Final Sukhoi Superjet 100 flight for Brussels Airlines

Today (Monday 7 January 2019) Brussels Airlines operated its last Sukhoi Superjet 100 flight ever.

Less than two years after the Belgian airline awarded a wet-lease contract to CityJet, it is terminating the wet-lease contract for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 with the Irish airline.

Brussels Airlines introduced the regional jet in March 2017 to replace the Avro RJ100 on some thinner routes as the Avro was about to be phased out in October 2017.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 operated Brussels Airlines flights to several European destinations including Birmingham, Bologna, Stockholm Bromma, Edinburgh, Krakow and Milan Malpensa. We have some detailed trip reports to relive the Brussels Airlines Sukhoi Superjet 100:

• First Brussels Airlines Sukhoi Superjet 100 flight (Brussels – Nice) on 26 March 2017
• Brussels Airlines Sukhoi Superjet 100 flight (Brussels – Nantes) on 12 December 2017
• Flying the Brussels Airlines Sukhoi Superjet, operated by CityJet

The Sukhoi Superjet 100, although getting some good reviews from passengers for being a comfortable aircraft, turned out to be not as reliable as anticipated by Brussels Airlines. Furthermore, a lack of available spare aircraft parts forced Brussels Airlines to cancel several flights. As a result, the airline decided to terminate its contract for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 with CityJet and to gradually phase out the regional jet during the winter 2018/2019 season.

Today’s final Brussels Airlines flight operated with a Sukhoi Superjet 100 was flight SN2254 from Billund, Denmark to Brussels. The flight was operated with EI-FWB.

Two other Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft that operated for Brussels Airlines (EI-FWD and EI-FWE) have already been flown to Shannon, Ireland for storage.

The end of a (small) era for Brussels Airlines and the Sukhoi Superjet 100.

7 January 2019

Photos: copyright (c) Ivan Coninx