Sabena Airlines- Comments?
 

Does anyone know anything about this airline? I have frequent flyer miles on American. When I called to inquire about a flight to Italy this July I was told that Sabena is cutting flights and to opt for British Air instead as a connection. He said Sabena is part of Swiss Air. Another employee didn't know anything about this. <BR> <BR>Appreciate any info on Sabena. <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Denise

They are partners with American and are getting a revenue boost by the Belgium government. They are cutting back a lot of flights because of problems even before the 9/11 tragedy. The Dallas Morning News story said that they have a good chance for recovery later.

Flew Sabena last month. The leg room is a lttle less on their Airbus compared to the American Airlines 757. Otherwise, no problems.

I'm a regular Sabena/Swissair passenger and enjoy flying with both of them. But Sabena has announced elimination of its Chicago, Washington, DC, and one other U.S. flight. It just started those nonstop routes about a year or so ago. Swissair was a big stakeholder in Sabena but that has unraveled with lawsuits everywhere. Swissair no longer lands in Belgium because the Belgian government would seize the planes. <BR>Over the past couple of years--and using a lot of Swissair cash--Sabena significantly upgraded its fleet. Their ticket prices were competitive and they often had great specials on business class--in July/August I had a RT biz ticket to the States (and back) for $1200--only $200 more than the 14 day advance purchase economy class ticket available then (fares are much cheaper now that it's off season). <BR>BA or Air France are good alternatives to Sabena. One thing I like about taking AF--their "flights" from Brussels to Paris (and vice versa) are actually train rides on the Thalys. So on AF flights to Brussels, you pick up the Thalys at CDG and head straight into the Gare du Midi. The Thalys to Paris for AF ticketholders of course is the Thalys to CDG, not the Gare du Nord. <BR>The FF setup for Sabena is the Qualiflyer program. Given the current situation with Sabena and Swissair, I'd use up any FF miles fast. I recently cashed some of mine in for a free flight to Nuremberg.

My husband and I recently flew Sabena JFK-Brussels-Venice, for more details check my post under "airlines". They are still having financial problems, along with Swissair. We've been following news of both airlines in the newspapers since we plan to travel in May and it's still pretty shaky for both airlines. Swissair actually stopped flying for awhile and their latest infusion of money is running out. Anyway, we had taken out travel insurance in case of airline bankruptcy. However, in the 10/28/01 travel section of the NY Times, there's an article thave some insurance companies are amending their coverage and aren't covering bankruptcy. Travel Guard specifically mentions Swissair and Sabena because of their current bankruptcy petitions. At this point, I think I'd be a little hesitant about both carriers.

Thank you. I actually have AAdvantage miles with American. Apparently, American doesn't have the easiest access to Italy. I had a choice of Sabena into Venice with the stopover in Brussels, but return would require me to return out of Milan (as I required) then to Brussels, then to Boston then to NY. I am opting instead (after the Sabena news) for the American flight to Heathrow, British Air to Milan, roundtrip. I will take the Eurostar to Venice. I don't want to risk my vacation-25th Anniversary. <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Denise

Leg room was very small, both my husband and I were extremely uncomfortable on our trip to Brussels. Service was less attentive than most over seas flignts. No hot towels and few times with liquids during the trip.

By next week we won't talk about Sabena anymore as I just heard on the news that they will go bankrupt, probably already next week. This bankrupcy is necessary in order to be able to create a new Belgian airline without having to take over the debt of abt. 90 billion BEF. It seems that British Airways has shown interest for the long haul flights while Virgin would be interested to take over the European flights. Wait and see next week ...

I think it's best to avoid Sabena at all costs. There have been various reports in the European press in recent weeks about the precarious financial position of the airline. It may survive in some form, but savage cuts to their routes seem certain - YOUR flight is bound to be one of them! Murphys Law No.1 - it will happen to you and no-one else!!

I, too, would avoid Sabena because of their financial problems. <BR> <BR>But it a good flight (DC-Brussels). Only thing was that the seats are pretty narrow. Wasn't a problem, as I flew the Sunday after 9/11, so the plane was half empty. But it would have been pretty cramped if the flight was full.

You shouldn't worry too much about flying Sabena or not. In fact Sabena has already considerably reduced its flights to the USA. The daily flights to Dallas, Chicago and Montreal are history. As well as the flights to their African destinations. The traject Brussels/New York still exists but at the rate of 1x daily only. <BR>

Just a comment: I used to fly Sabena whenever possible. You could count on excellent food, polite and efficient service, good legroom. I have to say that this is a very sad state of affairs when a formerly excellent airlines goes under.

I had tickets to fly Sabena to Rome through Brussels on Nov 12th out of Chicago. When I searched their website yesterday, I noticed they will not be flying out of Chicago after Nov. 6th. They never notified me. After spending hours on the phone with them and travelocity, I am rebooked on Swiss Air (which isn't in much better shape financially) and am flying back on American which was booked through Sabena. If I were you, I would fly another airline.

All these posts scare me. I used American FF miles to book a flight next June in business class from Dallas to Brussels to Amsterdam and back. Sabena is what AA put me on. I know it is about 7 months away, but should I insist AA book me on something else?

Have just seen on TV that Sabena has now closed down in receivership, as of November 4th.

Dear Shirley, <BR> <BR>I feel I made a good decision at last! After the guy on American Airlines told me about the reduction in flights, I asked them to re-book me on British Air. After all the recent posts I am glad I did that. If I were you, I would call American and see about an alternate carrier. <BR> <BR>Denise

I flew Sabena from Dulles to Venice (via Brussels) last winter - no probs, thought it was great.

There is a report today in Reuters that Sabena will cease operating on Wednesday and will likely be liquidated.

Several posts mention American putting people on Sabena flights. American and Sabena codeshare flights, or used to. When we flew Sabena in early October to Venice, they made announcements to Sabena passengers and to American Airlines passengers, but the plane we flew on was Sabena's. I do have to agree that with all the financial problems Sabena had, and the many impromptu work stopages, there was never any mention of any problems on their website. Nor were any difficulties mentioned, or hints of any, when I called twice to reconfirm flight times and reservations. But, guess they didn't want to lose any more money!

I have a scheduled flight departing Boston on Sabena on November 14th via Brussels to Prague, returning to Boston on November 23rd. I checked with Sabena today and found out that the only US gateways that it is servicing is Boston (Logan) and New York (JFK). Operations have been halted from all other US gateways. Sabena has sufficient funds to operate through December 5th, and is currently filing a plan of reorganization to continue operations past that date. I also found out from Sabena that passengers holding tickets from other US gateways are being reaccommodated at no charge on other airlines. <BR> <BR>I hope this information is helpful to you. <BR> <BR>Leslie