airBaltic wet-lease for Brussels Airlines: great service, no Wi-Fi

Europe boasts a large and convenient network of high-speed rail routes crisscrossing the continent. But the trains can sell out fast. That’s why, in the face of sold-out trains and eye-watering dynamic pricing, I found myself flying from Brussels to Lyon on a wet-leased airBaltic Airbus A220, operating as Brussels Airlines.

A Lufthansa Group network carrier, Brussels Airlines’ hub is Brussels Airport in Zaventem, which is just outside of the capital. The train from city center was fast and convenient, and I arrived with little stress.

The ground experience was also very easy. Having checked in online, and with no luggage, I proceeded straight to security. Business class passengers enjoy fast-track security, and I was airside in a few minutes.

After spending some time in the Brussels Airlines lounge, I arrived at my gate just as passengers from the inbound flight were disembarking. Seating was available at the gate, but people still needed to stand.

The gates open into the main thoroughfare of the terminal within the Schengen zone, so it felt very restless.

Boarding began by groups. And, in line with Lufthansa Group protocol, business class passengers board after passengers with Senator or HON status. On this particular flight, I ended up being the first to board.

On entering the A220-200, I was greeted by a cabin of grey and beige, with a wash of green LED lighting to add some branding colour.

The business class layout follows the familiar EuroBiz format for this 2-3-configured aircraft: the adjacent seat of each seat pair, and the middle seat of each seat triple, is kept free to provide extra comfort.

Antimacassars on the seats are a nice touch, but a splash of colour wouldn’t go amiss. The cabin was simply spotless.

I was in seat 2A, which faces the bulkhead. The legroom was fine, but there is no cocktail table fitted to the adjacent empty seat — something that would have further elevated the business class experience.

Brussels Airlines-branded literature could be found in the seatback, including a buy-on-board menu for economy class. No business-class menu was offered.

By luck, I was the only passenger in business class! The cabin can be made smaller or larger depending on the passenger load, though Brussels Airlines nonetheless retained a larger EuroBiz layout on this flight.

Once boarding was complete, the safety video played on the A220’s small overhead screens. No physical demonstration accompanied the video.

The video was clear enough, but the tiny screen made it hard to watch. The crew instructed passengers not to wear VR headsets during taxi, takeoff and landing, which was a new one for me!

After our plane gracefully, and rather quietly, sailed into the clouds, the cabin crew closed the curtain, and prepared the meal service for their single business class passenger.

They treated the curtain like a shield; no other passengers were allowed into the business class cabin to use the restroom and anyone who appeared was ushered back. This certainly made me feel like a VIP (whilst this was appreciated, it may have been a touch excessive for just one passenger in business.)

The meal service itself was lovely. I was offered a meal of hot-smoked salmon and rice with some Neuhaus chocolates to finish. The salmon was delicious, and it was served on china with metal utensils, elevating the experience.

I couldn’t quite work out, however, if this is the true Brussels Airlines service. I was offered cava rather than champagne, for example, and there was only one meal choice available (I was not given the opportunity to select a vegetarian meal during my booking).

In any case, it was a lovely meal service for a sub-90 minute flight. The attentive and friendly crew offered a second round of drinks and prepared a coffee for me.

As I had virtually exclusive access to the restroom, I did avail myself of it, and was genuinely impressed. The lighting is great, and the sink is made from a stone-type material that feels luxurious. It too was spotless.

The airBaltic cabin is certainly well-appointed, but there was no inflight Wi-Fi available, not even a wireless IFE solution with cached content.

The Baltic Times reports that at least ten airBaltic A220s have been fitted with SpaceX’s Starlink Ku-band Low Earth Orbit satellite-supported inflight connectivity solution. But clearly, this wet-leased bird wasn’t part of that initial tranche of installs.

The lack of Wi-Fi and in-seat power was surprising given that airBaltic exclusively operates A220s, often on long segments. However, the small overhead screens do show a moving map.

Regardless, airBaltic provided an excellent service on this Brussels-Lyon flight. My business class upgrade was €90 on top of a €75 economy ticket, and I felt like this was good value for the money (by contrast, the SNCF InOui costs about €150 in first class).

Whilst the cabin was hardly luxurious, having a good chunk of it to myself felt rarified, and the crew did not slack in taking care of their lone business class passenger.

Flying as Brussels Airlines, airBaltic offers a quality service that provides a pleasant soft product, but with limitations to the hard product.

With free and fast Wi-Fi, bigger seats, and a more convenient schedule into Lyon city centre (the airport is 30 minutes away), SNCF InOui may be a more attractive option for business class passengers. Just make sure to book in advance.

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All images credited to the author, Fintan Horan-Stear