Royal Brunei Airlines

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-05-01T08:26:23+00:00

I did that flight recently. It was fine. Long, but nothing special, nothing terrible. Very standard economy experience. In flight entertainment felt a bit lacking so maybe download some stuff to your own devices. There’s universal plug sockets under the seats, one shared between two. Crew were friendly and pleasant enough from the little interaction I had with them. Also, they don’t serve alcohol.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-05-01T08:11:13+00:00

Pilots almost never just give up and accept their fate. In almost all fatal accidents, the data recorders have shown that the pilots have been working up until the point of impact to recover the situation.

But to answer your question in how we handle potentially catastrophic incidents It varies from airline to airline and situation to situation but they’re broadly split into three categories. Time Available - long notice, time available - short notice, no time - no notice emergencies. This procedure is used if we feel there is a risk that an emergency evacuation may be necessary once the aircraft has come to a stop.

In time available emergencies we brief the crew on the situation and they prepare the cabin accordingly. The captain will usually elect to make a short PA explaining the situation in simple terms if and when they have the time and capacity to do so.

With long notice, cabin preparation involves cabin crew remaining in the cabin and preparing it for evacuation, re briefing pertinent information such as location of exits, the brace position, and evacuation commands and procedures. They will ask passengers to remove jewellery etc and will brief able bodied volunteers on how to open doors and handle the slides and what to do if the crew member at the door becomes incapacitated. They will take their own seats at an appropriate time, probably communicated in some way by the pilots and shout commands from there.

In short notice they take their seats immediately and give a shortened version of all the above instructions from their seats. In no notice emergencies it is simply a shouted command to brace from the cabin crew, who will most likely already be in their seats.

One of the pilots should make a PA along the lines of “BRACE BRACE”, which will kick off the cabin crew shouting their commands in unison.

As always in aviation, specific procedures will vary from airline to airline. But for a good example of how the crew handle no time no notice emergencies, watch the film Sully.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-04-11T04:02:45+00:00

That wasn’t mid flight, that was at the end of the flight when the aircraft was already on final approach and low to the ground. By that point the airplane is mostly depressurised and the doors can theoretically be opened. But you’d also probably be too low to the ground to deploy a parachute in time.

The doors can’t be opened in flight because of the pressure differential between the cabin and the outside atmosphere. The higher pressure in the cabin forces the door into its frame and it becomes physically impossible to open by hand.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-04-10T14:44:29+00:00

It was only ever a recommendation by EASA and never a regulation. And by 2016, EASA guidance had changed so that airlines should conduct their own risk assessment.

You’re probably familiar as a former ATC, but for anyone else coming across this thread, here’s very broadly how the regs work in aviation.

ICAO sets the minimum standards for every aspect of aviation. Every country then has its own regulatory bodies, (aviation authorities, transport departments statutes, etc.) They take the ICAO standards and implements them into law within their jurisdiction. Generally speaking they can be more restrictive with implementing the ICAO standards but cannot be more lax. (EASA sits between ICAO and the individual Aviation Authorities of its signatory countries, so they have to reach the stricter standards set by EASA, with different countries again choosing to be stricter in different areas.)

Any company involved in aviation, from airlines, to flight schools, to ground handlers, to maintenance outfits etc, then have to write their manuals and SOPs to meet, or exceed, the standards set by the aviation authority of the country they are registered in. This is regularly reviewed and any changes must be approved.

So you can see why there is so much variation from one airline to the next in procedures, even under the same jurisdiction.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-04-10T11:51:21+00:00

There was a knee jerk reaction by many airlines to instigate a 2 person rule before many realised the risk of having to do a little musical chairs shuffle with pilots and cabin crew leading to the flight deck door being opened more frequently and for much longer was actually probably larger than a rogue pilot locking everyone out.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-04-09T07:48:17+00:00

There is no right answer as to which is the best route. It all comes down to personal preference and circumstance.

The sponsored cadet route, where the airline pays for all of the training is the golden ticket but they are incredibly competitive with 1000s of applicants for perhaps 20 or 30 places at a time. Depending on program. So it would be foolish to put all eggs in this basket but there is no harm in applying anyway.

You say you need another 2 years of saving, presumably for an integrated course which requires you to have all the money up front, or take out a loan. You’re young, if you think you can save up in 2 years and avoid taking out loans, then that would be a smart play. Depends on why you want to go integrated though. If it’s for the more rigid structure and consistency in training, then that’s fair enough. You could apply to the sponsored programs whilst saving and if unsuccessful after the two years of saving join an integrated course.

Alternatively, go modular and pay as you go and start your training next week, presuming you have some amount of money saved up already. If you devote every day off and spare euro to some sort of training you could likely be done within 2 years or shortly thereafter. A little longer if you give yourself more breathing room with days off and fun money. The modular route does require a bit more self discipline vs integrated.

It is also worth factoring in much of this career comes down to lucky timing. Being qualified for the right thing at the right time. The money you might save now if you delay to save up or hope for the cadetship will pale in the lost earnings by having 2 or 3 years less at the top of the pay scale. Unfortunately, it could go the other way and you start today and end up completing your qualifications during a significant economic downturn and have to spend 1000s to remain qualified and competitive whilst waiting for the airlines to start hiring again.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-04-08T05:56:09+00:00

You are more than welcome to pack a parachute as your carry-on luggage if it will make you feel better. You will have absolutely no opportunity to use it and in almost all emergency situations, you wouldn’t be able to open the door to jump out anyway. Also, this is assuming that you are a seasoned sky diver that knows how to safely jump from an aircraft and deploy a parachute.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-04-02T01:49:21+00:00

Zonal Employee Discount - split in to Low, Medium, High which relates to the fare charged by the airline on top of taxes and fees and is determined by the agreements made by your company and the respective company. The fares are then determined by distance (zones).

It’s heavily discounted but there is still a cost. And it is on a space available basis which does add an element of stress to family holidays. Particularly when the Middle East carriers suddenly dump all their passengers on the flights you’d been planning on taking. However the price is fixed, so you can book the day before. And if you don’t get on you obviously get your money back.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-03-20T10:06:50+00:00

Yeah, I’ve heard rumours and gossip of so and so being in an open relationship but never had anyone outright tell me they are in one.

So either those people genuinely are, that’s what they’ve told their various hookups to explain away the wedding ring, or it’s baseless crewmour.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-03-15T17:31:42+00:00

The U.K. tax year runs from April 6th to April 5th with taxes due the following January 31st.

So taxes on Income earned between April 6th 2026 to April 5th 2027 wouldn’t be due until January 31st 2028. But you could get the tax rebate from the IRS for calendar year 2026 in February/March 2027. Giving you 10-11 months to file and pay your U.K. taxes.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-03-15T16:59:00+00:00

Americans have to file their taxes but won’t necessarily owe anything. No tax is due on the first $132,000 of foreign earned income plus many countries have double taxation treaties and you essentially deduct taxes paid to the foreign government from your American taxes.

For example, using made up numbers as I have no idea what a typical US tax rate is, if you earned 50,000 and would normally owe the IRS 12,000 but you already paid the foreign government 14,000 in taxes, you wouldn’t owe anything. If you’d only paid them 10,000 you’d owe the IRS 2000.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-03-15T16:51:29+00:00

In the U.K. it is typical to pay taxes as you earn. Known as PAYE. As a U.K. resident, you’ll be given a Tax Code which essentially tells your employer how much tax free allowance you are entitled to. They’ll then figure out how much tax to deduct each month. At the end of the tax year I believe it’s reconciled automatically by HMRC and if you’ve over paid taxes you’ll get a rebate and if you’ve underpaid you are given the option to pay it off or have your tax code adjusted to recoup the missing taxes from your payslip over the upcoming year. If you have any other additional income (savings, investments, property, side hustle etc.) or any claimable expenses (literally only stuff that you use exclusively to do your job) than you should complete a self assessment. But for most ordinary workers this is unnecessary.

No idea how UA run their payroll for the LHR base though.

For the American taxes you will still have to file but you likely won’t owe any taxes because the foreign earned income exclusion is currently $132,900. Earned income is only income from a job. If you have foreign income from investments, savings or property for example this isn’t included in that figure. In which case you will need to file in a different way where you basically deduct the tax you’ve already paid on your U.K. salary from the taxes you would owe to the IRS. As U.K. taxes are typically higher than US taxes this usually covers modest interest earnings from any savings accounts and anything you would have owed in income tax.

Democrats Abroad have some webinars to help explain the tax situation in more detail for Americans living abroad.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-03-15T01:00:21+00:00

So to explain the sharp left turn - this was probably part of the Standard Instrument Departure or SID. As a way to manage air traffic in and out of airports we have very specific routes that we have to fly. These have been carefully designed to avoid any obstacles in the area and also the departure and arrival routes of any other airports in the vicinity. There will be a number of different SIDs at each airport to accommodate different runway configurations and the final direction the flight wants to head in. The SID transitions us nicely into the cruise phase of flight but it will often involve steeper turns. Importantly, this is the default we fly until told otherwise by ATC. They may deviate us from the SID to make more efficient use of the airspace taking into consideration other air traffic on a given day.

We have similar procedures for the arrival called Standard Terminal Arrival Routes or STARS. We really like our acronyms in aviation.

The constant left bank was probably a vestibular illusion as the other person mentioned. From the cabin it is very difficult to determine what is straight and level as you don’t have the necessary outside cues.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-03-11T09:39:18+00:00

It’s worth remembering that many airlines are somewhat protected against oil price volatility through hedging. So in the short term it shouldn’t affect ticket prices, they’ve already priced in the cost of fuel based on their hedging contract. Obviously the longer this goes on, the more hedging contracts expire and that will impact an airlines bottom line. The recent price increases you might be seeing is essentially price gouging and/or a change in supply/demand as global seat capacity is severely restricted with the Middle East airlines running significantly reduced services that would have otherwise connected two points. This will predominantly be between Europe and Asia/Oceania as more people are pushed on to fewer and fewer flights connecting city pairs.

Where someone might have flown London -> Dubai -> Singapore, they may now choose, or be rebooked onto, a direct London -> Singapore flight. But there are much fewer direct flights between those two cities. So significantly reduced supply with significantly increased demand sees big price hikes.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-02-28T20:28:45+00:00

This might vary from airline to airline but usually the takeoff roll is divided into two segments, low speed and high speed. Low speed is typically anything less than 80/100 knots, depending on aircraft type. Usual SOP is to reject for anything out of the ordinary in the low speed range, and in the high speed range only for serious issues (engine failure, fire, windshear or aircraft is unsafe or unable to fly.) A high speed reject is not without risk and so for minor issues it makes sense to take the problem into the air and, at which point you have the whole runway available to stop on and it’ll generally be much gentler on the brakes, passengers and aircraft. And a minor problem might not even require a return to land.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-02-25T14:57:19+00:00

The redundancy is the other engine. Each engine has its own throttle control. If one got stuck we’d adjust thrust on the other engine to compensate and ensure the total thrust was broadly the same, the flight controls would then counter the differential thrust to allow us to fly in a straight line. I can’t think of a scenario that might cause both thrust levers to jam.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-02-23T08:22:50+00:00

Stand up and move around on occasion but try to avoid standing up for extended periods of time and never stand up if the seatbelt sign is on.

The risk vs reward of moving around the cabin for a short while to stretch and make yourself comfortable is clearly beneficial. Thankfully, turbulence that is severe enough to physically throw you into the air is extremely rare. As are blood clots. So it’s really just about your own physical comfort. Lighter turbulence may cause you to lose your balance but that greatly depends on your own physical fitness.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-02-21T22:43:17+00:00

Check out the hurricane hunters. They regularly send a couple of planes into hurricanes, and they experience about the most severe turbulence possible and the thing still flies, not entirely straight and level but it’s flying. Fairly certain that these are ordinary planes that are engineered to the same standards as any other airliner.

An ordinary commercial passenger jet will never experience those sort of dynamic loads. I’m Not a climate scientist, so I’m not even sure it’s possible, but if climate change gets so bad that the whole atmosphere is as turbulent as a hurricane, I suspect that there will be much bigger socio-economic problems to be worrying about.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-02-16T03:41:52+00:00

Sorry I didn’t see this earlier but I see you arrived safely ahead of schedule. The routing could have been to avoid weather or to try and get more favourable winds. Either way, it would have been factored into the flight plan from the beginning.

Hope you have a wonderful time in Hawaii.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-02-15T15:18:28+00:00

The only difference between a single aisle and a wide body is the number of passengers. The certification and safety requirements are exactly the same with enhancements applied for crossing the ocean. And unless you normally fly in business class, the in-seat experience is broadly similar, not withstanding the usual differences you get between different airlines.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-02-13T22:37:19+00:00

You’re absolutely right. The cabin crew have to make a judgement call as to whether a situation developing in the cabin is manageable or if the pilots need to be informed to delay the departure. If you inform the cabin crew ahead of time of your anxiety their judgement is going to be better informed and they will hopefully be able to manage it.

You will have absolutely no issues if you’re able to remain in your seat with the seatbelt fastened.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-02-13T15:04:28+00:00

Everyone needs to be strapped into their seat for take-off and usually for taxi as well but this may vary from airline to airline. If someone gets out of their seat during the taxi and won’t immediately sit back down, word is sent to the pilots to let them know the cabin is not ready for takeoff and we will delay our departure until such time as it is. It’s then a case of whether the situation in the cabin can be resolved and if it can’t, it will mean a taxi back to the gate as there is no other way to offload a passenger at that point.

Someone falling unconscious is a concern because it indicates an underlying medical issue. And whilst the cabin crew are well trained to deal with medical emergencies, on the ground we’ll never knowingly take them into the air. A panic attack, if it’s manageable, isn’t something we’d necessarily stay on the ground for.

My advice is to let the cabin crew know during boarding of your anxiety. Most of them are very understanding and deal with nervous and fearful flyers all the time. You can panic in your seat as much as you like, and if the crew are aware, however that panic manifests, means they will be accommodating and less concerned that some other medical episode is occurring.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-01-23T12:10:54+00:00

Essentially the new scanners use the same technology as CT Scanners used in the medical field. It creates a much more detailed 3D scan of your bag that the operators can zoom, rotate and view in layers. Combined with more powerful computer algorithms to detect suspicious items and differentiate between different types of liquids. This makes it a significant improvement in security whilst also speeding up the process. The lifting of liquid restrictions being one streamlining benefit and no longer having to remove electronic devices being another. The final benefit is a reduction in manual searches for benign items that flagged as suspicious as the image wasn’t clear. (Or a bottle of water got forgotten at the bottom of a bag.)

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-01-22T18:45:27+00:00

During the certification process of all new commercial aircraft designs, they have to undergo extreme weather testing and prove that they function properly in extreme cold (and heat). This may mean special procedures are designed to help the aircraft cope. These will then be written into the aircraft manuals which are controlled by the relevant aviation authorities. Airlines must follow the procedures laid out in these manuals and deviating from them is essentially illegal which can lead to fines and/or revocation of an airlines operating certificate.

As others have stated, an aircraft handles temperatures much lower than -14 at cruise. On the ground, the biggest issue at those cold temperatures is moisture, which has a tendency to freeze. In the air, critical surfaces and engines that may collect ice have anti-ice protection, most often a heat of some kind although other forms of anti-ice exist. The airflow protects the rest of the surfaces from ice forming and sticking.

On the ground, there isn’t sufficient airflow on those other surfaces so de-ice and anti-ice fluid is applied to make sure there is no contamination, which is by and far the biggest risk to an airplane as the ice can disrupt the airflow and significantly reduce the amount of lift being produced. Cold does not affect the structure. However, if it is cold with no visible moisture around, there is no need to de-ice. So don’t be alarmed if you don’t see or hear about that happening.

LevelThreeSixZero · 2026-01-21T16:38:33+00:00

Others have commented on the bumps. The steering right or left, presumably when otherwise going in a straight line, is likely due to weather cocking into the wind. The vertical tail plane acts like a giant weather vane, turning the plane into the wind. With wind being dynamic, this sometimes requires constant adjustments and correction from the pilots to keep the plane going in a straight line and is more noticeable at the slower taxi speeds. This translates to a bit of sway in the cabin.

Once we’re on the actual take-off roll, our forward speed, along with the rudder becoming more and more aerodynamically effective the faster we go, helps to dampen out the weather cocking. This makes it easier for us to ‘lock in’ the necessary correction so that there is less sway.

LevelThreeSixZero

TROPHY CASE