Good review. Bonus point for that superb board-stow-sit technique on the second sector. I'll take one minute to get through check-in and will think uncharitably about those taking longer. I've resolved to get better, next year, at spotting the check-in-lane-troublemakers - the family-groups with ten suitcases piled on a trolley, usually. I've stayed in Brussels for a week before and had a great time. Very comfortable in the Conrad and the restaurant meals were fantastic. Happy New Year, Matt.
Agree with your take on BRU, Brussels Airlines and their business lounge. Passed through the airport many times as I used to live there - always thought it was a pleasant enough set up and is better than your average in Europe and certainly a step up compared to most in North America. One flight a few years ago from BRU to GVA on Brussels Airlines still stands out in my memory for the friendliness of the crew. The Belgians are not exactly renowned for their hospitality but they can be very engaging and likeable if they warm to you.
@@MattsPlanet Really? Then, don't miss the point, please: the problem is with their "being renowned", not with their humour itself. Never heard of *Belgian surrealism*? And in mainland Europe, they're renowned for their pervasive *sense of self-irony*. It's quite a different form of humour from the British one but it's very real. Time for the Brits to find out about the Belgians' humour (surrealism and self-irony) and to change their reputation accordingly.
Great video! I sadly had a uniquely miserable experience with SN last December and it is the first time I have ever said 'never again' and meant it. I was flying MAN-BRU and our aircraft got caught behind a broken down Cathay Pacific on the runway, where we spent the next 9 hours. Cathay and TUI (behind us) offloaded, compensated and looked after their passengers. SN eventually pulled back to the gate and refused to cancel the service. We were not provided food or drink and when I sought to claim compensation, I didn't receive any response. Eventually, compensation was approved through the conciliation service and...after nearly 13 months...I am still waiting. We did make the headlines in the Manchester Evening News though! Wishing you an awesome 2024 - you have become one of my fav UA-camrs this year and I am excited for plenty more witty and helpful content in the new year.
Ouch! I'm always conscious that I make videos on the basis of a sample of 1 or 2 flights but hopefully you're experience was an outlier in the other direction!
@@MattsPlanet - absolutely - and I am 100% sure my mad experience was something that hardly anyone will experience (so your review is likely to be close to the standard experience). It was just interesting to see how the company handled things when things went wrong that makes me satisfied to find an alternative. I am just glad that you had a jolly good time 😀
Another great video. I was surprised to hear that the Sabena name has been gone for over 20 years! Not too hard to pick out Winter Wonderland on your approach to LHR!
So much to take in here, thank you. Self-pour beer in lounges - wear overalls. One key thing that we need to know is how long it takes to get through non-Schengen checkpoints (to your credit, you said "rapidly"). A spreadsheet next year? I wish you a wonderful 2024.
Great video Matt, flew with these very randomly Manchester to Jersey a few years back, I think Flybe leased or subcontracted the plane and they were good. Have a great new Year and look forward to your new stuff!
I agree with you on BRU. Once upon a time, one of the less expensive ways to get to the UK or the continent from the US (on AA) was to fly to BRU and connect. Not been to Brussels in a few years, but sometimes I think it gets overlooked as a destination or even a starting point for a longer trip, given its excellent rail connections to the rest of Europe. As for security and families...it gets easy to see who travels by air more than once a year, and who doesnt. This is especially true in the US, given the amount people in the US fly.
Always interesting to compare the LH group airlines, I just flew Air Dolomiti FRA-INN and the legroom was fantastic in row 5, then I realized I must've been in a business class seat because my return flight in row 14 had significantly less!
Happy Newyear Matt, You summed it up very nicely. Brussels airlines is good in value, has a nice clean, easy to navigate airport,a decent enough lounge, and great fares. I fly Edi, to Bru 5 times a year with SN and never paid more then £300 return in J . Its liberating to fly direct. I can set off at 6 am in Edi, and have breakfast at home in belgium 2.5 hrs later! Thanks for choosing Brussels airlines!😂
Thank you for the video! How do you manage to get so reasonably priced flights? Would you be able to make a tutorial how to find cheaper flight with non-low cost airlines from smaller airports in Europe like Varna in Bulgaria, for instance?
Thanks. There's no real secret - I spend a lot of time playing around with Google Flights. I have an advantage in that I'm not tied to travelling on weekends or on school holidays so can usually jump on the cheapest opportunities
Funny that you should ask.. I'm currently on a trip to Oslo with Brussels Air - and I can confirm: Brussels Airport is easily one of the best European airports. One of the very few airports where I am feeling happy to make my connections even when they are scheduled with 40mins between landing and outbound departure.
@@MattsPlanet Oh don’t get me wrong - BRU is usually busy in the Schengen arm - but with how easy a layout the thing is, I have made my scheduled 40 layover in there heading back from OSL 3 times already - next Sunday it’ll be the 4th time I do that particular trip. Absolutely would recommend flying through there.
Nice video Matt and Happy New Year! I flew Brussels Airlines on a day trip to Brussels in July 2016, it was my 50th Flight and I got the Tin-Tin Aircraft! I want to fly them again, but on longer flights as the LHR-BRU flight isn't long enough in my view to get a decent idea on them.
I was lucky enough to have flown via BRU to THF back in 2004 when that “mother of all airports” was “about to close”. I connected from American coming from Chicago-ORD to what was then “SNBrussels”. They were partners and I got to fly again on the ARJ85 or was it a 146? The airport struck me as well designed and easy to transit. I really don’t get why more carriers apart from today’s SN do not fly there. I am reminded of the recent jetBlue conflict with Schiphol and wonder why they don’t just fly to BRU instead? Connect the UN to the EU and capture some of the diamond-trade? I recall that BRU has a decent connection with the Belgian National Rail network and to me that’s a very important factor when choosing an airport to arrive at/depart from. I wish Zaventem Airport success in the future.
Wonderful video ... I have a question, next week I have to fly from BER via BRU to LHR with Brussels Airlines and I only have 1 hour to transit. Do you think it will be enough?
Even Prague Airport is a gem! Sad that we can't actually fly those mythical flag carriers like Sabena and Malev anymore. Star Gold is such a challenging tier to reach as a US resident but I did find a program that only requires 40K miles within 24mo on any member carrier, so no native minimums. Happy New Year! - Red
Cheers Red. Since Aegean realised they were too generous and bumped their renewal from 24k to 70k it is really tough for a US resident.... All those UA-camrs making videos about what a good scheme it is.....
TK is 37.5k over two years for non-Turkish residents renewing Elite (*G). A match with which is how I'm retaining Star Gold when SAS leaves Star Alliance in a few months.
I actually booked through Swiss - outbound with them and back on Brussels. Credited to Aegean but fell into the "P class earning 0" trip on Brussels - got a handful in P class outbound but 0 back... Swiss makes it quite hard to see the fare bucket when booking....
SN Brussels is the reincarnation of Sabina just as Swiss International is the reincarnation of Swiss Air.I flew Sabina in 1982 ,when I was a child,in a convoluted but cheaper way to get from Johannesburg to London via a Lux Air 707 to Luxembourg,a bus to Brussels and then Sabina to Heathrow.
BRU is usually a good experience. Maybe because it is a small-ish airport with a higher than usual percentage of frequent flyers because of all of the EU institutions in the area and not many low cost carriers.
Brussels has lots of African coverage - former points of interest for Belgium.... Generally monopoly routes though so they seem to be quite expensive..... I think you mean Brussels rather than Bristol??? Other comments suggest I caught it at a quiet time of day!
So why is Brussels airport so quiet? The demise of Sabena was a long time ago. High speed rail connections in that part of Europe of perhaps Schiphol with its rail links siphoning off traffic? Or simply too big for its needs? And then why when the EEC is effectively without borders what is the benefit of a subsidiary rather than just having Lufthansa there (or are there rules about that?)
On the contrary. I find BRU to be too small for its needs. I use BRU often and I find it always very (even too) busy. It must have been a coincidence it was so quiet while filming this video. I've never seen BRU this quiet :)
A few people have said it was unusually quiet when I went through - which was from around 12 to 4pm. I think it gets busier with the morning and evening rushes
@@MattsPlanet as you saw there were no planes when you were there. When it is busy it's not the airport you saw... Prague airport on the other hand I like very much, can't put my finger on why.
Another very well done video. We found Brussels airport very bright and non claustrophobic larger than we thought it would be. Easy to get the train into Brussels city centre its not bad at all.
So you expected Brussels to be a "shade in a muddy field"? Seriously, why are you Brits always so negative about Belgium? I don't think there is another European country about which the British are as denigrating as Belgium. I really wonder why.
I actually said "I don't think I expected a shed in a muddy field" so you are misquoting me.... My point is that Brussels airport has close to a zero awareness level as a place to transit in Northern Europe, but I really liked it, as I did say in the video and can't understand why it isn't better known. Kind of the opposite of what you're accusing me of....
07:03, wondering if your Flemish pronunciation of the word "Leffe" is correct?!... Ha ha, this is hilarious! "Leffe" is a Walloon place name. As you rightly point out, SN's crew is at least trilingual. It's a no-brainer in Belgium: any educated person is at least trilingual: NL-FR-GB. Time for the Brits to wake up and learn some foreign languages.
"For younger viewers these are like portable websites" 😂😂 Glad I didn't have corn flakes at time of listening! Great video Matt, cheers.
I thought that was a good line..... Even if I say so myself!!!
It'll always be Sabena to me, I remember well their wee 4 engine planes whatever they were :) Happy New Year to you mate!
Father worked on the design of what became the Bae 146 / RJ being a stalwart of London city often nick named the jumboliner ...
Thanks Steve - New Years Day swim planned? Bit calmer up there?
I met a bloke who used to fly them and had a tattoo of it on his shoulder....
@@richardstreet7518 very cool Richard! I remember being on one and it had the smoothest take-off, felt like a very gentle angle of attack
@@MattsPlanet mate we're still living with the after effects of that Christmas Day swim :D Thankfully it's calmed down a bit now!
Happy New Year mate! Boss content! Great intelligible English accent that I love to hear 🙂.
Jolly good (said in a very English accent!) Happy new year to you too
Thanks for the info + video! Happy New Year🎉🎊 🍾🥂!!!
Cheers Jimmy - have a great 2024!
Matt you're a star - how you only have 13.6k subscribers is beyond me - keep up the dry sense of humour!
I sometimes wonder the same thing!!!! Thanks for watching and the sub count goes up every day!
Good review. Bonus point for that superb board-stow-sit technique on the second sector.
I'll take one minute to get through check-in and will think uncharitably about those taking longer. I've resolved to get better, next year, at spotting the check-in-lane-troublemakers - the family-groups with ten suitcases piled on a trolley, usually.
I've stayed in Brussels for a week before and had a great time. Very comfortable in the Conrad and the restaurant meals were fantastic.
Happy New Year, Matt.
Thanks - they did take an eternity to check-in... No time in Brussels itself this time but I have had a good time there in the past!
Happy New Year!!!
Thanks for a year of fantastic content :)
And to you! Here's to 2024...
Agree with your take on BRU, Brussels Airlines and their business lounge. Passed through the airport many times as I used to live there - always thought it was a pleasant enough set up and is better than your average in Europe and certainly a step up compared to most in North America. One flight a few years ago from BRU to GVA on Brussels Airlines still stands out in my memory for the friendliness of the crew. The Belgians are not exactly renowned for their hospitality but they can be very engaging and likeable if they warm to you.
Thanks Nick - its certainly shot up the list of Euro airports I'd actively look to use!
"The Belgians are not exactly renowned for their hospitality". Really? Then, I'm afraid you're not really familiar with Belgium and its population.
@@yagi3925 I said they're not renowned for their humour
@@MattsPlanet Really? Then, don't miss the point, please: the problem is with their "being renowned", not with their humour itself. Never heard of *Belgian surrealism*? And in mainland Europe, they're renowned for their pervasive *sense of self-irony*. It's quite a different form of humour from the British one but it's very real. Time for the Brits to find out about the Belgians' humour (surrealism and self-irony) and to change their reputation accordingly.
Useful review. Thanks. Have a happy and blessed New Year 2024!
Thanks - think you're already into your new year so I hope its a good one!
Great Review. I had thought Brussels airlines were a budget airline lol. Thanks for sharing Matt. Happy new year to you!
They are full service, whatever that means in European aviation these days!
@@MattsPlanetFull service and Star Alliance so you too can collect points toward your next vacation in Newark!
Next time you are in Prague try Becherovka, it’s the green bottle in the spirits area. It’s a mandatory digestiv the local have as a staple
Will do!!! I like local digestivs - except in Hungary where that Unicum stuff is awful!!
Happy new year Matt and thanks for all the videos and reviews. Please keep up the good work.
Thanks. No plans to change anything for 2024! Except that intro....
Great video! I sadly had a uniquely miserable experience with SN last December and it is the first time I have ever said 'never again' and meant it. I was flying MAN-BRU and our aircraft got caught behind a broken down Cathay Pacific on the runway, where we spent the next 9 hours. Cathay and TUI (behind us) offloaded, compensated and looked after their passengers. SN eventually pulled back to the gate and refused to cancel the service. We were not provided food or drink and when I sought to claim compensation, I didn't receive any response. Eventually, compensation was approved through the conciliation service and...after nearly 13 months...I am still waiting. We did make the headlines in the Manchester Evening News though! Wishing you an awesome 2024 - you have become one of my fav UA-camrs this year and I am excited for plenty more witty and helpful content in the new year.
SN?
Ouch! I'm always conscious that I make videos on the basis of a sample of 1 or 2 flights but hopefully you're experience was an outlier in the other direction!
SN is Brussels Air's flight code
@@MattsPlanet - absolutely - and I am 100% sure my mad experience was something that hardly anyone will experience (so your review is likely to be close to the standard experience). It was just interesting to see how the company handled things when things went wrong that makes me satisfied to find an alternative. I am just glad that you had a jolly good time 😀
Another great video. I was surprised to hear that the Sabena name has been gone for over 20 years!
Not too hard to pick out Winter Wonderland on your approach to LHR!
Indeed - I did picture their electricity meter spinning like Clark Griswold's when he turned his Christmas lights on!
@@MattsPlanetSuch a bloody experience!
So much to take in here, thank you.
Self-pour beer in lounges - wear overalls.
One key thing that we need to know is how long it takes to get through non-Schengen checkpoints (to your credit, you said "rapidly"). A spreadsheet next year?
I wish you a wonderful 2024.
I did notice someone else using that beer tap before I risked it! Less than a minute through this checkpoint but they can take a while....
The sick bag was a nice touch. The planes were very well kept for their age. I've seen 7 year old planes that were completely run down.
I was quite shocked to see how old they were when editing! And who knew about Belgian humour - in English too!!!
Great video Matt, flew with these very randomly Manchester to Jersey a few years back, I think Flybe leased or subcontracted the plane and they were good. Have a great new Year and look forward to your new stuff!
Thanks for watching and happy new year to you too!
I agree with you on BRU. Once upon a time, one of the less expensive ways to get to the UK or the continent from the US (on AA) was to fly to BRU and connect. Not been to Brussels in a few years, but sometimes I think it gets overlooked as a destination or even a starting point for a longer trip, given its excellent rail connections to the rest of Europe. As for security and families...it gets easy to see who travels by air more than once a year, and who doesnt. This is especially true in the US, given the amount people in the US fly.
As the authorities managing AMS seem to prefer an airport with no planes, there's an opportunity for BRU to step up!
@@MattsPlanetIndeed! See my comment elsewhere.
I noticed one of your Patreons is Paul Ainsworth-Lord off t’telly 😄
Indeed - I've had the chance to meet him too - lovely bloke. Still marginally annoyed that his UA-cam channel has more subscribers than mine!!!
Always interesting to compare the LH group airlines, I just flew Air Dolomiti FRA-INN and the legroom was fantastic in row 5, then I realized I must've been in a business class seat because my return flight in row 14 had significantly less!
Not an airline that's really on my radar but it has some interesting routes....
Usually the afternoon is always rather 'quiet' at Brussels. In the morning almost all gates are occupied.
Makes sense - it was really rather nice in the afternoon!
Happy Newyear Matt,
You summed it up very nicely. Brussels airlines is good in value, has a nice clean, easy to navigate airport,a decent enough lounge, and great fares. I fly Edi, to Bru 5 times a year with SN and never paid more then £300 return in J . Its liberating to fly direct. I can set off at 6 am in Edi, and have breakfast at home in belgium 2.5 hrs later!
Thanks for choosing Brussels airlines!😂
Doing my bit for awareness!!! Happy New Year to you too
Thank you for the video! How do you manage to get so reasonably priced flights? Would you be able to make a tutorial how to find cheaper flight with non-low cost airlines from smaller airports in Europe like Varna in Bulgaria, for instance?
Thanks. There's no real secret - I spend a lot of time playing around with Google Flights. I have an advantage in that I'm not tied to travelling on weekends or on school holidays so can usually jump on the cheapest opportunities
Funny that you should ask.. I'm currently on a trip to Oslo with Brussels Air - and I can confirm: Brussels Airport is easily one of the best European airports. One of the very few airports where I am feeling happy to make my connections even when they are scheduled with 40mins between landing and outbound departure.
Thanks! Some have said it can get busy in the evenings but I liked it!
@@MattsPlanet Oh don’t get me wrong - BRU is usually busy in the Schengen arm - but with how easy a layout the thing is, I have made my scheduled 40 layover in there heading back from OSL 3 times already - next Sunday it’ll be the 4th time I do that particular trip. Absolutely would recommend flying through there.
Nice video Matt and Happy New Year! I flew Brussels Airlines on a day trip to Brussels in July 2016, it was my 50th Flight and I got the Tin-Tin Aircraft! I want to fly them again, but on longer flights as the LHR-BRU flight isn't long enough in my view to get a decent idea on them.
Thanks Jett - the zig-zagging extended my flight a bit but it was still well under an hour....
@@MattsPlanet I might do a Paris to Oslo route via Brussels, get some good flight times in.
You poured that Leffe like a champ 😅
I was quite pleased! I'd be fired on the spot if I did that in a UK pub, but on the continent it works!
Best wishes safe travels for 2024!!
Thanks - first trip a little over a week away!
I was lucky enough to have flown via BRU to THF back in 2004 when that “mother of all airports” was “about to close”. I connected from American coming from Chicago-ORD to what was then “SNBrussels”. They were partners and I got to fly again on the ARJ85 or was it a 146? The airport struck me as well designed and easy to transit. I really don’t get why more carriers apart from today’s SN do not fly there. I am reminded of the recent jetBlue conflict with Schiphol and wonder why they don’t just fly to BRU instead? Connect the UN to the EU and capture some of the diamond-trade?
I recall that BRU has a decent connection with the Belgian National Rail network and to me that’s a very important factor when choosing an airport to arrive at/depart from. I wish Zaventem Airport success in the future.
Excellent points! Especially with Schiphol telling airlines to cut flights....
Wonderful video ... I have a question, next week I have to fly from BER via BRU to LHR with Brussels Airlines and I only have 1 hour to transit. Do you think it will be enough?
Thanks - should be plenty. If its a connection on the same ticket, Brussels will look after you even if it goes wrong... But you should be fine
Did they have statues to King Leopold of Belgium, or had he already been pulled down ?
Didn't notice any in the terminal at Brussels!
Even Prague Airport is a gem! Sad that we can't actually fly those mythical flag carriers like Sabena and Malev anymore. Star Gold is such a challenging tier to reach as a US resident but I did find a program that only requires 40K miles within 24mo on any member carrier, so no native minimums. Happy New Year!
- Red
Cheers Red. Since Aegean realised they were too generous and bumped their renewal from 24k to 70k it is really tough for a US resident.... All those UA-camrs making videos about what a good scheme it is.....
TK is 37.5k over two years for non-Turkish residents renewing Elite (*G). A match with which is how I'm retaining Star Gold when SAS leaves Star Alliance in a few months.
Did WAR-BRU-MAN a few years back.
Did you book via SN or LH did you credit to Miles & More?
I actually booked through Swiss - outbound with them and back on Brussels. Credited to Aegean but fell into the "P class earning 0" trip on Brussels - got a handful in P class outbound but 0 back... Swiss makes it quite hard to see the fare bucket when booking....
SN Brussels is the reincarnation of Sabina just as Swiss International is the reincarnation of Swiss Air.I flew Sabina in 1982 ,when I was a child,in a convoluted but cheaper way to get from Johannesburg to London via a Lux Air 707 to Luxembourg,a bus to Brussels and then Sabina to Heathrow.
Those were the days - half a dozen legs to get between cities now connected by half a dozen direct flights a day!
BRU is usually a good experience. Maybe because it is a small-ish airport with a higher than usual percentage of frequent flyers because of all of the EU institutions in the area and not many low cost carriers.
I'm quite looking forward to going again!
I do recall Sabena - J KUL,BRS,MAN and I was interested to hear Brussels may fly to Africa still.
Is BRS quieter to transit through I adk?
Brussels has lots of African coverage - former points of interest for Belgium.... Generally monopoly routes though so they seem to be quite expensive..... I think you mean Brussels rather than Bristol??? Other comments suggest I caught it at a quiet time of day!
@@MattsPlanet oh yes, Brussels...thanks for pointing that out
So why is Brussels airport so quiet? The demise of Sabena was a long time ago. High speed rail connections in that part of Europe of perhaps Schiphol with its rail links siphoning off traffic? Or simply too big for its needs? And then why when the EEC is effectively without borders what is the benefit of a subsidiary rather than just having Lufthansa there (or are there rules about that?)
On the contrary. I find BRU to be too small for its needs. I use BRU often and I find it always very (even too) busy. It must have been a coincidence it was so quiet while filming this video. I've never seen BRU this quiet :)
A few people have said it was unusually quiet when I went through - which was from around 12 to 4pm. I think it gets busier with the morning and evening rushes
Flown to and from BRU multiple times, i even prefer Luton to that 😂
Oooof! Strong words.... What was so bad about Brussels? Was I just lucky???
@@MattsPlanet as you saw there were no planes when you were there. When it is busy it's not the airport you saw...
Prague airport on the other hand I like very much, can't put my finger on why.
Another very well done video. We found Brussels airport very bright and non claustrophobic larger than we thought it would be. Easy to get the train into Brussels city centre its not bad at all.
Thanks - I'm told it gets busier but in the middle of the day it was great!
Is this a leffe advert
Sadly not! Couldn't drink many of them as they are quite strong but a couple worked nicely!
You talk just like baldrick. Boom boom boom....😂
I deny that accusation that I've ever shared a cunning plan....
Nice try for the Flemish accent, but Leffe is not Flemish. ;-)
Sorry! I'm never googling pronunciations again!
So you expected Brussels to be a "shade in a muddy field"? Seriously, why are you Brits always so negative about Belgium? I don't think there is another European country about which the British are as denigrating as Belgium. I really wonder why.
I actually said "I don't think I expected a shed in a muddy field" so you are misquoting me.... My point is that Brussels airport has close to a zero awareness level as a place to transit in Northern Europe, but I really liked it, as I did say in the video and can't understand why it isn't better known. Kind of the opposite of what you're accusing me of....
@@MattsPlanet I stand corrected, my bad!
07:03, wondering if your Flemish pronunciation of the word "Leffe" is correct?!... Ha ha, this is hilarious! "Leffe" is a Walloon place name. As you rightly point out, SN's crew is at least trilingual. It's a no-brainer in Belgium: any educated person is at least trilingual: NL-FR-GB. Time for the Brits to wake up and learn some foreign languages.
I stand to be corrected but I did find a UA-cam video on the subject! Heaven forbid a UA-cam video might not be 100% accurate!!!
You call it "Brussels Air", then "Brussels Airways", then "Brussels Air" again. Come on, mate, it's "Brussels Airlines" once and for all.
Fair enough! It's quite hard - I call Swiss Swiss Air too in the intro which annoyed people as well!