The Ryanair of Long Haul Travel (Royal Brunei Airlines)

Member Name: flodombey

Product:	Royal Brunei Airlines
Date:	17/02/09 (231 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low price

Disadvantages: Comfort, additional stops, no alcohol, dodgy technology

I flew to Brisbane with Royal Brunei in May 2008 with my friend Claire (who had previously done the same trip a few times with Qantas/Emirates). We were doing our trip on a budget and therefore booked with Royal Brunei because we could get a return from Heathrow for £640 which was by far the cheapest fare. By the time we got back to Heathrow at the end of the return flight we had both decided we would have happily paid the extra just to fly with a different airline, for the following reasons:

1) Journey - when we booked the flight (online through their website direct) the details showed that the flight to Brisbane would be via Brunei where we would change planes. One of the most critical factors we were looking for was a flight with only one stop on the way because Claire is a nervous flyer to the extent that she takes prescribed sedatives and so the less stops and associated getting on and off the plane the better as far as we were concerned. This flight showed as only one stop in Brunei and at a price we liked so we went for it...however...

On checking in for the flight it transpired that we would be making a stop to collect more passengers in Dubai, where we would be obliged to disembark even if we were continuing on to Brunei/Brisbane. We were quite annoyed about this as it had not been on any of the previous details, however on researching the airline subsequently this is a trick that they pull quite often - so just be aware that the route you think you are taking may involve more stops than you think.

The most annoying aspect of this was that at Dubai we were forced to disembark (Claire bordering on sleepwalking!) walk miles through the airport including through two security checks (one as we got off and one as we got back on) just to get back to the same gate but on the upper level for departures. Seeing as we were simply performing an administrative obligation and had no intention of either staying in Dubai or even leaving the airport it was frustrating to be made to walk the one way system for a good 15 minutes when we could have simply gone up an available esculator connecting the arrivals and departures at the same gate.

2) Food and Drink - now while Claire doses herself with sedatives I like to indulge in a glass of wine or a beer or two to relax, I find this will also help me to drop off on a long haul flight. However, Royal Brunei are a muslim airline and do not serve any alcohol on their flights. This was fair enough and I actually knew about it in advance due to seeing it on their website, however, it was really interesting to see what happened to people who tried to cheat the system.

Some people in front of us had taken on some miniature bottles of whisky and asked for a coke to make their own drinks, they were refused the coke and told that it was not just against RB's policy to serve drinks but also they did not condone people bringing their own on board. These people looked annoyed but accepted this. When we got to Dubai they bought some alcohol in duty free, but then when we landed in Brunei this was confiscated from them at the gate (as was all alcohol from anybody who had bought duty free both at Dubai and at Heathrow). Apparently this is standard practice in Brunei because it is a Muslim state - but as the majority of Royal Brunei flights go through this airport you should be aware of this, we had the opinion that the (rather rude and abrupt) gate staff at Brunei probably make a packet selling what they confiscate on the black market.

The food on the flights was ok - a lot of it is Asian influenced but it was nice enough, what was slightly annoying was that every time a meal came round we were told we could have (eg) vegerarian or lamb, I dont eat much meat so would choose veggie only to have the cabin crew come back 2 mins later to say all the veggie had gone. There was nowhere on the web booking to specify what kind of meal we wanted although everything was of course halal, if I had been a strict veggie I would not have been happy.

3) On Board Entertainment - we had numerous problems with the on board entertainment and on a 24 hour flight it really is not on. On the first leg of the outward flight (LHR - Dubai - Brunei) we had a screen each and a selection of films to watch with controls so you could pause, rewind etc, this was great until a couple of hours into the flight when the screens started freezing and would have to be 're-set' by a steward, this then meant you would have to slowly fast forward through the film to get back to where you were, it happened 3 times in a row to me and I gave up trying to see the end of The Golden Compass in the end.

On the final leg of the flight out (Brunei - Brisbane) there were no individual screens and we were informed after take off that the large overhead screens were out of order, so we had an 8 hour flight without screens at all. By this point I was climbing the walls for something to do. The return flight was equally plagued by dodgy screens although mine worked better and froze less than it had on the journey out.

There are of course some good points to the airline too - the flight crew were friendly and as helpful as possible. The other good point is of course the price - if you need a flight to Australia on a budget then if you can cope with the above raised issues then this is for you.

To summarise, the planes are old and the on board technology is not very reliable (make sure you have alternative things to do), you cant have alcohol and dont attempt to take duty free with you because it will be confiscated. Also be aware you may well be making stops you did not plan for.

Personally I will definitely be paying extra and avoiding Royal Brunei if I travel to Australia again, for me on a flight that long comfort and happiness are paramount and those two key features were sadly lacking with this airline.

Summary: No frills long haul travel, only use if price is the most important factor for you.