Move

BELGIUM | Brussels Airlines set to launch new ‘Belgian Icon’ livery on 12 February

Posted by Timothy on

Belgium‘s main airline Brussels Airlines is preparing to introduce a new aircraft in its well-known ‘Belgian Icon‘ series, with the official unveiling scheduled for 12 February 2026, Thibault Lapers‘ Mobilithib and FlightLevel.be report. 

The new livery will be applied to Airbus A320ceo registered OO-SNJ, information first revealed by Flightlevel.be and subsequently confirmed by industry sources.

The aircraft is expected to become the tenth Belgian Icon since the programme was launched in 2015. Its selection is seen as logical within the fleet: OO-SNJ is currently the last Airbus A320 still wearing the airline’s former standard livery, introduced in 2007 following the merger of SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express. Brussels Airlines plans to repaint the aircraft in the coming weeks.

At present, no details have been made public regarding the theme of the new Belgian Icon. The airline has confirmed only that the official presentation will take place on 12 February.

Likely replacement for the Tintin aircraft

With the arrival of this tenth Belgian Icon, OO-SNJ is widely expected to replace OO-SNB within the special-livery fleet. Brussels Airlines has not yet communicated a precise transition timeline, but such a move would align with fleet renewal and aircraft age considerations.

The Airbus A320 OO-SNB, now approximately 25 years old, entered service in 2001 and joined Brussels Airlines in May 2011. It was unveiled on 16 March 2015 wearing a livery inspired by ‘The Adventures of Tintin: The Treasure of Red Rackham‘, created by Belgian cartoonist Hergé.

In 2021, the ‘Rackham’ aircraft was repainted in an almost identical design and received a themed cabin interior, following the renewal of the partnership between Brussels Airlines and Tintinimaginatio for a further five years. When asked about the future of this collaboration beyond the current agreement, the publishing house declined to comment.

The future Belgian Icon aircraft, OO-SNJ, is 18 years old and previously operated for Volareweb, Air One and Alitalia before joining Brussels Airlines in January 2018.

A flagship series celebrating Belgium

The Belgian Icons programme has become a cornerstone of Brussels Airlines’ brand identity. Since its launch in 2015, it has featured liveries celebrating Belgian culture, heritage and creativity, including the Red Devils and Red Flames, Tomorrowland, the Atomium, painters René Magritte and Pieter Bruegel, and comic-strip characters Tintin and the Smurfs.

Currently, Belgian Icons in active service represent the Red Devils/Red Flames, Tomorrowland, the Atomium and Tintin. The upcoming aircraft will become the fifth Belgian Icon currently flying, following the introduction of the Atomium-themed livery last year.

In April 2024, Brussels Airlines introduced the second version of its ‘Amare‘ livery, now carried by Airbus A320neo OO-SBB. In March 2025, a major public design competition selected architect Thomas Faes as the winner, with a concept inspired by the Atomium.

In addition to the Belgian Icons, Brussels Airlines also operates Star Alliance liveries on three aircraft—two Airbus A320s and one A319. Furthermore, special decals are applied to the airline’s Airbus A330 fleet to commemorate the centenary in 2025 of direct air links between Brussels and Africa.

With anticipation building ahead of the February unveiling, the new Belgian Icon is expected to continue the airline’s tradition of using aircraft liveries as flying ambassadors of Belgian culture and identity.

Brussels Airlines news

Leave a Reply

To respond on your own website, enter the URL of your response which should contain a link to this post's permalink URL. Your response will then appear (possibly after moderation) on this page. Want to update or remove your response? Update or delete your post and re-enter your post's URL again. (Find out more about Webmentions.)