Royal Brunei Airlines - Experience?

[whybother]

I'm off to Aus (Melbourne) in a couple of months, and the travel agent has suggested Royal Brunei Airlines as an option.

Royal Brunei come in about 10,000 baht cheaper than Thai for economy.

I usually fly Thai, because they fly direct, but I thought I would look at options this time.

Has anyone had any experience flying with Royal Brunei?

[RabC]

Have a look here, seem reasonable.

http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/rba.htm

[yermanee]

At one time I was silver member with them, but they stopped flying to Frankfurt. They were one of the first airlines to offer reclining flatbed seats at a reasonable price. Only drawback could be that they are a dry airline which I had no problems with, but could be a no no for some.

Service on board was good (as was the coffee) , and if I were to fly to one of their destinations I would not hesitate to use them again if the price was right.

Good luck

Yermanee

Edited December 19, 2012 by yermanee

[RabC]

At one time I was silver member with them, but they stopped flying to Frankfurt. They were one of the first airlines to offer reclining flatbed seats at a reasonable price. Only drawback could be that they are a dry airline which I had no problems with, but could be a no no for some.

Service on board was good (as was the coffee) , and if I were to fly to one of their destinations I would not hesitate to use them again if the price was right.

Good luck

Yermanee

You certainly used to be allowed to take your own alcohol onboard but with the new rules and transiting through Brunei I am not sure if it will be possible for you.

[whybother]

At one time I was silver member with them, but they stopped flying to Frankfurt. They were one of the first airlines to offer reclining flatbed seats at a reasonable price. Only drawback could be that they are a dry airline which I had no problems with, but could be a no no for some.

Service on board was good (as was the coffee) , and if I were to fly to one of their destinations I would not hesitate to use them again if the price was right.

Good luck

Yermanee

You certainly used to be allowed to take your own alcohol onboard but with the new rules and transiting through Brunei I am not sure if it will be possible for you.

According to the website, all flights are alcohol free.

[yermanee]

At one time I was silver member with them, but they stopped flying to Frankfurt. They were one of the first airlines to offer reclining flatbed seats at a reasonable price. Only drawback could be that they are a dry airline which I had no problems with, but could be a no no for some.

Service on board was good (as was the coffee) , and if I were to fly to one of their destinations I would not hesitate to use them again if the price was right.

Good luck

Yermanee

You certainly used to be allowed to take your own alcohol onboard but with the new rules and transiting through Brunei I am not sure if it will be possible for you.

According to the website, all flights are alcohol free.

Indeed, as I said no problem for me even on a 12 hr flight, but might be a reason for some to look elsewhere.

Yermanee

[dundas]

I've flown them several times in the past few years. Stopping in Brunei does make the trip a bit longer and as other posters have said, they're a dry airline which has its disadvantages; the plus side is that there haven't been any drunken yobs on any of the flights I've been on. I liked the seats on the 777 services between Brunei and Melbourne (reasonably spacious for Economy), the food is OK, and they are reliable. And unlike low cost carriers, there are no fees for the hidden extras - seat allocation, luggage, food and water (or even, as in the case of Scoot, a fee for a guaranteed transit connection). If you pay a little extra, you can even get frequent flyer points. I think of them as a full service carrier at a low cost carrier rate (although that isn't true of all routes).

Edited December 19, 2012 by dundas

[Shrubbery]

For a National carrier they are a joke. I have no option but to fly RBA short haul and I am still racking my brains to find something positive about them.

In most cases the cabin crew and ground staff are unhelpful and unfriendly, the exceptions being the non locals.

On board catering is lousy and they will often run out of options.

They are dry, but you can bring your own.

Brunei Airport for a layover is one of the worst places possible with very little to do, though it is in the process of being refurbished.

There is also no longer a smoking room in the departure hall.

[songhklasid]

I flew SYD-BKK once with the family, she still reminds me of it, about a 4hr stopover @ brunei, nothing to do,but the flight BRUNEI-BKK was in a 767, with an australian pilot (x-ansett), It was still to this day the most remarkable landing I ever had, I don't know if he had a change of plan or whatever but we descended at a very steep angle to a perfect landing, you could tell he knew his shit.

regards songhklasid.

[Songhua]

Although alcohol free, the service was 'ok' on a Brisbane - Bangkok flight we took last year. But the stopover in Brunei for six or seven hours was the pits. I've seen better airports in country towns.

IIRC though, you can obtain a pass to do a tour/ lunch outside the airport in an escorted group,