KRiley1952

Don't fly on them. I flew on Brussels Airlines first class to Europe. There was no power in first class where I was. Seats didn't recline, power outlets didn't work, reading light didn't work, tv screen didn't work. In short, the seat was stuck in an upright position until the flight crew manually forced it into a reclining positiion.

I wrote, called, and emailed the customer service. All I got was confirmation for the email I sent. Nothing more. Not even an '"I'm sorry". Worst first class experience ever accompanied by worst customer service ever.

A truly rotten airline.

TPJ

Trying not to be sarcastic - no, you have not flown First Class on SN. They do not have F, C (Business) is the highest cabin...

SN does not even pretend to be a full service airline (but long haul C is normally quite OK). Was the flight full? Did you ask to be re-seated?

JD3313

Quite interesting given that Brussels Airlines does not actually offer first class. For the purpose of discussion I will assume that it was actually business class. What route did you fly on? If your seat did not go flat and the screen was not working couldn't you simply switch seats or was the flight full?

59Impala

I had this experience on AA from LAX to LHR. Was Exec Plat/Emerald with them. I had requested a refund of my upgrade(cash and miles) - nada, not even any compensation miles. Flew upright the whole 10 hour flight in Business.
After that, I wrote again to AA and never flew them again. That was in 2015. Lost a loyal Oneworld customer and switched to Star.

Peter Snijder

SFOtoanywhere

I've flown Brussels twice to Kigali, Rwanda in Business and had a great experience both times. The first time, they gave us all a huge box of Neuhaus chocolates when we deplaned. Didn't get it the second flight, but it was 2021/ Covid times. And there was no First Class either time.

Peter Snijder

I wonder how much a first class ticket on Brussels Airlines costs nowadays. I think "priceless" is a pretty good guess.

hugolover

There's nothing special about SN. Definitely bringing up the rear in LHG. It's anti-competitive garbage that LHG owns it though. It should have been liquidated a long time ago, and BRU P2P left to the LCC's.

Concerto

Awful in Europe, I totally avoid it. But the lounge in Brussels is good, one of the better ones

The Wolf

No idea why. I like them, especially the longhaul J product (excluding the EW metal) is a lot better than LH's. Sadly excluding Africa they only do JFK and IAD nowadays.
I've always found the crew to be great as well.

Mjh156

This is just objectively not true. The SN J hard product on their own metal is heads-and-shoulders above Lufthansa's own, with a newer, more private cabin and catering at least as good, if not better. They've also consistently gotten great marks for their crews and I've found them in a league above LH in terms of warmth and helpfulness.

Criticize the product if you wish, but the histrionic claim about liquidation in favor of LCC carriers somehow operating as the national carrier of Belgium in a very international city is laughable.

hugolover

Saying SN's hard product is better than LH's J is like telling me a BMW is better than a Lada
SN is just a forgettable carrier. For the vast majority of pax who do not fly on their tiny Longhaul network in J, they share my opinion.
LCC's are what have given the Belgian people cheap, direct and reliable flights.
LH accept SN to make no money, just like Sabena failed to do so, purely as an anti-competitive practice. Liquidating SN would be the right thing if the politics were taken out of the picture.

Did you see the meltdown of Belgian politicians when the Red Devils cancelled the SN's uncomfortable 'Economy configured' A320 charter, and choose a Lithuanian VIP charter outfit?

Even the Belgian national team share my view of the "national carrier".

tgj1974

I do find staff a lot friendlier, than LH.
But was disappointed ending up on the EW bird back from NY.

The Wolf

Do not forget Africa. You cannot put a price on SN's experience there. This includes pilots and especially mechanics.

Fabo.sk

I mean... it's not like I want SN to go away... but you probably can.