I wrote this review yesterday at 35,000 feet above Northern Australia on a Royal Brunei Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for Brunei, a small resource-rich country on the island of Borneo in the South China Sea. This was my first flight with the nation's flag carrier and my first visit to Brunei, which this week is hosting the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) 68th Assembly of Presidents. The Assembly brings together CEOs and senior executives from airlines and OEMs throughout the region for two days of discussions and networking, which Simple Flying will report on over the coming week.
Sunday's flight was from Melbourne Airport (MEL) to Brunei International Airport (BWN), Brunei's international gateway, with a flight time of around seven hours. Getting started at Melbourne Airport The trip starts at home, navigating the procedures for entering Brunei , gaining a visa to work as a journalist, checking in for the flight, completing an online arrival card and a customs declaration about the alcohol allowance allowed to non-Muslim foreigners entering the country. While it may not be as taxing as it sounds, it is something that needs to be done correctly and submitted on time, especially if you want to avoid a delay upon arrival.
The good news for me was that the person checking me in at Melbourne Airport gave my documents the once over to make sure I had what I needed and would get me into Brunei without a fuss. Melbourne Airport is rapidly transforming into a wor.
