Royal Brunei Airlines > Reviews > Does the Sultan really fly Royal Brunei

Author's product rating:   

Food Quality	Good
Customer Service	Friendly and attentive
Punctuality	Good
Space	Uncomfortable
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Cheap
Disadvantages:	Small aircraft, basic service

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I flew between London and Perth (Western Australia) in April 2000 and used Royal Brunei as the carrier. Admittedly my only criteria in booking with them were

a) the price of the ticket - which was substantially lower than anything else available at the time;
b) the schedule - the timing of the flights matched my availability to perfection.

I wasn't expecting a lot for the price and people had told me that the service was fairly basic. I was generally happy with the flight and the cabin crew - bearing in mind that this is a truly Islamic airline and serve no alcohol (but they don't stop you bringing your own if you really must imbibe) - I found it quite refreshing not to see a single over-indulgent sop making a fool of themselves.

I had requested vegetarian meals and these were provided without any fuss on every leg of the flight. I had as much juice and soft drink as I wanted and the roasted broad beans they substituted for peanuts were quite moreish after the first packet.

Like another corespondent I as expecting to fly via Dubai (I was hoping to check out the new airport) but likewise found myself climbing out into the very blue and organically shaped Abu Dhabi International. Not that this bothered me much I wasn't about to go hunting for a duty-free Rolls Royce!!

Ground crew and and cabin staff were all very courteous and efficient - after spending 60 hours in transit with Aeroflot some years ago I am willing to accept anything!!

My only gripe was the 5 hour stop-over in Brunei itself - the airport has nothing to offer the transit visitor and the information desk was closed so I didn't find out until the return journey that I could have paid about $11US and spent severla hours being driven around looking at the sights... oh well, maybe next time.

I am quite tall and was a little uncomforatble in the small body aircraft they use. The aircraft seemed to be some type of airbus more suited to shorter hops. The long haul flight could have been far more comfortable with a 747-400 or a DC10 - even the Russian ILYUSHIN that Aeroflot are still managing to keep aloft was more comfortable than the dinky little thing used by Royal Brunei - but on a positive note it was only a quick walk to the loo!!