Our JFK-BRU Economy Flight on Brussels Airlines: Ok, not Great

This is the next installment in a series of posts on my recent trip to Europe. See my previous posts: Back from another  family reunion: galloping through Europe and driving my husband crazy and 24 hours in NYC with kids (plus review of Hyatt Place New York Midtown South)

The vast majority of flight reviews in this hobby cover business and first-class seats. And to be honest, it makes perfect sense. That’s where you get outsized value from your miles. Beyond that, there just isn’t that much of a differentiator when it comes to coach class. I don’t even look up reviews when redeeming miles in economy (though I hope you find this post helpful). If the price  is right, that’s all that matters.

In this particular case I didn’t even have a specific destination in mind. The goal was to get rid of my stash of Lifemiles at any cost. Well, within reason, of course. We have actually bought these miles in 2019 for my in-laws’ 2020 flight to Japan. It got cancelled  for obvious reason, and I just could never put them to good use. Since I was planning to meet my family in Europe this year, I’ve decided to burn this stash no matter what. As I’ve mentioned in my last post, my daughter asked to visit NYC and I’ve decided to make JFK my jumping-off point for Europe.

Since at the time, Brussels Airlines offered a relatively good deal in economy via Avianca (22k miles+$50 in fees per person), that’s what I ended up going with. Unfortunately, as I feared, the award rate has recently gone up to 35k miles, making it far less compelling.

Would I fly to Belgium if I didn’t have Avianca miles? Never. No offense to Belgians. But we didn’t know at the time where my family reunion would ultimately take place and Brussels seemed as good a place as any. I have to say it was truly a blessing in disguise, as that’s how we ended up in enchanting city of Bruges for two nights. It’s now in my top five favorite places in Europe, and I was lucky enough to visit most countries on that continent.

But back to Brussels Airlines.

Seat assignment mess

After I’ve already used up my miles, I have discovered an unpleasant surprise. Unfortunately, Brussels Airlines charges for advance seat assignments, or you can take your chances and let the airline pick the seats for you. Of course, in that case, you risk ending up in different parts of the plane.

We used miles from two different accounts, and had three record locators (my SIL joined us as well). She really wanted to sit with our kids, since she doesn’t get to see them as often after moving to Michigan. So, I went ahead and paid for seat assignments at $25 per person to make sure we are all together.

Well, a few months before the trip, I checked our reservations and noticed that the seat assignments were removed. I called and the agent said it was due to aircraft swap and reinstated the assignments at no extra charge. Well, a week before the trip I check again and guess what? No seats for us.

I call again and the same story repeats. Fast forward to our day in NYC. I log in to check in for our Brussels Airlines flight and the seat assignments are removed again. They put us all separately. Come on! This time I just didn’t feel like calling because there would be no guarantee that the same thing wouldn’t happen again. I figured I would sort it out at the airport, which I did. It took thirty minutes to get it resolved, and even then we didn’t have seats together aside from me and my husband. My SIL and kids were on the opposite side of the plane, and our daughter was separated from them, though was sitting only a few rows away.

After our trip to Europe, I emailed  Brussels Airlines asking for refund for the seat assignments. Crickets. I waited a month and filed a DOT complaint, though haven’t heard back yet. The moral of the story is: don’t pay for advance seat assignments, especially if you only have one record locator for the whole family.  In al likelihood, you will be seated together for free anyway. It was a waste of money in my case, though I’m hoping to get at least a partial refund. Unfortunately, it was too late to file for a chargeback on my credit card.

Brief review of our flight

Here is some information on the aircraft in case you are curious:

The plane itself was in good shape, and the floor was clean. Flight  attendants  were  cordial,  though  not  super  friendly.

Bare feet, which I didn’t even notice before

The seats were fairly comfortable, and the leg room was decent (I’m very tall at almost 6 feet):

I did like the separate cup holder

My husband is a few inches taller than me, so it was definitely a tight squeeze for him. The plane was completely full, and I was very happy that we got a two-seater section to ourselves.

Food wasn’t great, though I’ve certainly had worse (United, I’m looking at you):

My husband got some sort of steak with mashed potatoes, which looked downright nasty to me:

I’ve read that Brussels Airlines gives all the passengers chocolates at the end of the flight. But nope, no such luck for yours truly. Hmm, maybe I should file another DOT complaint for that. I’m kidding, I’m kidding.

Movie selection via individual screens was decent, with a few recent movies in English.

The flight was delayed, but it was due to bad weather at JFK, so not the airline’s fault.

All in all, an OK airline, but certainly nothing to go out of your way for.

Final thoughts

The flight was as comfortable as I expected, which is to say it was downright brutal. But that was mostly because it was a redeye, and I really hate those with a passion.

When I was younger, I could tolerate redeyes, but now I go out of my way to fly during the day. Unfortunately, when you are going to Europe, there aren’t many options aside from flying during the night.

That said, the flight lasted less than 7 hours, so it wasn’t the end of the world. I doubt I would have slept much in business class regardless. Bottom line is, we survived and lived to tell the tale. It’s not a comfortable way to cross the Atlantic, but it’s not like I have a medical condition that makes sitting in economy dangerous in any way. Ditto for my husband.

That may change in the future, but for now I’m just grateful that we were able to fly to Europe during the height of summer at a pretty good deal. I can’t really call it “free”, as 70% of miles were bought for 1.5 cents apiece. The rest were transferred from Amex MR program. Still, at roughly around $370 per person all-in including taxes, I’m happy with the deal we got. Certainly better than I could get right now. Plus, my stash  of Lifemiles was a sunk cost at that point. And again, I will be forever grateful to Avianca for nudging me to visit Bruges. Can’t put a price on that.

Would I have preferred to fly in business class? You bet. But at 63k Avianca miles vs. 22k miles per person in economy it wasn’t a luxury I felt I could justify. That said, the next time we go to Europe, I’m going to at least try to get premium economy for me and my husband. If I can find Air France Flying Blue redemption for 50k miles in business class from Miami, we may end up going that route. Especially if I can get this price all the way to Poland (with a connection in Paris). There are higher fuel surcharges to consider, but it would only be for me and my husband. Oh yes, the kids will likely be flying in economy unless I’m swimming in transferrable points (doubtful).