Brussels Airport route map

[Conti764]

I was surfing on the internet today and stumbled accros Brussels Airport's route map. When looking at the US map I saw several destinations in light blue (with an intermediate stop) and some with red dots (direct flights). What amazed my was that they had destinations indicated as direct flights which are not served directly from BRU. You had IAH, MIA, LAX and SFO for example. A mistake, false information or is United going to surprise us?

After edit: I was referring to the route map on their website.

[tolipanebas]

I am not sure it is a mistake really: flights to the places you've mentioned operate directly from BRU, albeit with an intermediate stop (and sometimes even a plane change), BUT officially you're still on the same flight from BRU.

There are more exemples of this on the website, BTW: Kinshasa for instance isn't served non-stop from BRU either, the SN flight first routes through another destination, yet I don't think anybody will have a problem with seeing FIH displayed as a destination served from BRU? Same logic is applied to those US destinations...

There's a small difference between non-stop and direct, and I think this is what causes your confusion.

[BrightCedars]

US airlines have a tradition of using a flight nr for two actually separate flights on different aircraft, I find the logic a bit fuzzy but theoretically you could say there is a flight between BRU and IAH. Single flight nr, but a change of airplane at an intermediary point.

I prefer maps that show the reality of things. Same plane service: a direct flight (although I used a same plane service, same flight nr, service between SIN and TPE via HKG but you still have to get out of the plane and reboard to really how direct is it?); intermediary stops; shown on the map (no BRU-FIH straight line if the plane stops en-route).

[Conti764]

Thanks for your replies It sounds logical indeed...

CO flies IAH as a tag on from EWR and UA does the same with SFO and LAX from ORD and IAD. But then I wonder which airline offers MIA as a tag on from BRU? AA?

[tolipanebas]

It's US Airways' daily PHL flight which 'continues' to MIA....

[azingrew]

It really is a matter of vocabulary used on each side of the Atlantic: In the US, a direct flight is always with an intermediate stop, but no plane change; a non stop flight is, well, non stop.
However, I could never understand how airlines get away with assigning a single number for flights that originate in Europe AND the continuing flight which is a totally different one. Planes do not go any further than their gateway in the US ! One always continues its flight on a different plane than the TATL. When UA advertise a BRU-LAX, I think it is misleading the passenger. UA does not fly to L.A from Brussels.