Brussels, Belgium: Leaving Brussels, Belgium

21FEB08 Brussels International Airport, Brussels Belgium (BRU)

The airport shuttle van arrived at the airport at about 7:45a after making two stops at the area hotels. Once at the already busy terminal, we checked the really large Flight Information Display, found our check-in counter, checked in with ease and then headed for the departure area.

Jet Airways had flights to Chennai, India; Delhi, India (DEL); Mumbai, India (BOM); Newark, NJ (EWR); New York-JFK, NY (JFK) and Toronto, ON Canada (YYZ). Impressive I thought, I can’t wait to see the planes at the gates.

We cleared Immigration, then shopped for some chocolate and then cleared the security area. They do have a fast track area, but only for a few select airlines. Once through security, it was time to find a Lounge. The Diamond Club accepted my Presidents Club card, but I was not allowed a guest, so I did not bother to stay as I was with my colleague. Good to know the card is accepted though for future reference.

We returned to the departure level and realized that we were at the last gate, B37. As we walked down, I could see three Jet Airways planes (two Boeing 777-300ERs and an Airbus A330) on the right and one (a Boeing 777-300ER) on the left of the concourse. The A330 was heading to Toronto. Two planes were missing though, I assumed that they were on their way.

We got to our gate and the boarding process had started. We were also just in time to hear our names being called for seats. We scored the upgrade today so that was a good deal. I checked for WiFi and it was present as the signs said, but there was a charge for it, so I shut down and boarded the flight.