Brussels Airlines
Contents
History of Brussels Airlines
It is a young airline of a European country. The corporation was created by merging the flagship SNBA and Virgin Express. Both companies went through the bankruptcy process in 2005 and, in order to preserve them, it was decided to merge them together. At the end of 2006, the merged concern received a new name, and from March 27, 2007 began operating regular flights.
Literally in its first year of operation, two processes were launched: on the one hand, Brussels Airlines started buying out Lufthansa’s shares; on the other hand, it joined StarAlliance by adopting the Miles&More alliance’s loyalty program.
The carrier’s first flights were to Accra, Kinshasa and Cotonou, becoming one of the main connecting elements between Western Europe and Black Africa. In some years, Brussels Airlines was the only European company to fly to dangerous African countries.
The pandemic hit operations hard: the carrier practically did not even operate private flights for a year, which brought it to the brink of bankruptcy. The situation has been gradually improving since 2022, but the airline has now fully restored flights only to Western Europe.
Brussels Airlines fleet
Like many other European carriers, Brussels Airlines has a fleet consisting exclusively of Airbus aircraft. All Boeings were withdrawn from its fleet back in 2011, and no renewal is planned at the moment.
| Name | Type | Number of vessels | Capacity | Availability of business class |
| Airbus A319-100 | Passenger mainline | 16 | 141 | none |
| Airbus A320-200 | 18 | 180 | ||
| Airbus A330-300 | 9 | 295 | 30 |
Flight directions
Like other companies in the Lufthansa Group, Brussels Airlines has not operated flights to Russia since March 2022. Among the curious things is the unusually wide geography of flights in Tropical Africa. The hub is Brussels Airport, from where flights to the following regions are operated:
- CIS and post-Soviet space: Yerevan, Riga, Vilnius;
- countries of Northern and Central Europe: Vienna, Freiburg, Dusseldorf, Geneva, Oslo, Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Copenhagen, Gothenburg;
- Southern and Western Europe: London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Paris, Marseille, all resort cities and capitals of Italy, Spain and Portugal, Athens, Malta;
- Africa: Kampala, Monastir, Lomé, Kinshasa, Accra, Freetown, Kigali, Dakar, Rabat, Conakry, Banjul, Hurghada, Abidjan, Douala, Yaoundé, Luanda (the largest coverage of the Black Continent by European airlines);
- Occasional flights to New York and Helsinki.
Classes of service
Brussels Airlines has two standard classes of service: economy and business. Business Class cabins are only available on intra-European flights operated by the A330.
The following services are provided to all economy class passengers:
- assistance in accommodating passengers with limited mobility;
- escorting children under 16 years of age traveling without a guardian;
- free access to soft drinks without restrictions (coffee, tea, water, lemonade);
- on flights longer than 3 hours – hot meals with different choice of dishes (meatless, with religious menu, gluten-free);
- on-board multimedia entertainment system with a collection of 10+ movies in 5 languages. A headset is available upon request;
- sleeping sets for passengers in comfort class (economy class with extended legroom);
- in-flight magazine in English about Belgium and its sights;
- possibility to charge a gadget via the built-in USB port in the customer’s seat.
Business Class customers receive special service on the ground. They have access to a VIP lounge where they can take a shower, eat buffet meals or sleep in a full bed. VIPs receive priority boarding and disembarkation and are transported to the ship by additional transportation at the airport. On board, they are served an upgraded multi-course meal on all flights. In Business Class there is the opportunity to enjoy the Brussels Airlines wine collection. The seats in VIP Class fold out to become a full bed.
Brussels Airlines loyalty programs
Identical to the Lufthansa bonus offer, called Miles&More. Unlike its counterparts, the Brussels Airlines bonus offer is not divided into “levels” but into categories.
Each awards points for a specific set of services. The categories are as follows:
- Frequent Treveller – bonuses can be spent on buying tickets, increasing free baggage allowance and booking transfers. Suitable for those who fly frequently and carry a lot of cargo;
- Senator – improved service on board even in economy class. Suitable for those passengers who demand comfort;
- HON Circle – points can be spent on hotel rentals, restaurants, spas and cabs from Brussels Airlines partners. Suitable for passengers who frequently use additional services.
All bonuses can be earned by buying tickets, ordering additional meals or upgrading the class of service. The calculation system is not transparent, for more accurate information we recommend using a special calculator on the carrier’s website.
Baggage allowance
Standard restrictions on dimensions (up to 158 cm in the sum of three dimensions) and weight (depending on the class) apply. The maximum weight of luggage allowed in the cargo compartment is 50 kg with dimensions of 203 cm. Larger goods are transported at a special tariff.
Check-in
It opens 24 hours in advance and ends 60 minutes before the plane departs. It can be completed on the official website, in person at the airport, on the Brussels Airlines app or by phone (in English, French or German).
Contact Brussels Airlines
To contact representatives of the carrier, you can use the contact form in the Contacts – Contact Us section of the official website. Due to the peculiarities of the resource filing a complaint may be unavailable for technical reasons. Scans of your ticket and passport must be attached for consideration of claims.
| Contacts | |
| Address | B. House, Brussels Airport Building 26, Ringbaan, 1831 Diegem, Belgium |
| Phone number | + 32 2 754 19 00 |
| [email protected] | |
| Website | brusselseairlines.com |
| Social media | Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram |