Updates Airlines March '24
Essential airline news updates and more, to get you back up to speed!
Update 22 March:
In light of the impending strike, the planned increase in TO fares at Lufthansa Group, Air Canada and United Airlines will be postponed.
The new date for increasing TO fares is 1 June 2024. The increase applies to all fares from Belgium and to all Lufthansa Group airlines, including Atlantic Joint Venture Partners (Air Canada & United Airlines).
Not one, but two airlines will start offering non-stop flights to Shanghai.
Hainan Airlines (HU) will start flying non-stop to Shanghai Pudong (PVG) four times a week. The flights will start on 18 June with flight number HU7922 and will take place on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The flight departs from Brussels Airport at 12h00 in the afternoon, arriving at PVG at 05h00 in the morning the next day. The return flight HU7921 departs Brussels at 02h10, arriving at 08h10.
Juneyao Airlines (HO) will also start flying non-stop to Shanghai Pudong three times a week. The flights will start 1 July with flight number HO1660 and will take place on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays. The flight departs from Brussels Airport at 11h50, arriving at PVG at 05h05 in the morning the following day. The return flight HO1659 departs at 01h55 and arrives in Brussels at 08h15.
Both flights have quasi identical flight times and complement each other well. Only on Wednesdays, there is no non-stop flight to Shanghai. Both airlines cover the route with a Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner.
From 14 March 2024 to 30 November 2024, Belgian passport holders can travel visa-free to China for up to 15 days (14 nights). This is only for the travel purposes tourism, business, friends and family visits and transit, other types of travel are covered by the normal regime. This is a test project by the Chinese government. After this period, it will be evaluated whether to extend this measure.
From 15 March, travellers will be able to book a package holiday where seat prices will be dynamically adjusted based on demand. Customers can choose the following classes on their long haul flight: Economy, Comfort or Deluxe
TB Long Haul classes
- Economy (154 seats) with 76 cm (30 inch) of legroom
- Comfort (126 seats) with 86 cm (34 inches) of legroom
- Deluxe (25 seats) offers the greatest comfort with 106 cm (42 inches) of legroom and personalised service, including meals developed by Jeunes Restaurateurs chefs.
The new pricing is based on availability, with Comfort Class seats costing between €20 and €100 per flight, these seats can now also be booked earlier than 30 days in advance. Deluxe class will cost €200 to €250 more per flight.
TUI fly (TB) will start offering flights to Curaçao (CUR) from 5 November 2024. The exotic island is part of the ABC islands Aruba, Bonaire and, of course, Curaçao. TUI fly, will fly from Brussels to Curaçao twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Emirates (EK) will fly back to Phnom Penh (PNH) daily from 1 May, with a technical stopover in Singapore on the DXB-PNH route. The flight will be operated on a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with three classes: first class, business class and economy class.
Emirates flight EK348 will depart Dubai at 02h30 and arrive in Singapore at 14h05. The flight will then depart Singapore at 15h35 and arrive in Phnom Penh at 16h35. Emirates' return flight EK349 will depart Phnom Penh at 20h50 and arrive in Singapore at 23h50. The service will then depart Singapore at 01h40 the following morning and arrive in Dubai at 04h55.
Emirates (EK) will make a comeback to Adelaide (ADL) in October 2024. Emirates will operate this route using Boeing 777-200LR aircraft with two classes on board. Business Class offers 38 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration and Economy Class 264 seats.
Emirates EK440 departs Dubai at 02h00 and arrives in Adelaide at 20h50. Emirates' return flight EK441 departs from Adelaide at 22h35 and arrives in Dubai at 05h15.
Discover Airlines (4Y) will fly non-stop from Europe to Tulum (TQO) in winter 2024/25. The 12-hour long flights will start on 12 December and end by the end of April 2025. With the bi-weekly service from Frankfurt (FRA) to Tulum, 4Y will become the first European airline to operate from the newly opened Tulum Felipe Carrillo Puerto Airport. The flights will be operated with an Airbus A330.
New airline AirAsia Cambodia (KT) will launch domestic flights from 2 May 2024. The first routes will connect Phnom Penh (PNH), Siem Reap (SAI) and Sihanoukville (KOS) with daily flights using two A320 aircraft deployed at Phnom Penh International Airport.
From now on, you have an additional option to travel directly to Brussels Airport from Kortrijk, and soon also from Ghent. Flibco runs 9 times a day from Kortrijk to BRU. Rides from Ghent will start on 31 March.
Stops:
- Kortrijk: President Kennedylaan, P+R Kinepolis XPO
- Ghent: Sint-Pietersstation, Voskenslaan bus platform 22/23
From Kortrijk, travel time is about 1 hour and 15 minutes, outside peak hours. From Ghent, it takes about 50 minutes, outside rush hour. You can cancel or rebook purchased tickets free of charge up to 6 hours before the journey. You also have the option to use the same ticket for the next departure in case of flight changes.