Transfer in Bergen

I just arrived in Bergen on a Widerøe flight from Trondheim. I have a little less than one hour here to connect to the Brussels flight. Unfortunately, the rather odd shape of the terminal makes it impossible for me to take any decent photos of my aircraft.

At the gate next to ours, a KLM B 737-700 is in the final stages of boarding. The gate agents make several announcements in several languages, paging one last passenger for the flight. Eventually, though, it seems as though the passenger won’t show, and I hear the word offload several times while they discuss via radio with somebody. Shortly after, the aircraft pushes back from the gate to start its flight to Amsterdam.

A short while later, a man maybe my age ambles into the gate area. He stands around looking perplexed. Eventually, he approaches the seating area and asks nobody in particular, “Amsterdam”? When nobody replies, I answer that this was the KLM gate. He just looks at me and repeats, “Amsterdam”? Oh dear, I think this is the offload. I try telling him that the KLM flight just left, pointing to the aircraft that is just starting up on the taxiway in front of us, but he’s not understanding. Fortunately for me, that’s when they call my flight for boarding…

Boarding

Boarding for the flight is by zones, starting with zone A. I must say, I rather like just how orderly and civilized boarding generally is in Norway. There are no crowds blocking the gate area, and boarding is generally a swift and efficient process.

The Cabin & Seat

Widerøe does not have a Business Class cabin on any of its aircraft. However, with the Economy Flex fare I’m travelling on, I’m able to secure the bulkhead on the port side of the aircraft, which is row 2. On the starboard side, row 1 is the bulkhead.

The seat pitch on the bulkhead rows is simply amazing and quite impressive. Even slouching in my seat and fully stretching my legs, I can only just reach the bulkhead with the tip of my boots. I’m also very lucky that the seat next to me remains empty despite it being a very busy flight today.

The Crew & Service

I’m not sure how many cabin crew there are on this flight. I’m assuming that seating is for more than 100 passengers, which would mean that there would have to be three crew. However, throughout the flight, I only ever see two, so I can’t be sure.

The flight time to Brussels is announced as one hour and forty minutes. It’s another gorgeous day here in Norway with good visibility. We’re treated to a lovely view as we climb out of Bergen pointing in a northerly direction and then do a 180 degrees turn over the bay to point us south.

Alas, I’m too tired to enjoy much of the flight. At some point, I must nod off to sleep because I startle awake at the sound of the seatbelt sign ping after what feels like having just briefly closed my eyes. The first officer announces that we have another 25 minutes to run to Brussels, which means I must have slept soundly for over an hour!

Arrival in Brussels

The approach brings us in from the north. We then fly a wide circle due west of Brussels around the city to make an approach from the south to runway 01, which intersects with the southern one of the two parallel runways 07/25. It’s only a short taxi to our stand on the Schengen pier.

As we taxi in, we pass two Brussels Airlines aircraft and I really can’t help marvel at the blatant disconnect between the Brussels Airlines brand and what you actually get on board as a passenger. From the outside, the livery of the aircraft is rather elegant and cool, and even the lounge here in Brussels is actually rather nice. However, the onboard experience leaves very, very much to be desired.

Before I make my way to arrivals, I briefly stop to take a few decent shots of the aircraft that carried me here from Bergen.

Getting into Town

I’m staying in Antwerp. There are direct trains from Brussels Airport to Antwerp every thirty minutes at 41 past and 10 past the hour. The journey takes about thirty minutes to complete. A single ticket in First Class is EUR17.50, of which a substantial part is the obligatory supplement that is due for all trips to and from Brussels Airport. My service to Antwerp today is operated by a train composition belonging to the Danish Railways, several of which are currently on loan to the Belgian State Railways or SCNB. If you’ve never been to Antwerp, the railway station alone makes it worth a visit!

Conclusion

For the foreseeable future that was my last trip up to Norway, and I very much enjoyed it. Norway is a really beautiful country and the weather was, once again, stunning. This was a rather pleasant trip on Widerøe from Trondheim via Bergen to Brussels. The seat comfort on both flights was good, great even on the E2, largely owing to the very generous pitch on the bulkhead row.