Review - Brussels Airlines Business Class A330-200 Washington Dulles to Brussels

SN516 IAD-BRU

May 15, 2018

Check-in:

Brussels Airlines is a small quirky airline within the European giant Lufthansa Group. The airline only flies to New York and DC in the US, and I was able to redeem 55,000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles for this flight. Without carrier-imposed surcharges, I consider it to be a pretty decent deal. Aeroplan is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards and Capital One Miles. United also operates a daily flight to Brussels from DC, but who wants to fly United…

My boyfriend dropped me off at Dulles Airport, and I headed to Brussels Airlines priority check-in desk. The ground staff told me the flight was canceled yesterday so everybody was rebooked on today’s flight. I was ready to make a scene (by that I mean tweet my complaint and tag them) if they had downgraded me to economy, but as it turned out there were only 6 passengers in business class, which made me wonder what the average load was for this flight.

Priority security at Dulles was out of service more often than McDonald’s ice cream machine, so I was enlisted to the general lane. Fortunately the wait time was never awfully bad, and I was through in 15mins.

Lounge:

There were quite some lounge options in Dulles concourse B. Brussels Airlines naturally used the Lufthansa Senator/Business Lounge. However, as a member of Star Alliance, Brussels Airlines passengers could also visit Turkish Airlines Lounge. I was actually at the opening ceremony of the lounge back in 2016 and consider it to be the best at Dulles.

Turkish Airlines Lounge Business Center IAD

The décor was beautiful. The dark neutral wood and marble finishes set the ambience. The seats along the palm trees centerpiece, sandwiched between a fireplace and an impressive bar, were the best in house. The massive floor-to-ceiling windows made for amazing plane-spotting.

The lounge also provided hot dishes throughout the day, and they were ACTUALLY delicious. Other than Turkish kebabs (but like what more could you want), there were 4 different kinds of hummus, salads, soups, pita bread, salmon and pasta. Feeling thirsty? Alcoholic beverages were available for free at the bar, including champagne, like, from France, not just sparkling wine. Other unnecessary amenities consisted of a waterfall in the quiet area for you to get some zen before your flight and diabetic sweets like baklava and lokum. Necessary amenities included a shower suite and a prayer room. As much as I would have loved to stay in the lounge longer and drink myself to oblivion, my flight was called to board.

Boarding:

Since the flight had a light load, the gate area was rather empty. Boarding commenced quickly, and I was welcomed by the male purser and directed to my seat.

Brussels Airlines A330-200 Business Class Cabin

Brussels Airlines A330-200 Business Class Seat

Quite a literature selection? Brussels Airlines had the same staggered seats in business class as other Lufthansa Group airlines, such as Austrian Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines. The rows rotated with having either 1 or 2 seats, and I sat in the first row closer to the windows. It wasn’t the most cutting-edge hard product.

Once the other 5 business class passengers appeared, the male purser came by to introduce himself, as well as offering welcome drinks. There was kir royale already on his tray, so I took him up on that. There wasn’t nuts to go along with it though.

Brussels Airlines A330-200 Business Class Pre-departure Drink IAD-BRU

I was then offered an amenity kit, which was really basic and didn’t even have lotion. Do Belgians just rub melted chocolate on their skin to moisturize?

Brussels Airlines A330-200 Business Class Amenity Kit IAD-BRU

The menu and wine list were also waiting at the seat, which read as follows:

Brussels Airlines Business Class Menu IAD-BRU

Brussels Airlines Business Class Wine List IAD-BRU

Rejoice Belgian beers! The champagne onboard was the Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée, which was solid for business class. We pushed back on time, however, there was some heavy weather in the New York airspace, so we sat on the tarmac for about an hour. While being delayed, the flight attendants came out to offer drinks. I opted for a kir royale again, which was served with mixed nuts.

Brussels Airlines Business Class Pre-departure Drink Round 2 IAD-BRU

Inflight:

Service started shortly after take-off, as it should for eastbound red-eyes. Everything except main course was served on one tray, and there was no apéritif. The starter was a balik smoked salmon, served with a julienne of jicama and mango and wasabi mayonnaise, topped with baby micro greens. That was quite a Michelin way to describe something mediocre. There was also a bread roll, a cheese plate with grapes and an apple caramel crumble cake.

Brussels Airlines Business Class Dinner Starter IAD-BRU

For the main, I chose the pan Asian braised veal cheeks with pea mashed potatoes, baby turnip and white asparagus. This dish was really flavorful, too bad the veal cheek was only a bite size.

Brussels Airlines Business Class Dinner Main Course IAD-BRU

I didn’t finish the mash, and instead asked to try the red pepper mahi with sauce vierge, butternut squash and roasted fingerling potatoes. The verdict? Should’ve known not to order fish on an airplane…

It was time for rest, as we were off the shores in Canada. I checked out the inflight entertainment system, which was highly responsive, like iOS responsive not Android. And of course Brussels Airlines would have Rune RK remix…

Brussels Airlines A330-200 Business Class IFE

I was able to sleep for a little bit. The pillow was so flimsy that I had to snag 4 extra ones to be slightly more comfortable. The older generation staggered seats had really limited foot space, and I’m talking as someone who can wear kids' shoes…

As we were approaching Brussels, a continental breakfast was served.

Brussels Airlines Business Class Breakfast IAD-BRU

On Arrival:

As the flight came to an end, the male purser reemerged to chat with all (6) passengers. He also brought a box of Neuhaus chocolates to thank everyone for flying Brussels Airlines, which I thought was a nice touch.

We were an hour behind schedule when we landed. The service was great on this flight, largely thanks to an empty cabin, which allowed flight attendants to interact with passengers and personalize service. The hard product was fine for a 7hr hop across the pond. Brussels Airlines lacks good amenities onboard, such as decent bedding and better-stocked amenity kits. But I guess it makes up for your sleeping quality if you just pound the 100 kinds of beers aboard.

Review - Brussels Airlines Business Class A330-200 Washington Dulles to Brussels

SN516 IAD-BRU

May 15, 2018

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