Cathay joins forces with Brussels Airlines

Cathay Pacific has joined forces with Brussels Airlines to expand its reach in Europe. A new codeshare agreement means Cathay customers traveling vis Brussels can hop on the Belgian carrier to seven European destinations from July 26. These are: Berlin (Berlin-Tegel), Hamburg, Lyon (Lyon-Saint Exupery), Marseilles, Toulouse, Oslo and Prague. READ:  Cathay passengers see new menus, seats in restructure The deal gives Cathay customers traveling on the Brussels Airlines codeshare flights the convenience of checked-through baggage service the ability to earn Asia Miles. However, they must be booked in conjunction with one of four weekly Cathay A350-900 services between Hong Kong and Brussels. The Hong Kong carrier has been beefing up its network in Europe, the US and China. Its new European routes follow the airline’s move in 2017 to start new services to Tel Aviv (five times weekly) and Christchurch (three times weekly).  It also started a seasonal service to Barcelona. The 2018 roster includes the four-times-weekly flights to Brussels and a move to ramp up Barcelona to four-times weekly flights using the  A350-900. It also flies to Dublin four times a week and three-times weekly flights to Copenhagen. In the US, new direct flights using its A350-1000 to Washington, DC  will start September 15. The service to Dulles International Airport will be the longest in the Cathay network at 7,085 nautical miles (8,153 miles or 13,122kms) and is again part of a strategy for next-generation aircraft. The jet is currently being checked out on shorter regional routes such as Tapei. The new Washington route will complement existing routes to the East Coast, including Boston and New York’s two main international airports – John F Kennedy and Newark Liberty. It brings the airline’s North American destinations to eight, including two in Canada and the airline’s renowned trans-polar flight between Hong Kong and New York. Also in train for November 13 is Cathay's first service to Cape Town. The seasonal service to the airline's second destination in South Africa will complement daily flights to Johannesburg.