Having “checked in” you move from the departure lounge when the “boarding” sign illuminates.
Once you choose between a window or aisle seat, a monitor shows you your “destination”, in this case Bora Bora on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia.
The cabin crew then switch on the obligatory safety video…. and that’s when you are reminded this is, actually, all for fun.
The video features a highly amusing “airline crew member” going through the familiar safety routine in a way that, well, you will have never seen before.
No, you are not heading to an exotic holiday island but sat on the ground floor of a building in downtown Brussels.
The plane in question is real enough, though: the fuselage of a plane which has, remarkably, been transported, bit by bit, from the north of England (Manchester) via the English Channel to Rue Commerce, a street very close to Brussels’ EU Quarter.
You have to pinch yourself, though, that this is really happening – that you are about to sit down to a meal inside part of a real aircraft, albeit decommissioned, that, in its previous life, flew thousands of kilometres.
But it is real enough and that is all thanks to the passion, ambition and hard work of one man: Alain Loiseau.
A retired commercial airline pilot, he had enjoyed a 30-year flying career when he came up with what he admits many may have deemed a madcap idea: to locate an old plane, move it to Brussels and turn it into a multi-event venue, including restaurant.
But, a few years after last flying a plane back in 2012, that is precisely what Alain did. The result is a large chunk of the aforementioned former German airline plane, now reconfigured but still retaining most of its original features, now sitting inside a building in Brussels.
Alain admits that even the tradesmen he employed to rebuild the plane at its new home were left scratching their heads as to how they’d go about such an unusual task.
But many of them had also worked in the cinema industry so were used to using their imagination on such things.
What you see today is a real life flying experience, called “Flylounge” and that starts the minute you walk through the front door.
You are introduced to the cabin crew (on this occasion, Keny and Patricio), both suitably attired in airline uniform, and your chef for the “flight” (Sebastian Hayot).
Having dropped belongings and coats at the “check in” desk and, being “VIPs” for the day, you are offered a nice glass of bubbles in the “departure lounge”.
An announcement is then made that boarding is ready and for all “passengers” to take their seats.
The aforementioned safety video is shown (laughter all round) and the main point of the whole exercise – your meal – starts to be served.
The chef deserves full credit for serving up some of the best food you will ever enjoy on a “flight”. No, none of that tasteless stuff many of us will be used to but top notch cuisine. On this occasion (the menu is always changing) that amounts to a lovely pumpkin-inspired soup, followed by delicious roasted duck breast and a delectable dessert (poached pear).
Unlike food on most flights (unless you are lucky enough to be in first class), this is food to savour, enjoy and which leaves you feeling like you’ve actually been treated to a dining experience.
It is all washed down with some lovely red and white wines (or softs) and a coffee.
But, while the food is excellent, the real fun here is just being treated to eating out in such unusual surroundings and that even extends to the loos which were removed (as with things like the overhead lights) from the aforementioned aircraft in England.
And that takes us back to Alain who you certainly see and hear a lot more from here than you would from the pilot on a real flight
In between each course, Alain takes time out to describe, in detail, how he managed to transport the plane from Manchester to Brussels and all the obstacles he had to overcome in the process. That included the start of the crippling coronavirus health pandemic which coincided at the worst possible time for what he happily calls “my great adventure.”
The pandemic meant he had to delay the launch of “Flylounge” but there was also Brexit – and the additional customs issues that that entailed – to face.
Alain, who used to fly planes for Brussels Airlines and Richard Branson’s Virgin Express, ploughed on regardless and shipped the plane, in parts, to a site alongside Brussels Canal where work started on what was a remarkable transformation and overcoming the seemingly impossible task of manoeuvring such a bulk through the front door of an office block.
Alain calls the whole thing “my pet project” and, thankfully, it has proved a huge success.
The restaurant itself is open usually on a Friday and Saturday evening but the space is used very creatively the rest of the week, including for company team building events and much else besides, such as acting as a set for adverts and even as scenes for motion pictures (it’s appeared in no less than 25 to date).
You will enjoy it all the more if you get into the spirit of the occasion, for instance, for the role playing “sketch” (when you’re invited to pretend you’re giving safety instruction) plus a quiz, moderated by Alain, which, naturally, has an aviation theme.
For a bit extra, and with Alain providing his expert supervision, you can even enter the cockpit to have a go at taking off and landing a plane on the lifelike simulator.
After “arriving” at your destination (Boro Boro in this case), and before leaving, you might also like to take with you a souvenir which can be purchased from a small shop.
Alain, who started his career in aviation as a flying instructor, and his super friendly crew thank you for “flying” with them and it’s back to reality.
Says Alain, “It’s certainly been an adventure and, if you asked if I would do it all again,I might say ‘no’ but I am proud of what we have achieved.”
Brussels and Belgium is full of terrific places to eat of course but there can, surely, be nowhere quite like this place here. If you come for a meal, then the food is very nice but it is the whole experience that gives you, well, that soaraway feeling.
As with the cuisine and service, the background music is also very pleasant and includes – what else? – the 1978 hit by The Motors called….. “Airport,” of course.
Info: Flylounge
Rue du Commerce, Brussels
02 318 0047
https://www.flylounge.com
Booking repas du soir : https://flylounge.com/repas-experience
Booking repas du mardi midi : https://flylounge.com/lunch-details
Booking séances de simulateur : https://flylounge.com/particulier/pilotage
Vouchers à offrir : https://flylounge.com/bons-cadeaux
