poppy14

Flying from Brissy to London in sep , flown with them bac in 2003 business class [gift] hav done a silly thing & read some reviews which were all pretty much bad !!!!! yikes , i know its to late to change but just wondered iof u hav any tips ect ,people say u get what u pay for but its not that much cheaper than rest . its our first visit bac since being here 7yrs , x

Bermudashorts

Never flown with them myself but my husband did in economy a few years back. the reviews were not great then, but he really liked them because the planes were empty all legs of his journey and he was able to stretch out over 4 seats every time.

moneypenny20

We did a trip back to the UK and back home again with them 2 years ago (exactly strangely enough) and were very happy with them. Had 3 seven hour trips but on the way back they arranged for us to have an overnight stop - they changed the flight times a while before we flew and the hotel and food was on them. I don't drink on flights and the girls were 15 and 13 so lack of alcohol was unimportant.

I had a blinder of a migraine on the way back and the cabin crew were brilliant. It was a full flight so they couldn't give me space to lie down but they did keep me up near the galley with them, ice cold flannels constantly and plenty of pain killers (bearing in mind we were flying between Dubai and Bandar, both drug free).

Only downside was two of the tvs didn't work on the UK bound section but I've had that with Singapore so didn't hold it against them. Food was good. I'd happily use them again.

eddie007

Mother flew out with them (AGAIN) and will be flying back to the uk at the end of july with them... they treat her like a queen... being an unaccompanied elder... nothing was too much trouble for the staff... and she reckons the food was good too...

Thats the fourth time she's flown with them.... and would happily appear in adverts ... if they offered her a free flight or two...

stuartsummers1980

The food was good, but if you're not a fan of spicy food you'd probably need to tell them as it was all spicy dishes. One thing to bear in mind, if you like a drink then you're in for a long wait for one as they don't serve alchohol on their flights. Other than that I was pleasantly surprised that Royal Brunei were as good as they were bearing in mind they were the cheapest. Had all the film choices I get on all the other airlines.

PDC

We've flown 2 return flights with them, and they were fine. The stops proved a life-saver with a baby, and although they don't serve alcohol, you are allowed to drink alcohol you've bought at Duty Free...if you're desperate. The in-flight entertainment didn't have all the latest movies, but the food was great and the staff really friendly.

bra_boy

I've flown with RBA many times on several routes. You will find that the staff are polite and accommodating, like Bruneians in general. However, when things go wrong nobody seems to be able to help. Once I found myself sitting on the tarmac at Dubai for an hour at 35C without AC or water or any explanation of why we were waiting. The crew were just putting up with it too, without knowing what was going on. Then the pilot took us to Thailand instead of Brunei as a fault with the plane meant that he couldn't get up high enough (so used more fuel).

The most common thing that can go wrong is that you have a wonky chair or headrest. The quality of food out of Brunei is dire, but OK from other airports. The planes could well be full of Bruneians or Filipinos going/leaving home, so don't expect an empty flight. A planeful of Bruneians is not a problem though, as they are very quiet travellers - sleep most of the time.

A stopover in Brunei would be a nice way to break the trip. Ask your hotel to arrange a trip up the Temburong River - you won't regret it.

The_Griswolds

Yes flew with them in March and April this year when we did our validation trip, Mrs Griswolds and the kids flew from London, I joined them onboard in Dubai through to Brizzie. Food was very much the same outward and back on all sectors, Chicken & rice, Beef & rice or Fish and rice, with the Beef & rice, and Fish & Rice they also served chicken!

Needless to say we didn't eat rice for a while .

Seats and entertainment were ok considering the price we paid for 4 Adults and a child (less than half of Emirates), plenty of legroom etc. My son Rusty tells me that they have recently swaped the aging 767's we were on to newer 777 aircraft.

On the way back from Brizzie at Brunei airport Mrs Griswold suggested that if we flew with RBA again we should stopover for a few days to explore. Little did we know but 3 hours into the flight to Dubai we would turn back for Brunei to spend the next 6 days at RBA's expense in a 4 Star Hotel due to the Volcano eruption in Iceland closing the UK airspace .

We had a great time visited the water village, took a boat tour up the river to see the Monkeys and the Sultans palace, strolled around the local market, travelled everywhere by bus, locals are very friendly indeed. We also hired a car and visited Malaysia. As the Sultanate is a "dry" country we brought back beer and wine (you have to complete a customs declaration at the border) for our own consumption .

During the disruption the RBA staff were very accommodating, well organised and helpful, watching the TV, and seeing standard passengers all over Asia we felt very privileged indeed as we slept in our 4* Suite!

We would definitely use them again but due to the luggage allowance we will probably use Emirates when we make the move permanent.

Enjoy your trip, if you can arrange a stopover I would recommend spending a day or two. Enjoy your trip.

MrCro

no booze, no chance! can't fly without my lucky scotch and ginger ale!

sean bassett

flew with them last year to validate , they were excellent, nothing to much trouble would have flown back in august with them but quantus were cheaper for our one way

The_Griswolds

Although they don't serve booze you can take your own on board

It's amusing to see your fellow passengers faces when the penny drops that they could bring their own on board. A G&T helps all that rice go down a treat.

poppy14

A BIG THANKS GUYS as i said we had flown with them b4 some yrs back ,

all pretty positive comments , think i would b peeved if tv didnt wrk as its a life saver ,
wish i had thought of a stopover , food dont really fuss us & knew bout the booze , i think i should stop looking at reviews in future ,
yes really lookin forward to seeing good old suffolk/norfolk again as like i said not been back in the 7yrs weve been here , just hope they get long summer , once again thanks, xx

Scotty1

Not recently but afraid I will not fly with them again. They are cheaper than others, and was well prepared for the no alcohol, but the last minute and substantial schedule changes, the really crappy seat that was faulty (and they knew it), the non working IFE, the theft of several items at Dubai, and the complete lack of a response to my complaints, put them in the "never again" category.

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

For a more balanced view

Scotty

gmralston

I used them Dec 09 into Brisbane. Royal Brunei are the worst airline I have ever used, their agents are also lyers. I have posted on this forum about this airline before. They are cheap for a reason and some people, it seems have been lucky. The planes are discrace, seats that recline by themselves, some with no tv at all, some with broken lcd's, wonky table trays. Air side staff are polite enough but can't solve any issues really.

Food was below average, Brunei airport has nothing, probably a reason why people get put in hotels for long stop overs. They are also the only airline that I know to give the plane a 5 minute religious "blessing" before it takes off, I won't mention what religion but needless to say it's not my cup tea. Anyway if you prepare for the worst you may pleasently surprised.

poppy14

lol well i guess thats a good point "be prepared for the worst" dont think i will tell my hubby about the neg reports , its funny as their business class was one of the best iv flown hard to believe cattle class could b so bad cannot justify paying all that extra dosh these days, o well to late now .