BRUSSELS TO MUMBAI FLIGHTS FINALLY A REALITY
(Posted 31st March 2017)
Mumbai, India’s economic powerhouse city, is now connected five times a week with the European capital of Brussels. After Jet Airway over a year ago shifted their European hub to Amsterdam was Brussels not directly connected to India. Brussels Airlines’ flight now changes that, even more important now that Britain served exit notice to the European Union.
The new route is already proving to be successful among Brussels Airlines customers. Brussels Airlines’ new scheduled flight is good news for the tens of thousands of people who travel between India and Belgium each year and is vital for several economic industries such as pharma, diamonds and also the maritime industry. From now on they can fly directly again between Brussels and India no doubt supporting a growth in both trade and tourism. Also on the airfreight side demand is said to be high and the nonstop flights will cut down on transit times for cargo in other hubs mainly in the Middle East.
Flight Schedule (in local times)
| Flight | From | To | Departure | Arrival | Days of the week |
| SN601 | Brussels | Mumbai | 10:45 | 23:00 | 1.345.7 |
| SN602 | Mumbai | Brussels | 01:05 | 07:15 | 12.456. |
With its very first service to India, Brussels Airlines is not only targeting direct passengers, but also travelers who want to fly via Brussels to other destinations in the Brussels Airlines network. The flight schedule allows for smooth connections from and to destinations in Europe, Africa and North America. In India, Brussels Airlines cooperates with Star Alliance partner Air India to ensure connections via Mumbai to several other destinations in India, reaching all the key cities across the subcontinent.
Service adapted for Indian passengers
For the new service, Brussels Airlines added an additional Airbus A330 to its fleet, bringing the long haul fleet to a total of 10 aircraft. The launch of the route has also led to additional employment. In total, more than 200 direct jobs have been created comprising pilots, cabin crew, ground staff, cargo, sales and support services.
Over the last weeks, the Brussels Airlines staff attended special workshops to better understand the Indian culture. Also, in order to service its Indian guests in their local languages, the airline hired and trained 17 Indian cabin crew members now deployed on the Brussels to Mumbai route.
Brussels Airlines now operates 51 aircraft on routes across Europe, Africa, North America and as of yesterday to India, but also flies to select North African destinations and to Israel.
In Eastern Africa does Brussels Airlines fly five times a week to Entebbe, six times a week to Kigali and once to Bujumbura, in conjunction with a stop in the Rwandan capital.
The airline has been operating under its present set up for over 15 years to Uganda but has under its predecessor airline, Sabena, been flying to Uganda for decades with no interruptions.
