Brussels Airlines is the surviving flag carrier of Belgium after its predecessor SABENA (Societé Anonyme Belge d’Exploitation de la Navigation Aérienne) collapsed in 2001. In between the creation of Brussels Airlines was a carrier named SN Brussels Airlines (SNBA) that took over Sabena’s assets in February 2002, and flew predominantly to Continental Europe and Africa, before merging with Virgin Express in 2007, which created the Brussels Airlines brand we know today.
Brussels Airlines retained the Sabena IATA code (SN) and is wholly-owned by Lufthansa. The Lufthansa Group had initially purchased a 45% stake in the company in 2009, and then grew that share to 100% in early 2017. Since the time of the initial acquisition, Brussels Airlines has been using Lufthansa’s Miles and More frequent flier program and is also a member of Star Alliance.
Network
Brussels’ primary “niche” is its vast network in West and Central Africa. It also serves four long-haul markets outside of Africa, including New York JFK, Washington Dulles, Toronto and recently-launched Mumbai.
In Africa, these are the markets that Brussels Airlines operates to:
- Luanda, Angola
- Cotonou, Benin
- Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- Bujumbura, Burundi
- Douala, Cameroon
- Yaounde, Cameroon
- Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
- Kinshasa, The Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Banjul, Gambia
- Accra, Ghana
- Conakry, Guinea
- Monrovia, Liberia
- Agadir, Morocco
- Marrakesh, Morocco
- Kigali, Rwanda
- Dakar, Senegal
- Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Lome, Togo
Brussels’ predecessor, Sabena, flew to a few more African routes that are no longer served by the surviving carrier, including:
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Entebbe, Uganda
- Casablanca, Morocco
- Bamako, Mali
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Brazzaville, Congo
- Algiers, Algeria
- Cairo, Egypt
- Tripoli, Libya
- Tunis, Tunisia
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- Lusaka, Zambia
- Sal Cape Verte
- Libreville, Gabon
- Nouakchott, Mauritania
- Niamey, niger
- Kano, Nigeria
- Freetown, Sierra Leone
Sabena’s global network was also a bit more well-rounded, as it flew to the following non-African markets:
- Montreal
- Toronto
- Boston
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Dallas/Ft. Worth
- Detroit
- Newark
- Mexico City
- Nassau
- Guatemala City
- Buenos Aires
- Sao Paulo
- Santiago
- Montevideo
- Tokyo Narita
- Chennai
- Mumbai
- Jakarta
- Tehran
- Kuala Lumpur
- Manila
- Singapore
- Bangkok
- Jeddah
- Beirut
Fleet
Brussels Airlines operates 22 Airbus A319s, 9 Airbus A320s, 10 Airbus A330s (4 of the -200 series and 6 of the -300 series), 3 RJ Avroliners, 2 DHC-8s and 3 wet-leased Sukhoi Super Jets operated by Cityjet.
It also has special liveries. Four of the A320s feature a special “Belgian Icon” paint scheme, including the Amare (Tomorrowland), Trident, Rackham, and Magritte.
