{"id":73328,"date":"2015-10-23T14:02:22","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T13:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/turkeyalwan.net\/?p=73328"},"modified":"2017-08-03T17:12:45","modified_gmt":"2017-08-03T16:12:45","slug":"travel-tip-collect-free-flights-with-brussels-airlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turkeyalwan.net\/travel-tip-collect-free-flights-with-brussels-airlines\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel tip: collect FREE flights with Brussels Airlines!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday newsletters<\/a>\u00a0always feature luxury travel contests<\/a>,\u00a0tips<\/a>, series<\/a>, or\u00a0news<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today (October 23, 2015):\u00a0Travel Tip:\u00a0collect FREE flights with Brussels Airlines.<\/strong><\/h5>\n

As a Belgian, I was very happy to learn this week that Brussels Airlines<\/a>, which is Belgium’s flag carrier and largest airline, launched a new loyalty program, designated\u00a0LOOP<\/a>. While it still does not come close to my\u00a0favorite frequent flyer program in the world – AAdvantage (read here<\/a> why I love AAdvantage so much) – it will\u00a0offer a valuable alternative to the pathetic Miles & More program that Brussels Airlines will continue to use in parallel to LOOP. The new program is built around two principles: simplicity and allowing passengers to get what they want most as fast as possible \u2013 a free flight.\u00a0It will especially\u00a0award those flying economy in short-haul.<\/p>\n

\"BRUSSELS<\/a>
BRUSSELS AIRLINES AIRBUS A330 TAKEOFF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To give you some background, SN Brussels Airlines was founded after the bankruptcy of Sabena, and later fused with Richard Brandson’s Virgin Express to become Brussels Airlines as it is known today. The airline is headquartered at Brussels Airport and flies to over 70 destinations in Europe, but is mainly known for its African connections where it is one of the major players on the markets. In\u00a02009,\u00a0Lufthansa took a minority share in Brussels Airlines\u00a0and as a result,\u00a0Brussels Airlines joined\u00a0Star Alliance<\/a>\u00a0and, unfortunately, started using Miles & More<\/a> as its frequent flyer program. Unfortunately indeed, because Miles & More underwent major devaluations over the last years and the program became worthless in terms of advantage for frequent flyers. Some even call it\u00a0Miles & Less<\/a>\u00a0and the devaluations have drastically reduced the pool of Lufthansa\u2019s most loyal customers.\u00a0Sometimes a paid ticket on flight is cheaper as compared to the taxes and fees that you pay for a Lufthansa (or Swiss, Austrian or Brussels Airlines) award ticket on the same flight.<\/p>\n

Here are some key points about LOOP (as explained on its\u00a0official website<\/a>\u00a0and the Brussels Airlines\u00a0press release<\/a>) and some information why LOOP wants to break with conventions of the traditional frequent flyer programs:\u00a0<\/p>\n