Brussels Airlines is the smallest carrier of the Lufthansa group. The airline’s two largest markets are offering intraeuropean flight and services to sub saharan Africa. Therefore the structure of the fleet also reflects this as the airline has 34 narrow body planes and 9 wide bodies, soon to be 10. The fact that the airline will soon be increasing its long haul fleet to 10 units is exactly what I’ll be talking about in this post.
Brussels Airlines Brings Back To 10 Units its A330 Fleet
Before summer 2024 Brussels Airlines long haul aircraft count is stuck at 9 units. That figure is below what it used to be prior to 2020. However that is all to change soon.
The Belgian Lufthansa Group airline will be adding to its fleet of long haul aircraft a 10th Airbus A330-300. The carrier only uses this aircraft type for its long range flights, which are almost exclusively between Brussels and sub saharan Africa.
This 10th Airbus A330-300 will bring the total number of long range airplanes to match what it used to be before 2020. An important milestone for the recovery of this airline.
As for the configuration of the jet it is likely to match that of most Brussels A330s, with:
- 30 Business Class Seats (in an alternating 1-2-1 and 2-2-1 layout)
- 21 Premium Economy Class Seats (in a 2-3-2 layout)
- 244 Economy Class Seats (in a standard A330 2-4-2 layout)
Also along with the addition of this A330 to Brussels Airlines fleet comes a new flight and a power up of an existing service. More about that below.
Brussels Airlines 2023 Network Enhancement
The arrival of this A330-300 will enable Brussels Airlines to power up its operations in Africa, by far the airline’s main long haul market.
In fact the Belgian carrier in 2024 will be:
- Increasing its flights to Kigali to become daily
- Opening a new service to Nairobi with 6 weekly flights.
Tickets will go on sale immediately but the first flight, as mentioned, won’t take off until summer 2024.
The schedule of these flights will differ between the summer and winter months, with more frequencies available during the busier European hot months.
During the summer months the new flight from Brussels to Nairobi SN491 and SN481 will operate every:
- Monday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday
- Sunday
With the Wednesday and Sunday flights from Brussels to Nairobi making a stopover in Kigali.
While in the winter months flights will operate every:
- Monday
- Wednesday
- Friday
- Sunday
With the Wednesday and Sunday services making a stopover in Kigali.
Here’s the in detail operations schedule for Brussels Airlines new Nairobi flights:
Summer Services
| Flight Number | Week Day | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arrival Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | SN491 | Wed, Sun | Brussels | BRU | 10:20 | Nairobi (Via Kigali) | NBO | 22:30 |
| SN491 | Nairobi | NBO | 23:40 | Brussels | BRU | 07:55+1 | |
| SN481 | Mon,Thu,Fri,Sat | Brussels | BRU | 10:20 | Nairobi | NBO | 19:35 |
| SN482 | Nairobi | NBO | 22:30 | Brussels | BRU | 06:45+1 |
Winter Services
| Flight Number | Week Day | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arrival Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SN491 | Wed, Sun | Brussels | BRU | 09:45 | Nairobi (Via Kigali) | NBO | 22:50 |
| SN491 | Nairobi | NBO | 23:55 | Brussels | BRU | 06:50+1 | |
| SN481 | Mon,Fri | Brussels | BRU | 10:25 | Nairobi | NBO | 20:55 |
| SN482 | Nairobi | NBO | 22:55 | Brussels | BRU | 06:50+1 |
Nairobi will go on to become Brussels Airlines’ 18th destination in Africa, however this is not an entirely new service. The airline served the Kenyan capital from 2002 to 2015.
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