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  About Tampa

Nestled on Tampa Bay is the quaint and quintessential city of Tampa in Florida's Gulf Coast. Due to its proximity to Cuba, much of the culture, cuisine and lifestyle is Cuban-influenced. Tampa is a famous tourist destination which sees a huge crowd of travellers visiting during peak season.

Best time to visit Tampa

Tampa's busiest months are from May through August as the weather is hot, just the way some people like it. However, it is the months of September to December that you should root for as the weather is very pleasant and the hotel prices are also cheap and convenient. The temperatures range from 22 degree Celsius to 31 degree Celsius, which is quite ideal if you are travelling from India. The hotel reservations in Tampa during these months are also affordable as they have discounted rates, making the trip perfect. You might even end up getting rooms facing the water, which is quite the sight. Plus, the city also sees fun events such as Oktoberfest Tampa and Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. You should know though that summer is also a good time when it comes to hosting events in the city. They have some really amazing events such as Sunset Music Festival, BeeFest and Bolts Brew Fest. Basically, Floridians of Tampa like their beer chilled and crafted. It reflects perfectly with the way they celebrate beer several times in a year. Despite being hot, the city does manage to attract a lot of crowds and along with them, heavy hotel prices.

The winter and spring months at Tampa are exquisite. Even though the temperature falls to 11 degree Celsius sometimes in January, the season still sees a good amount of tourist activity. Due to this, the flight and hotel charges are also quite steep. In fact, it would be best for you to start looking for hotels and accommodations along with your flight tickets, well in advance. You might still get expensive rates for flights and hotels in Tampa, but it always seems like you can manage to get some online deals. It is recommended that you start three months in advance to book flights and hotels in Tampa for a lush vacation. There are some fun festivals too that take place in the city such as Tampa Pride, Taste @ the Straz, Tampa Bay Beer Week, Gasparilla Pirate Fest and Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival. While the prices might be steep and even the streets might be full of crowded tourists, you should still opt for this time of the year for a trip to Tampa. The city's vibe is certainly something that would make you want to relax and have a good time.

Places to visit in Tampa

Tampa is ideal for a family vacation and especially for animal lovers. The place has a lot of tourist attractions that would keep anyone engaged. From the Florida Aquarium to the Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa continues to bustle with tourists as there are many natural locales to explore. You can start with the Riverwalk which is located along the Hillsborough River. You can walk it up or use a bike. The Florida Aquarium is recognised to be one of the best in the world and houses a colossal number of marine life with over 14, 000 residing within. It will take you a long time to complete your tour in the Florida Aquarium, but it will be quite an experience. You can also engage in some interesting shows at the Tampa Electric's Manatee Viewing Centre ZooTampa at Lowry Park is a fun expedition to explore with the family. The zoo has some beautiful animals, including African elephants, orangutans, tigers, koalas, penguins, to name a few species. You can also check out the Henry B Plant Museum, which is located on the campus of the University of Tampa.

Things to do in Tampa

Busch Gardens is a theme park which is sprawled across 297 acres of land. There are many live shows, roller coasters games and shops that would hold your attention. To enjoy the entertainment sphere of Tampa, you should try to get a ticket to watch a show at the Tampa Theatre. The theatre is recognised to be one of the most elaborate theatres in the world. The city also organises several boat tours, and all you have got to do is to pick a cruise or yacht trip and make the most of Tampa. Another fun amusement park is the Adventure Island where you can unwind with your family. Even though the beach is right there, you should visit the amusement park as your kids will definitely love the entertaining activities and rides present. Not to mention how you should indulge in some of the festivals and food tours.

Food and Restaurants in Tampa

Tampa's food is heavily Cuban-inspired. It is Cuban food and waterfront dining that the locals recommend and for all the right reasons. You can enjoy the lip-smacking seafood with Cuban flavours while watching the sunset. It is quite a sight and the ideal dining experience one can ask for. One of the best waterfront seats that you can find in Tamp is at the Oystercatchers, which is associated with Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. The place has the freshest and best seafood that you'll find in Tampa. While Oystercatchers does have a great view of the water and the best waterfront in Tampa, you can also opt for Cafe Dufrain which is located in the Harbour Island. The establishment gives a fancy spin to locally sourced dishes. For some exquisite Cuban food, you should visit Ybor City and make reservations at Columbia Restaurant. The establishment is recognised as one of the top-notch in all of Florida for serving the best Cuban cuisine. Besides Cuban, you will also find Spanish and Caribbean meals from the respective kitchen. What's fascinating is how you'll find flamenco performances while you relish the food.

La Teresita Restaurant is another fun establishment that makes lip-smacking food and offers a great vibe. For special occasions, you should visit Bern's Steak House. The dining scene of the said restaurant is exquisite, and the food is divine. Far off to the other side of the spectrum is the Rooster & the Till, which basically has beautiful farm-to-table dishes to cater to the American tapas. Ulele is also a lovely joint which is perfectly nestled on the Tampa Riverwalk. They specialise in Native-inspired cuisine which includes charbroiled oysters with garlic butter and cheese. Tampa Riverwalk also has many other food joints that would get your attention. They favour Cuban food interspersed with wood-fired pizzas. Hillsborough River is another famous point where the foodies will have a good time indulging in classic to modern dishes.

How to reach Tampa

Flight connectivity to Tampa from India is quite good. Although there are no direct flights that fly to Tampa from India, a plethora of connecting flights and layover options are available. Thanks to a slew of flights that fly to Tampa from the US as well as some European cities, travelling to Tampa is not cumbersome. Instead, it is actually very convenient. Some of the airlines such as British Airways, Swiss, United Airlines, Air Canada, All Nippon Airways, Alitalia, Delta Air Lines, Qatar Airways, United Airways, American Airlines, Air France, Vistara, have impeccable flight connectivity to Tampa from India. The most convenient and popular route to reach Tampa from India is by flying to Miami and getting a connecting flight from there. As both the cities are in the Florida state, travelling via domestic routes becomes easier if Tampa is the destination. From India, there are various international routes to reach Tampa, such as from London, Zurich, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Rome, Toronto and Newark, to name a few. Some of the cities require a transit visa.

Specific countries have rules that require the travellers to hold a transit visa. If you have layovers or connecting flights from cities such as Zurich, Frankfurt, Toronto, Paris, London, Newark, to name a few, you will have to produce a transit visa. This visa cannot be used to step out of the airport as it is only to showcase that you are visiting the said city's airport to board a connecting flight. Flight tickets to Tampa are not cheap. Rather, they are quite expensive. One of the main reasons why travellers opt for Miami instead of flying to Tampa is because of the expensive flight tickets. However, if you have managed to save well and have enough in your bank account to make the trip happen, then you might be able to snag some flight ticket deals to Tampa online. It would be convenient if you also booked your hotels in Tampa while booking your flights. The accommodation in Tampa is just as expensive, which means you will have to make prior bookings, probably more than six months in advance. This way you will get amazing deals online plus you will get to save up for the same in the city.

  About Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines, popularly stylised as brussels airlines, is the flag carrier as well as the largest airline of Belgium. The airline has its headquarters at Brussels Airport and is part of the Star Alliance and International Air Transport Association. Brussels Airlines came into existence in 2006, following a merger between SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express. Prior to the merger, Belgium had the Societé Anonyme Belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation Aérienne or SABENA which functioned as the flag carrier. However, after filing for bankruptcy in 2001, the airlines gave birth to SN Brussels Airlines, which took over parts of the shares from SABENA's assets in 2002. However, after yet another merger with Virgin Express, the airlines transformed into Brussels Airlines, the official flag carrier for the country. Operations of Brussels Airlines commenced in 2007 from Brussels Airport. In 2008, Lufthansa announced that it plans to acquire about 45 per cent stakes in the airlines. With the deal signed, Lufthansa also added a clause to make Brussels Airlines join the airline alliance, Star Alliance.

Soon in 2008, the International Civil Aviation Organization code for Brussels Airlines also changed from DAT to BEL. Lufthansa's proposal to acquire 45 per cent shares in the company went through in 2009 and eventually took up the rest 55 per cent in 2017. Brussels Airlines has expressed much of social interest towards African countries. They have even undertaken a few projects as part of their venture to enable uplifting the lives of people from the third-world nations. In 2009, the airlines stated that they would be working on coming up with a new airline called Korongo at Lubumbashi in Congo. The project kicked off in 2012 but soon shut down in 2015. This was a result of disagreement with Hewa Bora, the national airline for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Brussels Airlines has its registered office located at Elsene-Ixelles, Brussels. The airline is almost wholly owned by SN Air holding, a Belgian holding company. Meanwhile, Lufthansa holds 100 per cent shares of SN Air holding since 2017. According to the original deal formed between the airlines and Lufthansa, the German company would hold 45 per cent in the genesis of the airline while the remaining 55 per cent shall be acquired later. The same was implemented in 2017. After taking over all the shares in the airlines, Lufthansa also appointed Dieter Vranckx to take over roles and responsibilities from Christina Foerster as the CEO of Brussels Airlines. The airlines launched a few special liveries with Belgian Icon on its Airbus A320 fleet, representing a Rackham (a Tintin-themed aircraft), Magritte (an ode to the artist René Magritte), Trident (dedicated to the national football team of Belgian) and Amare (Tomorrowland Festival). In 2018, the airline also introduced a peppy aircraft with The Smurfs as its theme. Additionally, they also added an aircraft reserved for Flemish painter Bruegel.

Fleet size of Brussels Airlines

As of 2020, Brussels Airlines operates an all-Airbus fleet with 52 aircraft. Currently, the airline's fleet is dominated by Airbus A310-100 with about 22 aircraft and 16 Airbus A320-200. Out of all the flights in Brussels Airlines' fleet, they also have one aircraft with Star Alliance livery painted on it. Meanwhile, six of them are painted with the Belgian Icons liveries. Earlier, Brussels Airlines operated six British Aerospace 146s. However, they were withdrawn in 2008. Later in 2010, the airline included two Airbus A319-100s in its fleet. Airbus A320-200 became the first aircraft to join in 2011 with its first commercial flight taking off the same year. Brussels Airlines' fleet continued to expand following 2011 as the revenue from flights increased while the airline did rapidly cut costs. They further added six Airbus A319s, four Airbus A320s and two Airbus A330-200s. With this, they managed to get Boeing aircraft out of the fleet completely. In 2016, Brussels Airlines also started phasing out Avro RJ100 to replace them with more Airbus aircraft.

Brussels Airlines Baggage Allowance

Brussels Airlines follows a strict baggage allowance protocol. The airline makes sure to carry the set number of baggage for checked as well as hand luggage. For checked baggage, the airline requires the passenger to carry not more than 32 kg, which is a standard allowance that includes 23 kg for checked baggage and 9 kg of possible overweight. This is also the standard weight for business class travellers' luggage. The maximum dimensions should be no more than 158 cm and include wheels, pockets and handles. The checked baggage counter will help the passengers with their excess baggage woes if that does happen. The same can be found on their airline's baggage calculator that is present on their website. Some of the restrictions that one needs to adhere to while packing the checked baggage includes not carrying power banks, e-bikes, spare batteries, segways, hoverboards, drones and cameras and smart bags. You might also need to carry some of the fragile and perishable items along with you on board. These would include musical instruments, sports equipment, medical equipment and more.

There is a total of 2 hand baggage that are allowed for business class travellers. Out of this, the airline also allows an additional small bag that can carry a laptop or accessories in the handbag. The weight of the hand luggage cannot exceed 16 kg for business class travellers. As for the economy class, the airline allows one hand baggage and one personal accessory bag. The weight of these two bags collectively cannot exceed 12 kg. The airline's website also has a baggage calculator to help the passengers figure out how they can reduce the weight of their baggage. The maximum dimension of the bag for the overhead bin cannot exceed 55cm x 40cm x 23cm. The personal accessory bag should not exceed 40cm x 30cm x 10cm. The airline has limited space in the overhead bin, and hence all passenger should follow the protocol. Also, the size of the hand accessory should fit under the seat. Valuable items such as identity documents, medication and travel details should be carried in it.

Brussels Airlines In-flight services

Frequent-flyer programmes - Brussels Airlines is recognised to follow Miles & More programme which is a frequent flyer programme by Lufthansa. Miles can be earned on specific flights that are operated by the airlines and who are also part of the programme. Additionally, the flights that are operated under Star Alliance airlines can also earn the frequent flyer miles. Part of Brussels Airlines' deal is that the passengers can earn miles with non-airline partners too. The miles programme commenced in 2009, and since then, there have been many passengers and members who have raked in tremendous perks and in-flight benefits from Brussels Airlines. Their miles programme is quite beneficial as travellers can upgrade their cabin class and even rake in complimentary meals and lounge access at various international airports. Not to mention how some of the in-flight services at Brussels Airlines that economy class passengers cannot avail concerning baggage allowance and more become easier to access. Along with this, the airlines also provide perks through their customer programme called LOOP.

In-flight entertainment - The airlines offers two in-flight magazines that cater to the European network as well as the African network. Since the airline majorly caters to these two continents, the magazine's audience is predominantly European and African. The two magazines are called b-there! and B Spirit Magazine. They can be availed via PDF format on their respective websites but can also be downloaded on Apple iPad.

Other in-flight services - Brussels Airlines has some impeccable in-flight services to ensure the journey of travellers is comfortable. Flights that are North American or sub-Sahara African bound have exquisite movies, music and other entertainment available on the flight. The airline also offers a slew of good leather seating that caters to the comfort of the travellers. The legroom is also quite decent and perfect for those who have travelling woes, owing to the lack of leg space. The recline of the seats are also quite decent to help the passenger feel comfortable. There are provisions of USB ports on the seat for passengers to charge their phones, tablets and other electronic devices. There are meals onboard where the passengers are blessed with some traditional Belgian delicacies courtesy some of the star chefs from the country. There are light meal menus available such as a muffin and coffee.

Popular routes and top cities for Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines majorly caters to domestic routes in Europe with an immaculate network. However, the airline also connects to international routes in the African and parts of Middle East cities. Some of the top cities include Toronto, Prague, Parsi, Nice, Lyon, Berlin, Athens, Mykonos, Rome, Nairobi, Riga, Oslo, Saint Petersburg, Madrid, Stockholm, London, New York City and Washington DC.

Why travel by Brussels Airlines?

Brussels Airlines is ideal for travelling in Europe. If you do plan to reach some of the cities in the EU Union, Brussels Airlines is perfect. You can book a Brussels Airlines flight on all travel platforms, even in their codeshare airlines. Further, you can find out updates on the flight status and Brussels Airlines' flight schedule on their website. Web check-in is also a provision available on their site that makes it ideal.