Royal Brunei Airlines Economy Class

Originally published on www.businesstraveller.asia 31/12/2009 - Filed under: Tried & Tested » Airlines » Tried & Tested » Tried & Tested » Airlines » Royal Brunei Airlines »

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BACKGROUND Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) is the primary carrier connecting the Sultanate to Asia-Pacific, Middle East and the UK. It operates a daily service between Bandar Seri Begawan and Hongkong, a flight that is codeshared with Dragonair.

CHECK IN The Orchid Garden Hotel, where I stayed in Bandar Seri Begawan, is less than five minutes’ drive to the airport. Nevertheless, I was bright and early for my car pickup and we arrived at Brunei International Airport at 9.10am for my flight BI635 set for 11.15am.

I was directed to Zone B for check in. A see-through glass panel partitioned off the area. I went through a security check as my bags were loaded onto the X-ray scanner. Once cleared, I was ushered to the check-in counter, and fortunately, there was no queue.

RBA offers online check in only on flights originating from the Sultanate. And since I didn’t avail of this facility, it was hardly surprising that I got a seat that was nearly at the back of the plane. Nevertheless, I was happy to get the window seat I requested. My bags were tagged and I had the boarding pass in hand in less than five minutes.

I went and cleared immigration immediately. It was still an hour and a half before boarding. I had plenty of time to spare – which was fine as I had arranged with the airline weeks before my trip for an access to its airport lounge so I could check it out (see review).

BOARDING There were no flight announcements in the lounge, which takes up the entire mezzanine floor of the boarding area. I sat on a sofa by the floor-to-ceiling glass wall so that Gate 1 was within my eyeline.

At 10.45am, I saw a line formed at the boarding gate and I quickly dashed out of the lounge and went downstairs. A few Business Class passengers, who were also taking the same flight, stood ahead of me for another pre-boarding security check. Fortunately, the line moved quickly and we were ushered into the boarding gate and through the airbridge.

The end of the airbridge connected to the door at the front of the aircraft, and all passengers used this one entrance. Boarding proceeded smoothly. Most passengers were already seated when I entered the plane.

THE SEAT The aircraft is a single-aisle Airbus A320 with two-class categories. Business Class has 12 seats arranged in three rows (six, seven and eight) with a 2-2 (AC-HK) configuration.

The Economy Class has 138 seats arranged in 23 rows in a 3-3 (ABC-HJK) configuration. The Economy cabin starts from row 26 through 58.

I walked towards row 50 past the plane’s wing section and took seat K, a window seat that I normally prefer during short-haul flights of five hours or shorter.

The plane was full but the two seats beside me were still empty and I was crossing my fingers in the hope it stayed that way. Both my laptop and my handbag were slim enough to fit underneath the seat in front of me, so I didn’t bother with the overhead storage.

The seat is pretty standard for Economy Class with its built-in radio, earphones and magazine pocket. With a 17.5in (44cm) width, the seat was wide enough for my slender frame. I refrained from extending my seat to its full 10-degree recline as a courtesy to the passenger sitting behind me.

As the cabin crew were distributing wet towels, my seatmate arrived and took the seat beside me. So much for having more breathing space, I thought. Fortunately, the seat beside him remained vacant and he moved there the minute the cabin crew said it was okay to switch seat.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? The best seats in the Economy cabin were between rows 26 and 28. These rows nearer the Business Class cabin seemed quieter. There was less foot traffic around this area during the flight as the toilets are located at the back of the plane. For those who make frequent trips to the loo, however, an aisle seat further down from the plane’s mid-section would work best.

THE FLIGHT Our journey began with a Muslim prayer for a safe trip, which I find quaint and reassuring. After that, our plane pushed back from Gate 1. It was exactly 11.15am.

Once at cruising altitude, seven miniature TV monitors dropped from the overhead panel at each side of the aisle, signalling the start of the inflight entertainment. As the programme being shown was not to my liking, I switched to radio and amused myself with easy listening music as I flipped through magazines I bought for mid-air reading.

About half an hour into the flight, the cabin crew started serving lunch. I asked for the chicken dish with rice, which was just lovely. This was my second RBA flight (the first one was five days earlier) and I was pleasantly surprised that the airline’s meals, even for Economy, were not the tasteless offerings that I normally encounter. After the meal, I decided to catch some shut eye and did so quiet soundly until pre-landing announcement came on.

ARRIVAL The plane touched down on time at 2.15pm. I cleared Hongkong immigration through the electronic channel and went straight to retrieve my bags. I was already aboard the airport train to Central half an hour after we landed.

VERDICT Royal Brunei Airlines has friendly staff and one of the best inflight meals in Economy Class.

FACT FILE

CONFIGURATION 2-2 in Business and 3-3 in Economy
SEAT WIDTH 17.5in/44cm
SEAT PITCH 31in/79cm to 32in/81cm, 35in/89cm for O/wing (the section near the wing)
SEAT RECLINE 10 degrees
PRICE Internet rates for a return Economy Class flight from Bandar Seri Begawan to Hongkong in mid-January started from B$473 (US$333).
CONTACT www.bruneiair.com

Gigi Onag

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