BRU Summer 2026: news, new routes, airlines

[JSDR]

Concerning AC’s Halifax-Brussels route announcement there are in my eyes two main reasons:

1) AC flies LHR ex-YHZ, however daytime flight ex-YHZ (arrival 8:30 pm) and early morning (9:00 am) departure ex-LHR make this route exclusively point-to-point traffic. AC wishes to give travellers out of Nova Scotia the possibility to make a one-stop-connection thru an European gateway. As they won’t have enough A321XLR’s by June, B737M’s will be used. First Star Alliance hub on the map from Atlantic Canada is BRU - et voilà!

2) Secondly, AC feels pressure from WestJet flying to AMS and CDG ex-YHZ where they have code-share agreements with AF-KL. AC wishes to keep up with their competitor before sufficient amount of A321XLR’s can be based in YHZ (AC plans to fully transition their B737M’s to Air Canada Rouge).

Not sure if the Halifax-Brussels route will remain for S27 - for now (S26) AC might just fill/use in the gap before the deliveries of A321XLR’s are in full swing.

[Miqvell]

- We should also not forget the reduction of CX to 3/weekly which is still somewhat surprising to me considering the flight has been nearly full in all classes everytime I took it (8 times meanwhile).

Cathay is actually back to 4x weekly for next summer.

[Thomaaas]

Really missing links are still DEL, BOM, TPE and ICN in Asia.
I suspect Air India to announce either DEL or BOM for 2026, maybe EVA for TPE (also Star Alliance).
ICN is more dififcult I guess as KE is not Star Alliance.

[lumumba]

S26 vs S25 seems to be booming on the long haul portofolio.

Dakar with Air Senegal
Kilimanjaro with Brussels Airlines
Halifax with Air Canada
Sao Paulo with Latam
Pekin with Air China
Atlanta with Delta Airlines
Chongqing with Hainan Airlines

But on a side note, we loose the 2nd Newark flight with United Airlines and Cancun/PuntaCana/Curaçao with TUI Fly Belgium. Hopefully those dot will come back some day. We will see what the 2 extra A330's from Brussels Airlines will brought us in S27.

And this is the beginning bcs as from 2027 more is expected. Capacity is needed bcs the remote parkings starts to be full also. Air China did good by coming in the evening but all others are again in the morning. It's really crowded. Still no lesson learned in spreading but this is also the job of the home carrier. More feeder waves during the day.

I understand that there is no more room at the gates but you can still board off shore to grow in the meantime

[theeuropean]

I wish ANA would increase Tokyo to at least 4x weekly in the summer season because if everyone else is sat 4x weekly they’re at a disadvantage. Regarding ICN I think that will come once Asiana and Korean Air have fully merged even if Asiana will leave Star Alliance the combined company will have plenty of aircraft and they have to give up some routes because of competition issues. To BRU there is no one flying and Asiana must also have at least the figures for the cargo they fly to and from BRU.

[luchtzak]

Brussels Airport will welcome Air China from March 2026. The Chinese national carrier will operate two key destinations: Beijing and Chengdu, with Chengdu becoming a new destination for passengers departing from Brussels.

https://www.aviation24.be/airports/brus ... arch-2026/

[ZavCity]

Brussels Airport will welcome Air China from March 2026. The Chinese national carrier will operate two key destinations: Beijing and Chengdu, with Chengdu becoming a new destination for passengers departing from Brussels.

What will be the aircraft type(s) pls and is there allready a schedule available?

[ZavCity]

OK, will be mix of A332/A333 according flightlevel, arr around 6.20 AM in BRU and leaving around noon.

[lumumba]

OK, will be mix of A332/A333 according flightlevel, arr around 6.20 AM in BRU and leaving around noon.

That's a good timetable that's great news for Brussels and the hub.

[nordikcam]

OK, will be mix of A332/A333 according flightlevel, arr around 6.20 AM in BRU and leaving around noon.

That's a good timetable that's great news for Brussels and the hub.

Finally no evening flights BRU BEIJING with Air China ?

[lumumba]

OK, will be mix of A332/A333 according flightlevel, arr around 6.20 AM in BRU and leaving around noon.

That's a good timetable that's great news for Brussels and the hub.

Finally no evening flights BRU BEIJING with Air China ?

Looks like.

[BRU_AV_123]

It Seems like Beijing will be Daily and Chengdu 3x weekly. That is 10x/weekly new flights in Total to China. This seems very optimistic to me and I am pretty sure Hainan will suffer a lot from this. Their service is obviously much better than Air China, but they can’t offer many connevtions and their flights are already going out half empty many times.

[lumumba]

It Seems like Beijing will be Daily and Chengdu 3x weekly. That is 10x/weekly new flights in Total to China. This seems very optimistic to me and I am pretty sure Hainan will suffer a lot from this. Their service is obviously much better than Air China, but they can’t offer many connevtions and their flights are already going out half empty many times.

Why is Hainan service so much better?
I don't believe Skytrax much for example the Business class from Brussels Airlines is much better than Emirates but is not considered that way, in a more general sense these quotes certainly have some value. But in my opinion, it's minimal.
Indeed they will suffer because Air China is part Star Alliance and can offer connections on the 2 ends.

[fcw]

I don't believe Skytrax much for example the Business class from Brussels Airlines is much better than Emirates but is not considered that way,

Correct if you speak about their old T7s, but have you ever flown J on the 380?

[lumumba]

I don't believe Skytrax much for example the Business class from Brussels Airlines is much better than Emirates but is not considered that way,

Correct if you speak about their old T7s, but have you ever flown J on the 380?

No, I haven't flown on the new A380s or the new 777s, but I just wanted to put the general assessments(skytrax and others) into perspective.

[BRU_AV_123]

It Seems like Beijing will be Daily and Chengdu 3x weekly. That is 10x/weekly new flights in Total to China. This seems very optimistic to me and I am pretty sure Hainan will suffer a lot from this. Their service is obviously much better than Air China, but they can’t offer many connevtions and their flights are already going out half empty many times.

Why is Hainan service so much better?
I don't believe Skytrax much for example the Business class from Brussels Airlines is much better than Emirates but is not considered that way, in a more general sense these quotes certainly have some value. But in my opinion, it's minimal.
Indeed they will suffer because Air China is part Star Alliance and can offer connections on the 2 ends.

I have flown both and where Hainan was a very pleasant experience, Air China was not. In all aspects, Air China just offers lower quality: comfort, IFE, food, crew ...

[BrightCedars]

I can vouch for Hainan being a superior hard product. But it's good to see some competition and some new dots on the map.

[HQ_BRU_Lover]

With Air China landing in BRU as well, the list of long haul expansion for 2026 is becoming great. This must be one of the biggest long-haul expansions since the 90's I imagine!

[Atlantis]

With Air China landing in BRU as well, the list of long haul expansion for 2026 is becoming great. This must be one of the biggest long-haul expansions since the 90's I imagine!

Exactly, with more to come between 2026-2028.
And the right time to think about infrastructure expansion. Bcs, as I said before, the remote parking's will be full

[Thomaaas]

Anyone knows whether the Chongqing route by Hainan is seasonal for WITT25-26 only? Cant seem to book it beyond March 2026…