Brussels Airlines passengers pleased with new long haul cabin

5/4/12

Brussels Airlines inaugurated its brand new long haul cabin this week, on a flight to Cameroon. The first long haul aircraft to be refurbished with the new Business Class flat bed seats, the ergonomic Economy Class seats and a state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system, is now flying between Brussels Airport and Africa and will soon set course to New York JFK. The first passengers that were welcomed on board were very satisfied with the result.

The first retrofitted airplane, Brussels Airlines Airbus A330-300 (registration OO-SFW), left the hangars of Lufthansa Technik Malta last weekend after a month long maintenance and refurbishment that took roughly 10.000 man-hours. In the last few days the first passengers already got a taste of the new product on board flights to Cameroon, Gambia and Sierra Leone. Their reactions were very positive. ‘This investment in superior quality and comfort was very much appreciated by all passengers”, was the conclusion of the Brussels Airlines crews after the first flights. “Our company now positions itself as a qualitative trendsetter.”

Metamorphosis

A big alteration took place with comfort, design and quality at the heart of every change. Business Class passengers can enjoy e new seat that can be transformed into a fully flat bed (180° flat surface). The flat bed, developped by Thompson Aero Seating, is equipped with a pneumatic cushion that allows passengers to choose the softness of his/her seat. Thanks to a smart cabin configuration, 24 out of 30 Business Class seats have direct access to the aisle and 10 of those are single seats, without neighbouring places. Economy Class passengers travel in a new ergonomically designed seat and offers generous leg space, an adjustable leather headrest and more travel comfort overall. A new revolutionary in-flight entertainment system, called RAVE, offers over 100 hours of on-demand movies, documentaries, games, music and e-reading material.
Another new technology is the ‘Niceview’ flight information programme (developed by Lufthansa Technik), offering a three-dimensional view from various camera perspectives on which passengers can follow the exact course of the aircraft. The system also offers information on connecting flights.

The new long haul product will be gradually introduced on the entire intercontinental fleet throughout 2012.

Discover the new cabin in 3D here.

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About Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines is the Belgian airline that offers the widest choice of flights to and from its base in Brussels Airport. The group has more than 3.300 employees and 49 aircraft that operate some 300 punctual flights daily, connecting the Capital of Europe to over 70 premium European and African airports and New York City (as from June 2012).
On its European routes, operated with AVRO, Boeing 737, and Airbus A319/A320, Brussels Airlines offers the choice of a premium service at a very high level (“b.business”), an ultra-flexible product, which offers time-saving and comfort at reasonable prices (“b.flex economy+”) and a low fare product (“b.light economy”). On medium- and long-haul flights, the airline operates traditional business or economy class. Long-haul flights are operated with Airbus A330-200 and A330-300 aircraft.
In addition to 21 destinations in Africa, Brussels Airlines and its intercontinental partners also offer long-haul service to the United Arab Emirates, China, Thailand, India and North America.
Brussels Airlines is owned by SN Airholding and is backed up by more than 80 years of aviation experience in Belgium. In June 2009, Lufthansa announced its interest in the management structure and capital of the Belgian airline. Brussels Airlines has been a member of the global airline alliance Star Alliance since 9 December 2009.