RARE BUSINESS CLASS on Royal Brunei’s Long Haul 787
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2024
- INSTAGRAM: @PatrickFliesPlanes
There’s this small little island in the Pacific Ocean, known as Borneo, that is split between 3 countries. It’s one of the smaller islands of Malaysia, also one of the larger islands of Indonesia, and then tucked in the corner is the VERY small country of Brunei Darussalam. Take a ride on their national carrier on one of their most important routes down to Melbourne, Australia. Let me know your thought below
Airline: Royal Brunei Airlines
Aircraft: B787-8
Registration: V8-DLC
Flight Number: BI5
Route: Bandar Seri Begawan, BR (BWN) - Melbourne, VIC (MEL)
Flight Time: 6h 28m
Flight Date: Apr 13, 2024
Cost: $1,450 (Booked as KUL-BWN-MEL)
0:00 Intro
1:49 Check In
3:41 Royal Brunei Lounges
5:57 Boarding
6:55 The Seat
9:12 Amenities
10:28 BWN Departure
12:33 Entertainment
13:37 Meal Time!
14:45 Bed Time!
17:19 Royal Brunei History
20:42 MEL Arrival
22:56 Final Thoughts
"One small island"
The small island: literally the size of Turkiye
Third largest island in the world.
Patrick must have been ironic. Borneo is about TWICE the size of Germany, and THREE TIMES the size of Great Britain. I also didn't understand why he said that "it's one of the smaller islands of Malaysia". Malaysia has no other island that comes even close to a HUNDREDTH of the size of Borneo. Even considering just the size of the Malaysian part of Borneo, no other island in the country comes close to that. Now, the country of Brunei is really small, about half the size of Cyprus or twice the size of Luxembourg.
lol yes I’m aware of the size of the island. Speaking somewhat facetiously… but it is wild to see it split into 3 countries
@@PatrickSheaAviation dude.. 287k sq miles! in Europe it would be like 10 countries!
@@slavvyz4932 fair enough… just funky to see it on one island
0:33 thts arabic lettering used to spell words in malay..we call these letterings "jawi" ..they are not arabic language though
Good to know. Thanks!
@@PatrickSheaAviation Yeah, it's just a different writing system, common and made official after the adoption of Islam and the influence of Arabic and Persian traders and merchants. Before that, the language was written in predominantly Sanskrit script due to the previous cultural exchange between India and Maritime Southeast Asia (which is also why Malay and Hindi share many words). European colonial rule brought about the Latin script; Indonesia actually had Dutch-style spelling in the Latin script and Malaysia had more influence from English until the 1970s when there was a conference to standardize the method and style of spelling in the Latin alphabet.
However, Jawi has been maintained and also encouraged in Malaysia and Brunei as it is a great cultural heritage from during the golden age of Malay civilization. And much like Urdu script, for example, there are additional letters not found in Arabic to reflect the sound and phonology of the words in the language (like the P sound and the Ch--like in "charge"--sound).
Nice to see you arrive in my hometown! BI has a super early arrival time too
The exchange rate is S$1 = 1 Brunei Dollar.
You bought your airticket from Malaysia and was paid in Malaysian Ringgit, it is super cheap after conversion to Singapore Dollar. The rate is S$1 around 3.45 MYR.
Thank you for sharing this awesome flight report again.
Brunei is a place more for business not for leisure..
I understand they served wine and alcoholic drinks many many years ago until they become a Dry airline to follow the regularisation of Islamic World.
I couldn't have clicked "like" on this surprise any faster. So obsessed with Brunei, its history, and the airline -- I'm so excited to see this flight review! Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks!!
best part is the stunning view of the Australian north coast lol
Ha!! 😂😂
Excellent for my taste, and, quest for space and airy cabins. 👍🏻
Are you sure that the “Arabic” signs you saw in Brunei were actually Arabic? Like in Iran, the Arabic script can be used to write other languages than Arabic. Check Jawi script for more information.
Good to know. Thanks
Thank's Patrick for another great vlog,have a safe trip and enjoy.
Thanks!
Definitely loved your video. Thank you for sharing week in and week out with airlines from around the world/countries. I enjoyed this review and video very much
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!
Another brilliant review Patrick...cheers
Thanks!
The language there is NOT Arabic; it is Malay using Arabic-based alphabet. Just like Latin script, there are many languages that use the Arabic script too (Urdu, Persian, Penjabi, Pashtoo, Malay, etc).
Good to know. Thanks
@@PatrickSheaAviation thanks to you for the wonderful and most informative videos you've been sharing with frequent flyers like me :)
Having flown Royal Brunei, it was nice to see your review. Well done and accurate.
Thank you!
Very good review. Loved the extra info at the end.
Thanks!
That looks like the seating in the Latam 787s that used to fly to Frankfurt and Madrid before the pandemic. Although no privacy and all aisle access the seats were pretty wide and very comfortable when sleeping which was important for the very long flights to Santiago de Chile.
I don’t hate this setup honestly… even if it lacks privacy. LATAM has been upgrading theirs to the 1-2-1 setup it looks like however. Just smaller beds
Royal Brunei have been serving the UK and Frankfurt markets since the early 1990s. I worked with them in London in 1995 and 1996. They also used to serve Darwin as we jsed to sell a fair few cheap tickets to Darwin from London.
Nice video. I also enjoyed my flights Melbourne-Brunei-Singapore return just after they go their B787s. I didn’t miss the alcohol, and was intrigued buy the Muslim prayer before takeoff.
The reason for the weight limit for carry on baggage is the weight limit of the overhead bins that many airlines ignore.
It used to be the case (maybe still is today ?) that if you bought alcohol at airport duty-free you could bring it on board and cabin staff would serve it with the meal. BI is a kangaroo route player and on such long flights some people do appreciate an alcoholic drink.
Yea the seats are great, and you are allowed to bring your own alcohol if you’d like. That’s a nice touch that most airlines don’t allow… since they offer their own onboard alc
BA do 23kg in the overheads max.
Cool flight vlog!
I just did KCH-BWN-MEL on the 6th to 14th of April. On both sectors to/from BWN, we had the middle seat empty which made for a very comfortable flight in Y. Meals were delicious just that there was only one meal service, wish there was a substantial arrival refreshments.
Awesome!
BI used to fly only to my home city in Australia, BNE. Then they expanded to DRW, PER and MEL. We originally got the 767-300, then the 777-200ER (ex-SQ) and then the A320. Before Covid they wound back and only flew to MEL.
They were always the cheapest to Europe (LHR and I think FRA at one point) via BWN and DXB.
I recall flying F class as only pax many years ago to BNE on a late night departure and crew did not ask or serve a meal and left gally area till morning and closed the galley.
I queried this and they said they thought I was a spare pilot not a revenue pax
Of course complaint never answered
Poor form
Thank you for the good review. Yet, you made no mention of the flights to Darwin in the '90s. I flew with them several times then from Darwin to Bandar Sri Begawan and on to Frankfurt or Zurich or Singapore.
Cool! It does sounds like they’ve had their Australian ties for quite a while
@@PatrickSheaAviation The Sultan of Brunei owns an enormous cattle property in the Northern Territory since the 70's or 80's, to supply the country with meat. That led to the stop at Darwin. Later on they discontinued in favour of Melbourne. The meat goes by ship.
Good to have you down under in my home country Pat! Are you going to be trying Qantas? 😊
Not Qantas, but another national airline! I guess you’ll have to wait for next Sunday lol 🤫🤫
Thank you for this! I lived in Brunei for a years in my childhood (dad was a Shell expat). Flew the airline a lot in those days so it has a special place in my heart and when I see a review I always hope RB did well. I knew what was coming when you said you were flying business class. Yes the seats are outdated and the IFE hardware seems a bit too old for the software (the A320neo's don't have this lagging problem). I hope the arrival of the 787-9's will mean the -8's will get refurbished and that you will give Royal Brunei another go 😊
Awesome! And yea I agree about these cabins. I flew the A320s to Brunei and the IFE was much better
Brunei airport is nice. 23:07 Me too, I love to fly new airlines and new countries for vacation. The pre departure and arrival drink with a hot towel is appreciated (something not many airlines do), they have amenity kit inside the lavatory in business class, which is good. Hopefully when the Boeing 787-9 is deliver this year to Royal Brunei, I agree with you, I wish they have wifi on a medium and long haul flight, external camera and window inside the lavatory. Royal Brunei is a good airline to fly if is cheap and I would like to fly to Brunei 1 day.
Royal Brunei is a popular option to get to London for those of us here in Melbourne, as the fares are usually one of the lowest. Pre-COVID it wasn't hard to purchase a MEL-LHR return on them for under AUD$1,000.
Totally! May not be as luxurious as Etihad or Qatar, but it’s definitely cheap!
I think the thing for the 10kg handluggage is that it is pretty heavy otherwise just in case it would fall out of the overhead bins... so it's a safety thing I guess
Interesting thought. Maybe so 🤷♂️
I always look forward to your reviews. Exotic place . Kind of a mid level flight .
Totally. Thanks!
YESS MELBOURNE MY LOCAL AIRPORT
Great review Patrick - Ive flown them a few times and yes they are happy for you to bring your own alcohol - and it’s pronounced “Ban Dar, Seri , Beg - a - wan “😊
Thanks!!
the wealth distribution in a country like that must be insane to see and eye-opening. It looks like a beautiful country, though. Thanks for the new review!
Totally feels weird being there. Definitely
Great report, wonder who they cater to, Brunei nationals, or foreigners? And is there a choice of airlines if you have to get to Brinei from, say, Australia? Does Qantas serve the route as well?
I don’t believe Qantas does at this time. I didn’t see signage for them at least. I do know Singapore and Malaysian fly here so you could get here with a stop at leadt
@PatrickSheaAviation BTW, Etihad is bringing the a380 back to the Abu Dhabi to New York route. Any plans to review that? Will give you more time to truly savor the service on a 13 hour flight, compared to the just 6.5 to London that you've covered.
Everything about Brunei is so retro. 😅
Feels like your classic 787-8 lol…
the extra bag charge isn’t for the extra rampies work, it’s because it cuts into paying cargo weight
I guess that makes sense. Still sucks for passengers though
Times must be tough: (first/business seating) used to be gold plated with wood inlay!
Honestly I think airlines have realized that all that really matters is a bed and some better food 🤷♂️
Hong Kong is not part of ASEAN.
Correct. It was just added in their phase where they expanded to the other ASEAN capitals. Might not have been articulated well enough
While his reports are detailed and invested, Patrick has never excelled in political geography or history
@@markshilkrut ouch. That feels like getting a bad report card back in high school
Association of South East Nations.
Something wrong with your speaker?
Hey love your vids! About the carry-on more than 10kgs, I guess it's because the overhead bins have a max that they can have. And also, it's dangerous if it happens to fall off someone :P
That would make sense. Just odd that most airlines don’t follow similar rules
Once again there are signs of insufficient research. Those signs everywhere in Brunei you mention at 0:33 are not "in Arabic" but rather in Malay language written using a modified Arabic-based script (Malay has no indigenous script of its own). Your channel is established enough for you to avoid making simple factual errors that detract from overall quality.
I mean that’s fair, but only being there for a day and looking around, it looks and sounds like Arabic… so that’s where that came from
I was going to point out the same thing. The Malay language comes in several standards. The most common ones are Bahasa Maleyu in Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia, both written in Latin alphabet. Brunei also uses Malay as the official language. I guess it wants to differentiate itself from the other two and uses Arabic script.
It is fun that I found out about most airlines back in 2008. I had a Flight Simulator X, and I would download loads of mods and skins for aircraft. After seeing them, I would go to Wikipedia and search for the airline. I miss my teenage years so much. :'(. The airport looks very small for an oil-rich country. Normally, these countries REALLY LIKE to show off their money, haha.
Dang what a throwback to FSX. helluva story
I am curious, how much they charge you to check in your overweight luggage? When you arrived in Melbourne from Brunei, you flew Jetstar to Honolulu? If so, how is your Jetstar flight from Melbourne to Honolulu?
I wasn’t charged for the checked bag. Everyone got a free one. Business class passengers got 2
Really? Wow, okay.
The reason why you couldn’t have more than 10 KG‘s weight weight of carry-on bag is because if it falls out, it will hit someone’s head and then also second of all it will be too heavy for the bin.
The whole 10kg limit is weird for business class. What is the benefit for the customer
Yea I guess it’s just so everyone has the same restrictions but it’s just a strange thing that most airlines don’t have these restrictions
Should we discuss here, about having a meeting there?
Seatguru does show it's missing a window🤣🤣🤣
I know… but it was only one of two window seats left, so I didn’t have a ton of choice
Is this video a sign of a Qanats review coming soon?
👀 you never know I guess
@@PatrickSheaAviation can't wait to see what's coming. Keep up the amazing work mate!!!
"small island", are you nuts????? One of the biggest of the world!
lol yes I’m aware. Just kinda wild seeing a single island split into 3 countries
The RB Business Class was quite BAD, I would have imagined it was super luxurious. Completely outdated and with a very standard onboard service.
Yea the 787-8s around the world tend to have these old cabins. Hopefully the new aircraft order will bring a new cabin
9.775
Coming from radical lefty San Francisco, Islamic Fundamentalist monarchy Brunei must have been a bit of a culture shock for you 😆I've seen other aviation and travel bloggers (e.g. Drew Binsky, Josh Cahill) have not so nice things to say about Brunei.
As for Royal Brunei Airlines, I give high marks to any airline that doesn't serve booze inflight (I'm of the opinion that alcohol should be banned from the skies, both inside the terminal and on board the aircraft). The hard and soft products are quite impressive for such a small airline.
You seem surprised by the disparity between the rich and poor in these oil rich countries. 😅. Maybe the sultan could spare some loose change to help those in need.
The sultan in his 1800 room palace and his 1000 cars garage and his 747 and A340 fleet doesn't get in touch with his citizens that much.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yea… I mean I wasn’t surprised to see it, based on what I had heard before coming here, but it does kinda suck to see
"It’s one of the smaller islands of Malaysia"
It is the LARGEST island in Malaysia.
Great video but seriously lacking in accuracy as pointed out by many other comments. So many mistakes
Is is
Wow, what disappointing Business class food service. No Breakfast offered ? How much was the ticket to Melbourne? I think Singapore Airlines & Malaysian Airlines would give you better service. Did you notice the stain on the right Edge of the seat cushion at 7:00 ? Not what I would expect to see on a Business class product! 😕
Definitely better seats on Singapore. For a 6 hour flight, one meal is normal at least
Brunei: We have petroluem
US: Knock Knock
Ummm US is a net exporter these days. Brunei exports to China, Japan and Australia. Not the US. It’s always a good idea to look up the facts.
@@fredricgrethel1717 🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓
The airline has a number of major flaws very much like the leadership of the country itself. The airport and facilities are well below par and closes every evening. Transfers through the Brunei generally will attempt to trap you into an overnight layover. This will result in a mind numbing experience unless your interest lie with a shopping centre devoid of shops, a mosque or the copy of never land which is in varying levels of decay. Unless you need to fly to Brunei my advice is avoid at all costs. There are reasons why it has never made a profit and there are a lot of reasons to avoid using it. There are so many better options to fly Singapore to Melbourne
Definitely major issues and strange flight timings, but they do provide very cheap flights. Some people will suck it up if it saves some many
Money**
Flew on a Royal Brunei 767 from Dubai to London in 1994. It was so dirty I told the kids NOT to take their shoes off. The dirtiest plane I’ve ever been on.
Dang… that’s crazy!
Never fly on that s!ht
Bali is Hindu, not Muslim.
Correct. It was just added in a time where most of their expansion was to majority-Muslim destinations
Awareness, Sensitivity, Alertness, Respect is important whenever you are in Asian countries.