Quick Links Check-in Transit experience Overbooked and upgraded The seat, the crew, and the meal Summary My Lufthansa flight from Cairo to Munich was enjoyable with good crew and comfortable amenities. As my Brussels Airlines flight was overbooked, I was offered €125 as compensation to take the next flight. Ultimately there was space on the flight as someone missed their connection, so as a thank you for volunteering, I was upgraded to business class with Brussels Airlines.
My return journey from Cairo International Airport (CAI) to Brussels Zaventem (BRU) routed via Munich Airport with the Lufthansa Group. The first leg was with Lufthansa and was planned to leave Egypt at 03:25 local time. While we left late, we landed basically on time at Munich Airport.
I spent most of the flight sleeping, taking advantage of the emergency exit row legroom as well as the pillow and blanket we were provided with. The crew were great and my flight was very much enjoyable. In Munich, I had a roughly two-hours connection before catching a Brussels Airlines Airbus A319 in economy class.
Once again, I had selected the emergency exit row for additional legroom. My overall itinerary looked as follows. Departure Arrival Timing Cairo Intl (CAI) Munich Intl (MUC) 03:25*-06:25 Munich Intl (MUC) Brussels Intl (BRU) 08:55-10:20 *local time in Egypt is one hour ahead of Germany and Belgium.
On my outbound journey with Austrian Airlines via Vienna, I was upgraded to business class on the longer leg. Little did I realize that the same would take place on my return journey, albeit on the short hop to Brussels. Check-in I checked in online with Lufthansa.
I included my passport details and reconfirmed my selection for emergency exit row seats. Once done, I was issued a check-in confirmation email but not a boarding pass. For that, I would have to go to the physical check-in desks.
It took a while to get to the check-in desks at Cairo Airport. Everything was reasonably sign posted and I made my way to the security line for “international departures” which preceded the check-in desks. Here, I was harassed by airport workers looking to convince me to skip the line by coming with them.
Funnily enough, they all asked me in English which flight I was on to which I responded the Lufthansa flight to Munich which, as it was 00:10, was in more than 3 hours’ time. To this they decided I absolutely needed to follow them to skip the queue – which in all honesty was not that long. I told them in Arabic that I had plenty of time and was happy to wait, and before long they got the idea and left me alone.
Once at check-in, I joined the queue for Lufthansa Group flights. Austrian, Lufthansa, and SWISS all operate from Cairo, but today, only the first two had flights (at around the same time, too). Check-in was closed.
After a 40-minute wait, the check-in agents finally arrived. It took barely any time before my two boarding passes were issued and my immigration/departure form was provided to me to fill out before security. Transit experience After my uneventful Lufthansa flight onboard the A320neo, we touched down in Munich.
We parked at Terminal 2 at the G gates. The queues were extravagant at all points of my transit journey – from the security check to the shuttle service from the G gates to the K gates, where my Brussels Airlines flight departed from. The walking time to get to each point of the terminal was equally excessive.
Once I had arrived at passport control, I was face-to-face with the non-EU passports line. My jaw dropped as the line was yet again ridiculous. Thankfully, the electronic passport scanners for EU passports was completely empty and within seconds I was through.
If I had been in the other line, I would most definitely have been rushed to catch my flight. Once at the K gates, I went to buy a blueberry muffin for breakfast. My mission completed, I sat down and did some preparatory work for my interview later that day (see the article below for the result).
Aviation experts weigh in on the ultra-low-cost carrier's impact in the region. Overbooked and upgraded Soon after, Brussels Airlines flight SN2642 was announced. This time though it seemed to be an announcement not to begin boarding but rather for volunteer passengers looking to catch the next flight due to overbooking.
I made my way to the gate to monitor the situation. As excited as I was to fly with my flag carrier (and specifically the homely feel of cabin announcements in English, French, and Dutch), the offer of €125 ($138) compensation to take the Lufthansa A319 flights in two hours’ time began to take my fancy. While not much money compared to the norm, my logic was as follows: I had the time to spare and would make it back in time for my interview.
I had some more work to do and am more productive on the ground than in the air. The blueberry muffin was tasty – happy to get another. I went up to the desk and said I was happy to take the offer on the condition that I would be given lounge access for the two hours at the airport in addition to the compensation.
Sadly, the gate agent refused despite my insistence. Nevertheless, after a brief discussion on the status of my checked luggage to double-check that I would find it again in Brussels, I agreed. The flight was already delayed until 09:30 anyway, meaning my wait would only be another hour in reality.
I was told to stand by, and once everyone was scanned through, I would be issued a new boarding pass. On the off chance that someone did not make their connection to Brussels, I would be allowed onboard, I was told. With boarding almost completed, I made my way to the desk.
At first, it was unclear what was happening as I was told to come through. One of the gate agents came towards me with a new boarding pass – meaning I thought I was about to be put on the other flight as planned. Instead, she thanked me for my patience and for volunteering and said they were pleased to reseat me in seat 3C in business class on the original Brussels Airlines flight.
This was a welcome surprise indeed, not least given that I was also upgraded for free on the outbound leg with Austrian Airlines. I got a surprise upgrade to business class at the gate for my second leg of my trip, from Vienna to Cairo. The seat, the crew, and the meal I stepped foot onto the aircraft and was greeted very warmly by the crew.
The plane was clean and spacious and was not showing its age at all. The legroom was generous, and the middle seat was blocked of course for this short-haul business class flight to Brussels. The seat had no power outlets.
Both the economy and business cabins were full. Shortly after take-off, a meal and beverage service began. I opted for a cup of English breakfast tea to go with the meal.
The breakfast itself was fine but was nothing special. The mini pain au chocolat was served cold and hard, while the other pastry (which I cannot put a name to), was fine but equally small. The fruit was a nice touch, as was the use of metal cutlery.
My drink came in a paper cup rather than an actual glass, which was a shame but not surprising. It’s not that the meal was bad in that sense, but I did conclude that paying for business class on such a short flight with this inflight service is not really worth it. Perhaps this does not say much about Brussels Airlines’ overall business class product per se, but more so on its offering for short hops under two hours.
Once on the ground in Brussels, I made my way through the airport to baggage reclaim. Within 15 minutes, the bags were there, and I made my way out of the airport easily..
