Brussels Airlines review: Flight

My two companions didn't make the outbound flight, I waited until the last possible minute, then boarded alone. Shortly after arriving in Brussels, I received an email from Brussels Airlines telling me that as I was listed as a "no show", my return reservation was cancelled. During my stay in Belgium, I called Customer Services sixteen times, and had to go through the same process and explanation every single time. They kept trying to insist I was a no show when I wasn't, asked me to send my boarding pass to servicing.[protected]@brusselsairlines.com, which I have did three times, promised me on three separate occasions that someone would call me back but no one ever did during my stay. After 48 minutes on the phone on Saturday night, 9th December, the night before I was due to fly, someone named Pankav assured me that by the following morning (on the day of my planned departure) I would be able to check in for my flight. I could not. That morning I spoke to someone named Harzh at Customer Services, who again assured me that someone would call me back within 2-3 hours. No-one did. I finally did get a call back - on the morning of Tuesday 12th December, two days after my return home!

Later on the Sunday morning, I made contact with one of Brussels Airlines' representatives via Facebook Messenger. He told me I had to make my own travel arrangements and take it up with the Airline on my return home. I told him that it was not my mistake that had caused the situation and pleaded for him to help me. Finally, nearly three hours after the conversation began, he reinstated my booking and I was able to check in online. Leaving me with 5 hours to enjoy my stay in Bruges without distress and worry, before I needed to leave to get to the airport.

I was sick with worry. I was alone there and didn't know whether I would be able to get home or whether I would be stuck in a foreign country with nowhere to stay. I spent a great deal of my time in tears, begging Customer Services to help me, but they wouldn't hear me. This magical trip, booked and paid for in March to celebrate my surviving cancer treatment, was turned into a complete nightmare, through no fault of my own, but by Brussels airlines erroneously cancelling my return trip home.

I put in a complaint to Brussels Airlines on my return; the reply I received from one Marcel Girard, was, at best, inadequate, apologising for the "inconvenience" and ending the matter because my flight had (eventually) been reinstated. He advised that, in future, all urgent enquiries should go through their customer services department. It appeared that he hadn't even properly read my complaint. I immediately put in another complaint. This complaint was ignored until 11 Feb, when I received a reply from one Keisha Steele stating that, as I had put in a previous complaint, this one was closed. On 30/12/23, I emailed Brussels Airlines at another address I found, [protected]@gmail.com. They asked for a case number, which I supplied. I received a reply on 3/1/24, again apologising for the "inconvenience" and offering 30%

off a pair of return flights, valid until December 2024. I replied that I didn't accept their offer as it was dependent upon me using Brussels Airlines again, which under the circumstances I would be extremely reluctant to do, and that the offer was offensively inadequate in light of the distress and worry I was caused. I said that I would settle for nothing less than a full reimbursement of the cost of my tickets and a settlement for the cost of accommodation during my stay, as my holiday was ruined. I have emailed countless times since asking for a response, but to date have not received a reply.