BRU Summer 2025: news, new routes, airlines

[Atlantis]

Vueling will introduce the 236 pax seater, A321neo, on the BCN-BRU route. 1 daily as from 30th March and 6 weekly as from 22 June

[Miqvell]

According to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Air China plans to launch Brussels next summer.
No details available.

Domestic carrier Air China plans to open new flights from Urumqi to Tbilisi, Beijing to Almaty, Tashkent, Cairo, Chengdu to Almaty, Brussels and others.

Source : http://www.caac.gov.cn/XWZX/MHYW/202410 ... 25690.html

[Atlantis]

TUI Fly will start next Summer the route to Split from BRU.

[Miqvell]

TUI Fly will start next Summer the route to Split from BRU.

But Montego Bay, Larnaca, Ponta Delgada, Varna, Thessaloniki, Tunis and Samos are removed.
Among other frequency decreases.

[Atlantis]

TUI Fly will start next Summer the route to Split from BRU.

But Montego Bay, Larnaca, Ponta Delgada, Varna, Thessaloniki, Tunis and Samos are removed.
Among other frequency decreases.

And then certain members are surprised that Transavia came on the Belgian market...

Or they feel the strong competition of SN, but yeah, TUI is also using SN planes.

Since a few years something is changing at TUI fly Belgium. If in the next years they will receive more planes of the overall order, they need to still be able to offer enough destinations. Unless not everything is loaded yet for SS25

[koninckske]

TUIfly needs to become profitable again. And to reach that they need to cut loss making destinations or reduce capacity just like any other airline.

It was hard for them to fill the Split flights from ANR. Two options: cancel the destination or reduce capacity. They opted to fly it in a triangle with Dubrovnik next year. Was visible a few days ago, not at the moment. So loading of the flights possible still work in progress.

[DannyVDB]

According to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Air China plans to launch Brussels next summer.
No details available.

Domestic carrier Air China plans to open new flights from Urumqi to Tbilisi, Beijing to Almaty, Tashkent, Cairo, Chengdu to Almaty, Brussels and others.

Source : http://www.caac.gov.cn/XWZX/MHYW/202410 ... 25690.html

If that would happen, this would be a nice addition for BRU.

Chengdu has a population of 21,0 million (4th city in China it seems). Not sure what are points of attraction besides the panda's ( ), but I guess its a major economic node and hub for travel as well for the whole region ...

Danny

[Atlantis]

According to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Air China plans to launch Brussels next summer.
No details available.

Domestic carrier Air China plans to open new flights from Urumqi to Tbilisi, Beijing to Almaty, Tashkent, Cairo, Chengdu to Almaty, Brussels and others.

Source : http://www.caac.gov.cn/XWZX/MHYW/202410 ... 25690.html

If that would happen, this would be a nice addition for BRU.

Chengdu has a population of 21,0 million (4th city in China it seems). Not sure what are points of attraction besides the panda's ( ), but I guess its a major economic node and hub for travel as well for the whole region ...

Danny

More important would be making stronger the Star hub at BRU. More transit/connection pax for the African flights of SN. You don't need only O&D. Air China would be a great addition in this case.

[DannyVDB]

Correct, and China has Africa high on the economical and political agenda !

I assume/hope that Air China could/would put its code on African flights from SN (and Europe) ... wondering if Hainan could become *Alliance sooner or later (?)

D

[Lux_avi]

And then certain members are surprised that Transavia came on the Belgian market...

Or they feel the strong competition of SN, but yeah, TUI is also using SN planes.

Since a few years something is changing at TUI fly Belgium. If in the next years they will receive more planes of the overall order, they need to still be able to offer enough destinations. Unless not everything is loaded yet for SS25

TUI does not use SN planes. There is a slight difference between "using" SN planes and putting passengers on SN flights for travel packages TUI sells. They have been doing that for ages, that is nothing new. What's new is that Ryanair is now also part of the airlines TUI uses for similar reasons.

It is also nothing new that TUI decided the "rightsizing" of its airlines during the COVID crisis and that's what they did. TUIfly BE lost approx 10 aircraft, they were supposed to get 5 new 737-8 in 2025 but that's not going to happen due to the no longer surprising delays at Boeing. Add to this the E2 issues, the huge cost of the unreliable wet-leases they are going to have to use even more in 2025...

Fly4, the new airline that TUI launched with Enter Air is unable to grow as they cannot find pilots. Hence the need to continue using third party carriers like Smartlynx, Leav, Albastar and so on.

Good luck, I would say.

[Miqvell]

Not specifically for 2025 but Léon Verhallen - Director of Development - revealed some priorities :

• Boston (likely United)
• Philadelphia (l. American)
• São Paulo (l. Latam)
• New Delhi (l. Air India)
• Riyadh (l. Riyadh Air)

Source : Routes Online

[lumumba]

Not specifically for 2025 but Léon Verhallen - Director of Development - revealed some priorities :

• Boston (likely United)
• Philadelphia (l. American)
• São Paulo (l. Latam)
• New Delhi (l. Air India)
• Riyadh (l. Riyadh Air)

Source : Routes Online

Air China is not there.

[Miqvell]

Not specifically for 2025 but Léon Verhallen - Director of Development - revealed some priorities :

• Boston (likely United)
• Philadelphia (l. American)
• São Paulo (l. Latam)
• New Delhi (l. Air India)
• Riyadh (l. Riyadh Air)

Source : Routes Online

Air China is not there.

Air China wants to launch Brussels, this doesn't mean China is a priority for BRU, I don't get your point.

[Atlantis]

Not specifically for 2025 but Léon Verhallen - Director of Development - revealed some priorities :

• Boston (likely United)
• Philadelphia (l. American)
• São Paulo (l. Latam)
• New Delhi (l. Air India)
• Riyadh (l. Riyadh Air)

Source : Routes Online

Air China is not there.

Bcs there is a difference between own priorities and airlines who really want to come bcs of business.
In case of Chinese airlines is bcs it's cheap for them to fly to Europe. At BRU they also don't have competition. Second, they invested years very silent in a very strong basis. Bought huge parts of sea ports, having their own banks here, invested in crucial parts of economies. And now they will come and develop more.

In the list is also not LAX and SFO while in the first semester of 2025 there will be a huge royal trade mission to both.

Mid November there will be the royal trade mission to Brazil. LATAM also announced that they will expand their long haul fleet with extra B789. Plan is 2 long haul planes per year. They will expand intercontinental.

[travellover]

Mid November there will be the royal trade mission to Brazil. LATAM also announced that they will expand their long haul fleet with extra B789. Plan is 2 long haul planes per year. They will expand intercontinental.

Hi, one year ago indeed you were talking about 2 or 3 new long haul airlines for 2024 and 2025. Thai was a big guess. Was Latam yet part of these projects ? Thanks.

[DannyVDB]

Not specifically for 2025 but Léon Verhallen - Director of Development - revealed some priorities :

• Boston (likely United)
• Philadelphia (l. American)
• São Paulo (l. Latam)
• New Delhi (l. Air India)
• Riyadh (l. Riyadh Air)

Source : Routes Online

Good to see they are working on it.

Question: the first four in the list were a destination from BRU in the past, was Riyadh ever a destination from BRU?

D

[DannyVDB]

BTW, the Riyadh Air livery is stunning.

I saw one of their planes in the Paris Air Show a year ago, really nice/special

D

[ZavCity]

Indeed Boston (Sabena),Philadelphia(US airways)Sao Paulo(VASP) and Delhi(Jet) were allready here in the past..SaudiArabia hasn't been here before FlyNas started Jeddah.

[rwandan-flyer]

According to Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Air China plans to launch Brussels next summer.
No details available.

Domestic carrier Air China plans to open new flights from Urumqi to Tbilisi, Beijing to Almaty, Tashkent, Cairo, Chengdu to Almaty, Brussels and others.

Source : http://www.caac.gov.cn/XWZX/MHYW/202410 ... 25690.html

If that would happen, this would be a nice addition for BRU.

Chengdu has a population of 21,0 million (4th city in China it seems). Not sure what are points of attraction besides the panda's ( ), but I guess its a major economic node and hub for travel as well for the whole region ...

Danny

More important would be making stronger the Star hub at BRU. More transit/connection pax for the African flights of SN. You don't need only O&D. Air China would be a great addition in this case.

Chendgu is not the city in China where the demand with Africa is the highest. It's Guangzhou which is called 'Little Africa'

Top 5 point to point markets between Africa and Guangzhou (destination served by Brussels Airlines in Africa), in 2023

Nairobi : 30 012 pax, but you have already China Southern and Kenya Airways that operate flights btw CAN and Nairobi
Entebbe : 25 522 pax
Accra : 18 293 pax
Dakar : 13 397 pax
Kigali : 11 986 pax

[Atlantis]

Mid November there will be the royal trade mission to Brazil. LATAM also announced that they will expand their long haul fleet with extra B789. Plan is 2 long haul planes per year. They will expand intercontinental.

Hi, one year ago indeed you were talking about 2 or 3 new long haul airlines for 2024 and 2025. Thai was a big guess. Was Latam yet part of these projects ? Thanks.

LATAM was in the picture but also still another one