There's a new airline crossing the Atlantic, VG Air, flying between the States to Brussels, and then, improbably, to Yerevan, in Armenia. For an unspecified duration they are offering a $500 roundtrip from either Boston or New York to the Belgian capital, also their HQ.
For the flights from Los Angeles to Brussels, their round-trip fare is $750. The line's regular roundtrip economy class fare between New York and Belgium is $800, by the way, or $700 (H class) with a 90-day maximum stay. This $500 fare (and the $750 from LAX) is based on a maximum stay of 30 days and is called K class.
The fares mentioned do not include government and security charges and taxes, needless to say. But you will be flying on wide body, roomier Airbus jets.
The management and pilots have long experience in Belgian aviation, some of them with Sabena (the now defunct, once state-owned, airline) or with VLM, the successful Flemish regional carrier, still operating and considered one of Europe's most successful (and profitable) airlines. The fleet consists of three Airbus 330-200 craft, once owned by Sabena, with standard 32-inch pitch between economy class seats, and an integrated entertainment system.
Once in Brussels, you can fly to many other destinations on Virgin Express, which is fighting the established dinosaur airlines for dominance with our weapon of choice--cheaper fares. Among destinations on Virgin Express from Brussels, you could fly to the following (with sample one way fares purchased online during August and traveling through August or October, depending on destination):
- Barcelona, Rome, Geneva, Milan, Madrid or Nice: 75€
- Faro, Athens or Malaga: 99€
- Stockholm or Gothenburg: 120€
One Euro is roughly equal to one dollar. For more information or to book, go to the VG Airlines website, www.vgair.be. For intracontinental hopping on Virgin Express, go to www.virgin-express.com. For other budget European Airlines, read our previously published A Look at the Budget Airlines.
