ycp81

The famous pissing boy, Mannekin Pis, dressed up in spring wear.




Of course, what is Belgium without Belgium chocolates! There are shops selling chocolates everywhere, from the affordable to the luxury.




Of course not to be missed, having the best waffles in Brussels at Dandoy!






Then it was back to the hotel for an early night due to tiredness, only to wake up early at 4am. Since we missed the night scene, we decided to explore the deserted Grand Place to soak in the night scenes. It was surreal!








The hotel offered early check-out birds a free light breakfast, which we grabbed some light bites from.




Sunrise




After the early check-out, we caught the 6.47am train from Brussels Centraal to the airport. Luckily, train service had resumed using the old airport station and it was also the last day before BRU's departure hall would be partially opened after the unfortunate incident.




Just a short 15min train ride, we arrived at Brussels National Airport and proceeded to the temporary check-in tents. All tickets were checked and baggage screened before we were allowed into the check-in area. There were long queues (due to the May Day holidays) but queues moved fast. Airline personnel were also moving up and down the queues to sieve out passengers who had flights due to departure. Though the whole procedure was slightly messy, it was not as bad as I had imagined.

ycp81

It took us half an hour to reach the check-in queues, and it was after we were sieved out by the Brussels Airlines staff for the 900-930am departures.




All the check-in staff were in high spirits to handle the huge passenger load. All counters were opened and there were 2 staff manning at each counter to speed things up.




Dropped my bags and got my first ever Brussels Airlines boarding pass! It is always exciting to fly a new airline and better still, a new aircraft type!




Then, we had to climb up 4 storeys to reach the interior of the main terminal building. It was definitely a climb not suited for the elderly and those with heavy carry-ons.

Into BRU's airside








FIDS




The airside was unaffected from the incident and by now, all shops were fully operational. Again to the Belgium theme, chocolates are sold everywhere in duty-free as well!








Tintin's rocket




Area with eateries. It was in fact, rather busy in the morning.

rdurlabhji

I've only heard good things about GA, and this TR seems to confirm that. Looks like a livable Y product with an edible meal. I feel like they could compete with SQ and CX as hub/spoke carrier between EU and Asia if:

1. They got their name out there more.
2. CGK weren't a hellhole. Luckily there is a new terminal being built, but knowing Indonesian processes it might take a while.

It would be great for ST to have a true global 5* Asian carrier to compete.

ycp81

Walking down the 'A' Pier to the departure gate.




Reached the gate, where boarding has just begun.




30 April 2016
Brussels Airlines
SN 2809
Brussels (BRU) - Prague (PRG)
Avro RJ100
OO-DWJ
Economy Class
Flight Time: 1H11M


The Avro RJ100 that would be flying us to Prague. Excited to fly this aircraft as not only is it my first flight on one, it is also a very rare aircraft model in Asia. However, Brussels Airlines has quite a number of these aircraft plying its regional routes alongside its Airbuses.




Another RJ100 beside while boarding the aircraft.




Just before boarding.




Aircraft door




Welcomed by the purser as I stepped onto the aircraft an suddenly I felt lke being transported 20 years back. The aircraft seats and cabin felt very retro. Seats were in a rather spacious 2-3 layout, with the first few rows reserved for Business Class, which are just economy seats but with the neighbouring seat blocked. There were no separation between the 2 classes as well and during the flight, service for Business passengers was in full view of the rest. Guess this is common for European airlines.

Row 1 with the most legroom. Seats were upholstered in leather.




Proceeded to my seat at 19A, which is the second last row of the aircraft and is at the 2-seater side. Boarding still in progress and flight was very full. There were 2 cabin crew working on this flight.




Though the seats looked aged, legroom is good and seats comfortable enough for the short flight. There is also a drinks holder.




View out of the window.




Inflight magazine, BOB menu and safety card.




Brussels Airlines' fleet.

ycp81

What you can do with your airsick bag.




After passengers had boarded, the crew at the rear came down to hand out children activity kits to the kids onboard. Nice gesture by Brussels Airlines here.

Safety demo was then performed manually while we pushed back. Flight time would be slightly over an hour.



Starting the taxi to the runway.




Passing a sister A330




And it was only a short taxi to the active runway, Rwy25R.





Takeoff from Rwy25R










Video of the takeoff.



Climbing through thick clouds.




And finally sunlight when we broke through the clouds. It remained overcast below for more than half the flight.




After seatbelt signs were turned off, we economy passengers watched the Business pax getting served their meals and drinks. After the crew were finished with the service upfront, the BOB cart was pushed down the aisle for us economy pax to purchase any snacks or drinks. Not many takers on this short flight though. And that concluded the inflight service. Interaction with the cabin crew was minimal and they did their jobs.




Nice SN logo on the leather headrest cover.

ycp81

Trip to the lavatory. It felt like going back in time to the 80s.






Aft galley and aircraft door.




View of the cabin.




The clouds had cleared and we soon started the descent into Prague.












Video of the approach.



Landing in Prague Václav Havel Airport Rwy24 ahead of schedule.






Video of the landing.



Passed a WizzAir A320 while during taxi to the gate.

ycp81

LH A321 which has just vacated our gate.




Parked at Terminal 2, which is used for Schengen flights.




My seat for the flight. Note the so retro cigarette stub compartment in the armrest.




3-seater row.




Last views of my first ever RJ100 ride.






The Brussels Airlines experience is acceptable on the short flight. Buy-on-board is becoming the norm on European carriers on intra-European flights, but as long as airfares remain low, I am not too concerned with this model. In this case, Brussels Airlines offered very competitive fares (if booked early in advance) compared to the budget carriers. Crew did their jobs and flight was on-time, which is already better than the normally not-so-pleasant reviews of the airline. More importantly, I had stuck off a new airline as well as a new aircraft type from my list!


Travel Service A320 also just arrived.




Czech Airlines A319 in a special livery




It was only a short wait for the bags.




Withdrew some Czech currency from the ATMs and took the Airport AE bus to the city. Stayed at Majestic Plaza Hotel, which is conveniently situated beside a major shopping mall and walkable to most of the sights in Prague. Prague, in itself, is a very walkable city.

Hotel room, which is of decent size and very comfortable.






Trams are the main mode of transportation.

ycp81

Lunch at a well-recommended and affordable pub/restaurant, Kotleta, just beside our hotel. Prices are reasonable and most importantly, food is tasty.

Beef Goulash soup




Very tasty Asparagus cream




Interesting starter of Bacon-wrapped prunes.




Traditional Czech cuisine of Stewed pork belly with sauerkraut and dumplings.




Exploring the Old Town after lunch. Prague Old Town certainly retains its medieval charms, but I find it a bit too touristy for my liking with the hordes of visitors all around and shops after shops selling tourist trinkets.

Powder Tower




Astronomical Clock




Old Town Square




Perfect weather to enjoy the sunshine on the lawns




Charles Bridge across Vltava River.




Sights and sceneries

ycp81

Roaming around the streets of Prague










Bought a light dinner at a small but popular local deli, Nase Maso, famous for its meat tartar and meatloaf. The beer was literally on-the-tap from the wall as well!








The hotel offers a great buffet breakfast every morning.




Lunch at a lovely pasta joint, Pasta Fresca, which not only is famous for pasta, but also its to-die-for tiramisu!

ycp81

Trying a traditional Bohemian pastry, which was being sold everywhere.






Dinner at La Boca, an Argentinian-styled restaurant. The steak was great!






Prague Old Town in the evening and night feels magical.

ycp81

Soaking up the sights and sunshine on the last day.








The famous Prague Dancing Houses




Along River Vltava, with Prague Castle beyond.




A small market near the hotel.




And final meal was again at Kotleta, where we had a yummy gnocchi and Czech roast pork knee. Portion was huge and filling!






We proceeded to the airport in the evening, were we spent the night at the airport hotel, Courtyard by Marriot Prague Airport, as we had an early morning flight to catch to Frankfurt. No photos of the hotel but it was comfortable enough for a short night's stay.

Early the next morning, we just walked along a connecting linkway and 2 minutes later, was at the terminal building.




Checked in for the Czech Airlines flight at Terminal 2, which is a terminal dedicated for Schengen flights. There were hardly a queue for check-in and the check-in agent was really friendly.






Boarding pass. Another airline off my list!

ycp81

The whole terminal building felt rather sterile but functional.






Using my Priority Pass, I went to the Erste Premier Lounge to grab some breakfast. The lounge is the biggest in Prague Airport, and is also used by Czech Airlines and Skyteam's premium passengers. Lounge was comfortable enough for a short stay, offering decent seating, workstations, a small hot/cold buffet and beverages.
















My simple breakfast. The egg rolls were delish!




30min prior to departure, we proceeded to the gate.

ycp81

One of Czech Airline's main workhorses, A319, being pushed back.





03 May 2016
Czech Airlines
OK 534
Prague (PRG) - Frankfurt (FRA)
A319
OK-MEK
Economy Class
Flight Time: 40M

Initially when I booked the flight quite some time back, it was scheduled as A319, but was changed to an ATR72 a while back, and today, it was swapped back to an A319 again. Realised the reason why when I saw the board that the flight would be operating Prague-Frankfurt-Dusseldorf. Seemed that OK has combined the Dusseldorf flight with our flight since the load factor is rather low for both flights.

Boarding has just begun.




Another A319 at the gate beside.




Steps to striking another airline off my list.






Welcomed aboard and proceeded to my seat at 21F towards the rear of the aircraft. Passed the Business Class seats, which are again normal economy seating but with the middle seat blocked with a cocktail tray.




Regular economy seats.




Boarding in progress.




Legroom was good and there is an adjustable headrest on every seat. Cabin also seemed very well-maintained and clean despite this not being a very new aircraft.








View from the window, with another OK A319 seen taxiing out.

ycp81

Contents of the seat pocket.




Czech and English papers were available at the door during boarding. I grabbed an English weekly news.




Czech Airlines has scrapped its free snacks and beverages service for economy since late last year and has followed the footsteps of many other European carriers to offer buy-on-board.








Welcome announcement by the crew. There were 3 cabin crew serving on this flight.



Pushed back right on schedule.




Safety video was shown on the drop-down overhead screens. The video was actually quite entertaining.





Taxi out to the runway for the 40min flight to Frankfurt. A Szechuan Airlines A330 was spotted at Terminal One.




Holding short of Rwy 24 for an Austrian Fokker70 to land.




Departure from Rwy24.








Video of the takeoff.

ycp81

Climbing to cruising altitude.








Drop-down screens were showing the flight map and information.




After seatbelt signs were switched off, BOB service started (think Business Class passengers got a cold snack). At least Business Class was separated from Economy by a curtain. Programme on the drop-down screens were also changed to duty-free advertisements.






Lavatory offered the basic amenities.




Cabin view with service in progress. Generally, cabin crew seemed rather friendly and pleasant.




Just spent the rest of the short flight admiring the scenery.




We were soon descending into Frankfurt and cabin was prepared for arrival.



Getting lower.




Can you spot another aircraft making a parallel approach? River Main was running below us.