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Brussels Airlines to Upgrade A330 Cabins With New Biz and Premium Economy Seats

Brendan Dorsey
Brendan Dorsey
Contributor
Born and raised in Northern California, schooled in our Nation's capital, and currently working in the greatest city in the world - NYC. I was instantly hooked to traveling the second I stepped foot in Europe. The addiction only grew once I found out I could do it for free, all on points and miles. I could also eat bagels for every meal.
Feb. 27, 2019
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3 min read
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Brussels Airlines to Upgrade A330 Cabins With New Biz and Premium Economy Seats
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Brussels Airlines, a Star Alliance carrier and Lufthansa Group subsidiary, has announced it will make upgrades to the interiors of its long-haul Airbus aircraft — including adding a premium economy cabin and an upgraded business class seat.

The carrier currently has 12 Airbus A330s and two Airbus A340s (used for Eurowings flights) — it will retrofit its four A330-200s and 12 of the larger A330-300s.

Brussels says it's investing €10 million into each aircraft's renovation with the first A330-300 rolling out this April.

The business class cabin will see similar seats to what's currently in its premium cabin: the Thompson Aero Vantage seat — although these are reportedly a slightly upgraded version. 30 seats will be laid out in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration.

These seats may look familiar as its used on Swiss and Qantas in addition to modified versions that feature a door on JetBlue Mint.

The airline will add a small premium economy cabin with 21 seats in a 2-3-2 layout — appearing to be similar to Lufthansa's premium economy product.

The new economy class looks nice with new 10.1" IFE screens, but doesn't appear to be much of an upgrade over what's currently offered.

For those who like to indulge in a good drink, Brussels says it's installing an onboard bar where business-class customers can grab drinks from a selection of eight Belgian beers. Laurent Perrier Champagne will be served alongside a four-course meal designed by a "Belgian Michelin star chef." The bar won't be anything you find onboard Emirates or Qatar, but just a modest section of the galley reserved for food and drink.

Since Brussels is part of the Star Alliance, you can use a multitude of miles on the carrier including:

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  • United Mileageplus - 70,000 miles
  • Avianca Lifemiles - 63,000
  • Air Canada Aeroplan - 55,000 miles

Etihad Guest has great opportunities for redemptions even though they actually devalued awards with Brussels in 2017. You'll need just 44,000 miles for a flight between the US and Brussels. The airline flies nonstop from Brussels (BRU) to New York (JFK), Washington DC (IAD) and Toronto (YYZ).

H/T: Bart Lapers

All images courtesy of Brussels Airlines.