Belgian flag carrier Brussels Airlines
is expanding its network over the coming months. The Lufthansa Group
carrier is adding another aircraft, increasing capacity, and introducing a brand new route next spring.
Making Madiera happen
The airline is ramping up its short and medium-haul network next summer to offer more than 71 destinations and 18% more capacity compared to summer 2024. New to the airline’s network is Funchal
(FNC), the capital city of Madeira, Portugal. Brussels Airlines will begin flights to Madiera in April 2025 using an Airbus A320 aircraft. The weekly link will connect the Belgian capital to the island known for its wonderful nature and harrowing landings on a seasonal basis.
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Madeira is a new destination for Brussels Airlines and will bring the number of destinations in the carrier serves Portugal to four. In addition to adding flights to Funchal, the airline will add extra frequencies to Faro (FAO) and Porto (OPO).
Photo: Brussels Airlines
Elsewhere on the Iberian Peninsula, Brussels Airlines will extend its link to Fuerteventura (FUE) in the Canary Islands (which it began for this winter season) into next summer. With the new addition, Brussels Airlines will serve a total of eleven destinations in Spain next summer and add capacity on routes to Malaga, Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid.
The carrier’s link to Birmingham
(BHX) in the United Kingdom, which restarted during the winter season, will also become a year-round destination. In a statement announcing the new routes, Jan Derycke, Head of Network and Planning at Brussels Airlines, highlighted the additional opportunities the added frequencies provide passengers:
“I’m excited to see Brussels Airlines growing and expanding. Not only are we introducing new destinations, but we’re also adding capacity to our existing network. It offers people more flexibility when planning their summer travels.
“Last summer, we were in the top 5 most reliable mayor airlines in Europe. We will once again put everything in place to be a reliable partner to bring our guests to your well-deserved holiday destination.”
Several more destinations will also receive higher frequencies next summer: the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, Tangier in Morocco, and the Greek islands of Samos and Lesbos.
A growing fleet
The airline is supporting the new routes with a combination of aircraft. Brussels Airlines plans to add its 11th Airbus A330-300
aircraft, expanding the carrier’s long-haul fleet to its largest size in history, with the promise that details on the long-haul network for summer 2025 will be announced “soon.”
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Beginning in April 2025 and lasting through October, Brussels Airlines will operate 11 long-haul Airbus A330 aircraft and 35 narrowbodies from Airbus A319 and 320 families. Four additional Airbus A220 planes will be leased from airBaltic
to operate on behalf of the Belgian carrier during the summer season.
Photo: Brussels Airlines
All told, Brussels Airlines will operate 50 aircraft to 91 destinations next summer, up from the 44 it used this year.
Capacity changes
Another change for next summer is Brussels Airlines’ routes within the Lufthansa Group. Brussels Airlines will take over most daily flights from Brussels to Munich and Frankfurt in Germany. Flights from Brussels to Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland will be transferred from SWISS
to Brussels Airlines.
Photo: Brussels Airlines
The carrier is ramping up for the busy summer season by taking new employees. The Belgian carrier plans to hire over 350 extra colleagues for the expansion, including 90 extra cabin crew members, 50 pilots, 40 ground staff, 40 maintenance and engineering team members, and 20 headquarters personnel.
Related
Where Should Brussels Airlines Expand To?
Brussels Airlines is an important part of the Lufthansa Group, providing most of the group’s flights to Africa. But despite that, the airline is still lagging when it comes to the amount of destinations it serves. While Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines have a prominent presence in the US, South America, and even in Asia, Brussels Airlines oddly does not.
There is a lot of potential for Brussels to launch flights to places that have plenty of demand (both business and leisure), such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phuket, Chicago, Houston, or even São Paulo. The possibilities are endless.
Where do you think Brussels Airlines should expand?
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