the Dan Lounge if you dont have access take them with you from home or get them airside cheaper then on the plane. I usually would freeze a bottle or 2 of water and put it in my carry-on so by the time I want to drink it its already melted, if I know I wont be going into the Dan Lounge

Concerto

I really wouldn't bother, even if the upgrade is only 20 Euros. It is the most crap experience I've ever had in a premium or economy cabin. In fact, SN is sadly an airline I actively avoid, joining an increasingly long list. Finally, the easyJet concept has turned out to be not so bad, now that they've shed some of their worse characteristics of 5-7 years ago.

Dover2Golf

You will get free water in SN business but certainly not much more, certainly not €95 worth. SN has a particularly miserable short haul offering.

Arnur

So, in the end I did end up bidding the 95 Euro for the upgrade and to cut a long story short, I'm glad I did. The upgrade cleared 48 hours before departure and in the end only 5 out of a possible 16 seats in Bizz & Class were taken. Economy looked very full to me, which had been the main reason to bid in any case. As others have stated, the hard product is not very impressive - the middle seat stays empty, but otherwise it is the same seat as in coach. The legroom was sufficient for me and give the light load, I had three seats to myself. Thanks to foldable arm rests and the decent pillow and blanket provided, I did manage to sleep some 90 minutes, which alone was worth the 95 Euro. I was also quite positively surprised by the service - shortly after departure from TLV, the crew served a hot meal on a single tray (no choices..):


Hot C meal on SN TLV-BRU

No points for presentation, but the hot dish (some vegetarian couscous) was actually very tasty and might well have been one of the best airline meals, which I had in recent years (and yes, that does include a number of flights in C). The fruit salad was nothing special, but the pastry was also very decent and clearly on par with other deserts served in a premium cabin. Champagne was offered, as well as all the other drinks from the onboard menu. I stuck with Duo lemonade and sparkling water, so I cannot comment on the wine list. After the hot meal, the crew continued to proactively offer items from the menu, which were free in C class. I ended up ordering the Tapas box shortly before landing, which was perfectly sufficient for me, but other passengers ordered more substantive items like pizza, which looked and smelled quite good.



Tapas box from the SN onboard menu

The service was extremely attentive throughout the flight, which at almost five hours must be one of SN's longest mid-haul services. After the upgrade, my ticket was booked in P, so I also got a fair number of M&M status miles for the flight. In summary, I think SN's short-/mid-haul C class was better than its - poor - reputation. While the hard product was quite disappointing, the service was excellent and the food and snacks available on the flight well above my - very limited - expectations. Given the very reasonable price, which I paid for the upgrade, I feel this was value for money.

Concerto

Really appreciate the feedback. Maybe they're turned around their service, but one thing is for sure, sometimes we are too critical!

hugolover

So SN C is now a tray with the hot element from BOB?

Arnur

No, it is a tray with a C meal, plus one can select additional items from the BOB menu.

Concerto

Actually, now come to think of it, that tray does rather look like a pre-packed BoB item that has been heated up and placed on the tray!

oliver2002

Its not featured on their BoB menu though...

http://web.brusselsairlines.com/pdf/...enu_202002.pdf

Arnur

Precisely, I checked and it was not in the BOB menu. Otherwise I might even consider buying the couscous. Like I said, no points for presentation, but the taste was actually very good.

oliver2002

Foodmaker is a local Brussels outfit, your meal looks like the Vegpot Moroccan CousCous: https://www.one2three.app/foodmakerproximus/menu

NYC1

Don't forget the Neuhaus...

You managed to avoid a painful experience in the back of the plane and instead had a decent one. No brainer in my mind.