Jim Clarke: Blog

February 7, 2007

Brussels On time departures

Generally on time departures on this run

For a while, I was tending to go to/from Brussels using the Ryanair options on a fairly regular basis because a. they had an earlier afternoon flight than Aer Lingus that would get you to your hotel around 7pm in Brussels and also because they had the on line check in long before Aer Lingus for both Dublin - Charleroi and more recently Charleroi - Dublin flights, which enabled me to go to the gates earlier or later than previously if I arrived early/late at the airport. However, with the new handbag restrictions, I generally have to check in my bag now and as far as I know, Ryanair's on line check in doesn’t allow for dropping off bags for the flight at the airport. Another reason was that the return flights from Charleroi were usually on time (as compared to that very late Aer Lingus flight, which always seems to be delayed as well as leaving after 9pm now!, which is not good if you live otside Dublin) and more importantly, with Ryanair, there was an earlier option to get you back at a fairly reasonable time to Dublin (6pm if I recall). Therefore, if you were a bit inventive with your consortium or people you were meeting in Brussels, you could meet the night before and then start early the next day and finish in time to make this earlier flight. We recently discovered that there is a train that goes directly from Schumann or Luxembourg Belgian railway stations to Charleroi Sud so if you are at a meeting near these locations, it isn’t necessary to schlep out to Midi to get the Ryanair coach or the train from Midi. You can find out train times on the Belgian Railway web site – just do a google on Belgian Railways to get the web site address. Take note that when you get to Charleroi Sud train station, you still have to get either an airport bus or a taxi to the airport, which is around 10km away from the train station. If in time, I usually walk over and get the bus, it is at the first platform to the right when you cross over the tram line. It costs around 1.60 and you can now pay on the bus. It used to be frustrating in that you had to pay in the office for the bus ticket and you could literally see the bus pulling off as you were waiting in the line to buy the ticket (buses only run 3 an hour). A taxi will cost around 12 euros.

Posted by jclarke at 4:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack