Wednesday newsletters at all times function a lodge or flight evaluation.
Final summer season, I loved an exceptional safari & seaside vacation in South Africa and Mozambique, in all probability my greatest vacation ever. You possibly can learn my journey stories right here:
In the present day: Evaluate of Air Belgium’s Airbus A330neo Enterprise Class (Johannesburg to Brussels)
Final summer season, I traveled with pals to Southern Africa. I flew with Air France onboard a Boeing 777 outfitted with the service’s latest Enterprise Class cabin with sliding doorways. My pals booked Enterprise Class flights with Air Belgium and I requested them to take some movies & photographs of their onboard expertise (I consider they did a fairly good job, so kudos to them). Air Belgium is a Brussels primarily based airline working a fleet of 9 plane together with 4 passenger plane and 5 full-freighter plane: 2 Airbus A330-900 (A330neo), 2 Airbus A330-200, 2 Airbus A330F, and three Boeing B747-8F. Sadly, due to a restructuring course of, Air Belgium ended all scheduled passenger flights in October 2023. The service presently solely operates cargo flights in addition to chartered flights on behalf of different airways (e.g. British Airways, LOT Polish Airways). As an aviation geek and to honor Air Belgium’s nice onboard service, I made a decision to nonetheless publish this journey report (even though it isn’t actually related anymore).
Have you ever ever flown with Air Belgium? If that’s the case, what was your expertise? Go away a remark.
- Journey: Johannesburg (JNB) to Brussels (BRU)
- Airline: Air Belgium
- Plane kind: Airbus A330neo
- Plane registration quantity: OO-ABG
- On time departure: sure (7 pm)
- On time arrival: sure (6 am)
- Miles: 5510 mi (8870 km)
- Flight time: 10 hours
- Seat: 4A
- Class: Enterprise Class
On this evaluation (extra data & photographs beneath the YouTube video):
- Price of the ticket
- Shongololo Lounge at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Airport
- Enterprise Class cabin
- Enterprise Class seat (+ greatest & worst seats)
- Facilities & bedding
- Meals
- Leisure
- Onboard web
- Different inflight experiences
- Verdict (rating)
1. COST OF THE TICKET
The value for the roundtrip ticket (Brussels-Johannesburg-Brussels) was 1800 euros. The ticket was booked on the Air Belgium web site throughout an internet sale.
2. SHONGOLOLO LOUNGE AT JOHANNESBURG O.R. TAMBO AIRPORT
Air Belgium provided its passengers entry to the Shongololo Lounge lounge at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Airport. The Shongololo lounge companions with a number of airways for his or her premium cabin passengers, together with Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Singapore Airways. The lounge presents loads of seating and a up to date decor. A self-service buffet presents a good choice of scorching meals, sandwiches, greens, contemporary fruits, pastries,, on the spot noodles, curries and desserts. The drinks choice is great and contains a number of well-known South African purple and white wines.
3. BUSINESS CLASS CABIN
Air Belgium’s Airbus A330neo plane options one Enterprise Class cabin on the entrance of the cabin with 30 lie-flat seats. Behind this are 21 Premium Economic system Class seats, with one other 235 Economic system Class seats on the plane’s rear. This offers a complete passenger capability of 286.
The service has chosen to put in Solstys-style, absolutely lie flat seats in its Enterprise Class cabin. The seats are unfold over 8 rows and organized in a 1-2-1 format, with all seats going through ahead and providing direct aisle entry. The window seats are solo seats, and so they alternate between seats nearer to the window (which provide extra privateness) and seats nearer to the aisle (that are extra uncovered). The seats within the heart of the airplane are paired seats, alternating between ‘honeymoon’ seats (seats subsequent to one another with a divider which will be raised or lowered) and seats separated by a console. The center pair and window seats have a couple of inches/cm extra size in mattress mode in comparison with their aisle counterparts. This can be a related product just like the one you discover on Iberia, Emirates (A380 plane), Qantas, Asiana, and Thai Airways.
Air Belgium’s Enterprise Class cabin has a clear, fashionable however considerably sterile look. The colour palette varies from white (cabin partitions) to comfortable gray (seat shells, tray tables, and bedding) to darkish gray (seat cushions). The one colourful contact within the cabin is fashioned by Air Belgium’s signature purple brand, which is prominently displayed on the wall within the aft of the cabin.
Click on right here for a seat map of Air Belgium’s A330neo.
4. BUSINESS CLASS SEAT (+ BEST & WORST SEATS)
Air Belgium’s Enterprise Class seat contains a pitch of 78 inch (198 cm) and width of 26 inch (66 cm). The seat is snug and well-padded.
Subsequent to the seat is a console with some space for storing that can be utilized to stow away smaller objects akin to glasses, wallets or a cell phone (bigger objects must be saved within the overhead bins or beneath the ottoman). This facet of the seat additionally contains a studying mild, a panel & handset for the seat & inflight leisure controls, a USB port, an audio jack, and an influence outlet to cost private units.
In entrance of the seat is a hard and fast 16-inch HD leisure display screen with an ottoman (footrest) beneath. The latter turns into a part of the flat-bed (when the seat is reclined) and permits you to lengthen your legs as a lot as you prefer to. Subsequent to the leisure display screen is a big tray desk, which is hooked up to the again of the seat in entrance and which will be pulled out fairly simply; the desk may also be moved out-of-the-way when you could rise up.
On the push of a button, the seat reclines into a totally and really snug flatbed with a size of 78 inch (200 cm), together with the footrest.
What are the greatest Enterprise Class seats on Air Belgium’s A330neo?
- Solo vacationers ought to go for the window seats. Home windows seats are alternately positioned nearer to the window (in rows 2, 4, 6 and eight) or to the aisle (in rows 1, 3, 5 and seven). The seats nearer to the window are those you need to select (you’ll really feel extra uncovered within the different seats, that are extra positioned alongside the aisle than the window).
- {Couples} and good pals ought to go for one of many so-called ‘honeymoon’ center seats (in rows 1, 3, 5 and seven).
What are the worst Enterprise Class seats on Air Belgium’s A330neo?
- Seats in row 1 and eight could undergo from some noise from the galley and bathroom.
- I additionally recommend to keep away from the final row of Enterprise Class, row 8, which is positioned in entrance of the Premium Economic system bassinet seats.
- In case you are touring solo, you don’t need to select one of many honeymoon seats (it might be downright awkward when you find yourself subsequent to a stranger in that configuration). In case you’d be assigned a honyemoon seat, there’s a divider which you can elevate although for extra privateness.
- The home windows seats in rows 1, 3, 5 and seven face into the aisle and are usually not as non-public because the window seats in rows 2, 4, 6 and eight.
Click on right here for a seat map of Air Belgium’s A330neo.
5. AMENITIES & BEDDING
Air Belgium’s Enterprise Class passengers get the next facilities throughout a longhaul flight:
- An amenity package with a dental package, comb, socks, eye shades and ear plugs
- Respectable bedding, comprised of a fluffy pillow and heat blanket
- Air Belgium labelled noise-cancelling headphones
6. MEALS
On this in a single day flight, a dinner (after takeoff) and breakfast (previous to touchdown) had been served.
My pals select the next choice from the menu:
-
Starter: roasted kingklip with Cape Malay curry, pineapple, peppers and purple onion salsa
-
Essential course (first selection): pan-fried Norwegian salmon, gentle harissa sauce, butternut and child squash purée
-
Essential course (second selection): mushroom ravioli with herbs, tomato sauce, boccocini cheese, and contemporary pesto
Snacks had been provided within the Enterprise Class galley through the night time (in case somebody would get hungry once more).
Ninety minutes prior touchdown, a breakfast was served with a scorching dish: brioche French toast, caramelised pineapple purée, ardour fruit coulis, and vanilla sauce. After breakfast, high quality artisanal chocolate bars made out of African Grand Cru cocoa beans had been provided as a goodbye current.
7. ENTERTAINMENT
Air Belgium’s inflight leisure system presents as much as 120 movies, documentaries, cartoons and TV collection. There’s a various vary of leisure and passengers can entry a library of 600 music tracks and a dozen video games for all ages. ARC maps provide all the mandatory route data, together with data on the nation overflown, views from the cockpit, and 3D visualization.
8. ONBOARD INTERNET
Air Belgium’s A330neo planes are outfitted with WiFi and three totally different web packages are provided:
- Chat (5€): permits to ship textual content messages from a pill or smartphone together with WhatsApp, iMessage and Messenger for the complete length of the flight.
- Surf Simple (12€): permits to ship emails, surf on net mild pages and social media for the complete length of your flight.
- Surf Plus (20€):: permits to browse on bigger net pages and entry VPN and audio streaming in the course of your flight.
9. OTHER INFLIGHT EXPERIENCES
# CREW: The cabin crew on this flight was very well mannered, courteous and able to assist.
# LAVATORY: Air Belgium’s A330neo plane options three bathrooms for Enterprise Class passengers: one is positioned behind the cockpit and the opposite two within the galley behind the Enterprise Class cabin.
10. VERDICT
- Cabin design: 8/10
- Seat privateness: 8/10
- Seat consolation (upright): 8/10
- Seat consolation (mattress place): 8/10
- Meals (high quality): 8/10
- Meals (amount): 9/10
- Inflight leisure : 8/10
- WiFi: 8/10
- Service: 9/10
- General expertise good: 8,2/10
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