Brussels Airlines and NORDIC sign long-term cooperation

 Brussels Airlines joins forces with Belgian tour operator NORDIC, market leader in Belgium and specialist in travel to Scandinavia. Following the agreement for the coming three years, the partners will offer direct flights to Lapland and Southern Norway in the summer and winter seasons. In the years to come, Brussels Airlines and NORDIC aim to expand the number of flights and destinations.

The first flight within the three-year contract between Brussels Airlines and NORDIC is scheduled for 4 July, to Evenes in the north of Norway (Lofoten). Both parties plan to operate a weekly flight during the summer holidays. It will be the first time that direct flights to this destination are available from Brussels Airport. During the winter season Kittilä, Kiruna and Bergen (southern Norway) will be added to the network. Earlier, Brussels Airlines had already operated flights to Kittilä, Kiruna and Bergen on behalf of NORDIC, while Evenes is a new destination.

Brussels Airlines and Sunweb want to make it easier for travellers to find their way to the Sunweb offer.

      Sunweb package holidays can now also be booked via a link to sunweb.be on the Brussels Airlines website. Sunweb and Brussels Airlines have worked together before, but it is a first for the airline to link to Sunweb’s package holiday offer, composed and sold by Sunweb. The two companies are highlighting the far-reaching flexibility they are offering together.

Due to the continuing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus, consumers expect and value flexibility, security and guarantees. With the money-back guarantee and rebooking guarantee, Sunweb offers a package holiday that meets the demand of the customer. The money-back-guarantee comes into effect when there is negative travel advice because of COVID-19. Rebooking to another date and/or destination is possible free of charge, up to 6 weeks prior to departure.

The pandemic heavily impacts Brussels Airlines 2020 financial results

    In line with expectations due to the Covid-19 crisis, Brussels Airlines booked a loss of EUR 293 million in the financial year 2020.

    Losses and cash-out limited by stringent cost-saving and cash management measures.

    Revenue down by 72% to 414 EUR million and operating expenses decreased by 53%, mainly due to lower production.

    Passenger numbers decreased by 77% to 2.4 million.

    Transformation plan Reboot was intensified and accelerated to counteract the impact of the crisis and lay the basis for profitability by 2023.

    2021 foresees a gradual capacity build-up, but will remain a challenging year. Summer season is essential.

 

2020 was an unprecedented year for the airline industry, including for Brussels Airlines. With a restructuring plan already ongoing at the beginning of 2020, Brussels Airlines was off to a good start in January and February, when suddenly demand began to crumble fast as the Coronavirus found its way to Europe. The second quarter was marked by a worldwide lockdown, when at the end of March Brussels Airlines decided to ground its fleet during 12 weeks, with only repatriation and cargo flights still operating. On 15 June, the airline resumed a reduced flight schedule, with very tight steering and a very flexible capacity management, in order to guarantee cash positive operations and preserve its cash position from further deterioration. Every week so far since the restart in June, Brussels Airlines succeeded to obtain cash-positive operations, i.e. covering all flight related cash-outs with respective revenues. Nevertheless, fixed costs such as aircraft loans, personnel expenses, rent etc. still remain and are not covered by the current low level of flying.

Summer 2020 showed a promising resumption of traffic with strong demand on the European leisure network, as well as on the African network.  However, a second wave of Covid-19 slowed down demand again after summer. As a result of the restrictive travel regulations worldwide and to meet the cash-positive flying target, the capacity decreased further in October and November and reached a level of -78% vs the same period in 2019. As demand remained much more stable on the African segment than on the European sector, the airline shifted its focus toward its African portfolio, in combination with its European feeder flights for the rest of the winter season. Around the end of year holiday period another peak in demand was recorded on the European leisure segment and on the African network. The full year capacity was severely impacted by the crisis, with 74% less flights compared to the previous year.

Brussels Airlines' revenue fell by 72% to EUR 414 million (previous year: EUR 1,473 million) as a result of the Coronavirus crisis. Operating revenue was 71% below the previous year's level at EUR 456 million (previous year: EUR 1,555 million).

Brussels Airlines' Adjusted EBIT fell to EUR -293 million in the 2020 financial year (previous year: EUR -27 million – IFRS standard). The Adjusted EBIT margin decreased by 69.0 percentage points to -70.8% (previous year: -1.8%). EBIT decreased to EUR -332 million (previous year: EUR -32 million). The difference compared with Adjusted EBIT was mainly due to impairment losses on rights of use for aircraft amounting to EUR 33 million.

With 2.4 million passengers, Brussels Airlines carried 77% fewer passengers in the reporting year than in the previous year (previous year: 10.3 million). Capacity had to be reduced by 71% and sales fell by 75%. At 68.3%, the seat load factor was 13.2 percentage points lower than in the previous year (81.5%). Average yields increased by 1.0% after adjusting for foreign exchange effects. Traffic revenue fell by 72% to EUR 384 million (previous year: EUR 1,386 million).

 

New CEO

Since 1 March, Peter Gerber is the new CEO of Brussels Airlines. Next to his role as CEO and CCO of Brussels Airlines, Peter Gerber also acts as the Lufthansa Group Chief Representative for European Affairs. His focus will be on guaranteeing continuity at the airline, further implementing the Reboot Plus plan to create a profitable future for the company and steering the airline through the crisis in a sustainable manner.

     „2020 confronted Brussels Airlines and the entire aviation industry with the largest crisis in its history. I want to thank everyone involved for their support during this difficult time: employees, partners and our customers. Rapidly changing travel restrictions and hygiene measures along with unprecedented drops in demand and production formed great challenges for everyone at Brussels Airlines. Since the beginning of the crisis, our employees have shown incredible resilience, even throughout the large-scale temporary unemployment still ongoing today in the company. I intend to foster the passionate spirit at Brussels Airlines to continue to turn the company into profitability.”

    Peter Gerber, CEO Brussels Airlines

 

Reboot Plus lays the foundation for a profitable future

In order to respond to the crisis and the expectation of a slow recovery of the demand, as well as to lay the basis for a resilient and sustainable company after the crisis, Brussels Airlines intensified and accelerated its Reboot transformation plan, reducing its fleet by 25% and its workforce by 20%, thanks to the financial support of Lufthansa (EUR 170 million cash injection, of which 70 million for the restructuring). As part of the fleet adjustment, the usage rights of two Airbus A330-200s and eight Airbus A319s were written off. Thanks to an agreement with its social partners, the airline was able to keep 80% of its workforce on board. Through alternative measures to voluntarily leave the company forced dismissals were kept to a minimum. 18% of the 20% workforce reduction is in place today and all agreements have been reached to reduce the fleet. In addition, new collective labour agreements were negotiated with all employee groups. Furthermore, a government loan of EUR 290 million to overcome the crisis was granted by the Belgian government, from which Brussels Airlines has withdrawn a first slice in December and a second one in February.

    “In 2020, the focus of the Reboot Plus plan was on the restructuring. In 2021, the second phase of the plan starts, i.e. the improvement phase. Indeed, the transformation plan does not only focus on cost cutting, but also on changing our way of working and on strategic investments, like digitization projects – e.g. new booking platform, digitization at ground operations,… Within our transformation towards a profitable future, we also want to continue more than ever our efforts at the level of sustainability, like fleet rejuvenation, CO2 reduction and waste reduction.”

    Peter Gerber, CEO Brussels Airlines

 

Outlook 2021

Brussels Airlines currently plans to gradually increase its capacity towards summer, reinforcing its position as the home carrier of Belgium with a strong focus on leisure and its Africa network. However, flexibility remains key as the crisis remains very unpredictable and the travel restrictions have thoroughly changed the booking pattern of customers, shifting towards very last minute bookings. For the entire year, the airline plans to operate almost double the capacity it operated in 2020.

    "Although we have a limited view on the demand recovery due to the very last minute booking behaviour of the market during the crisis, we are hopeful that 2021 will see a gradual positive trend in demand as soon as the vaccination programme advances on a larger scale and travel restrictions are gradually lifted. A reliable testing and vaccination strategy remains essential for a recovery for the whole aviation and tourism industry. It is therefore of utmost importance that the Belgian government takes into account the aviation industry in its economic relaunch plan. It is key to us to offer perspective to our employees. The summer season will prove to be very important and we remain cautious, as this year will remain very difficult. We will continue to focus on our very strict cash and cost management, including cash-positive flying, temporary unemployment and very limited cash-outs, as well as on implementing our Reboot Plus plan to meet our business plan and create a profitable future."

    Nina Öwerdieck, Chief Financial Officer Brussels Airlines

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The Belgian airline that is gradually expanding its summer flight schedule

Brussels Airlines is slowly expanding its flight offering to help holidaymakers get away......

    78 destinations for the summer flight schedule

    Focus on leisure destinations

    Start of Brussels-Frankfurt connection in August

    All fares remain flexible

As the demand for holiday travel is expected to rise towards the summer months, Brussels Airlines wants to offer its customers attractive holiday destinations, together with its partners and tour operators. With a wide offer of holiday flights, the airline wants to provide its customers with a positive outlook for the coming summer.

Next to 18 intercontinental destinations in Africa and North America, Brussels Airlines plans to operate 60 short and medium-haul routes with a focus on holiday hotspots such as Greece, Portugal and Spain.

Today, Brussels Airlines operates flights to nearly all of its African destinations, while offering only a small capacity on Europe, limited to feeder flights for the African network. As of April, Brussels Airlines will progressively reopen its European network, with a focus on holiday travel. The first routes to re-join the network will be Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Bilbao, Bologna, Budapest, Catania, Faro, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Kos, Krakow, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Napoli, Nice, Oslo, Porto, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Tenerife, Valencia, Vilnius and Warsaw.

Brussels Airlines launches new booking platform

Brussels Airlines has switched the booking platform behind brusselsairlines.com to Amadeus e-Retail, which is currently already used for lufthansa.com. Herewith, Brussels Airlines is a first mover in a project to harmonize all four Lufthansa Group network airlines’ booking platforms. The remaining airlines, namely Austrian Airlines and SWISS will follow suit later this year. This means that from now on, Brussels Airlines offers all flights and services such as baggage booking and seat reservations of all four Lufthansa Group network airlines on its website.

Part of the Brussels Airlines embedding into the Lufthansa Group network airlines was to find further synergies within the Lufthansa Group. The strategic reason for using one common booking platform for all Lufthansa Group airlines is to offer a consistent user experience to the customers across the different platforms and make the same group-wide flight offer available across all platforms while reducing operating and development costs. Regardless of the Lufthansa Group airline the customer wants to travel with, he or she has access to the group-wide flight offer, while experiencing a modern  unified interface with new features. The harmonization of the different airlines’ booking platforms also allows making functionalities much faster available for the customers and therefore allows for quicker innovations.

Brussels Airlines signs ground handling contract with Alyzia

After a thorough tender process initiated in June 2020, Brussels Airlines has chosen Alyzia as its new ground handling partner at Brussels Airport.

 Following the bankruptcy of its handling partner Swissport Belgium in June 2020, Brussels Airlines initiated a procedure to search for a new ground handler in its home base at Brussels Airport. As the bankruptcy vacated the second handling license at the airport, several contenders entered the Belgian market to run for a permanent license. In December, the second permanent operating license was granted to Alyzia, a French company serving over 80 airlines in 8 French airports.

After a thorough tender process that took several months and which was based on quality, performance and cost criteria, Brussels Airlines decided to appoint Alyzia as its new ground handling provider at Brussels Airport as of 1 April 2021. The contract foresees a cooperation until at least 31 March 2024. The contract includes ramp handling (including baggage handling, tarmac handling and de-icing, among other services) and the management of Brussels Airlines’ Lost&Found service. Until the end of March 2021, Brussels Airlines’ ground handling continues to be managed by Aviapartner, the other license holder.

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Brussels Airlines and chef Tim Boury renew collaboration for 2021 to offer Belgian cuisine on intercontinental flights

In 2021, Brussels Airlines will continue its successful culinary collaboration with Belgian chef Tim Boury of Restaurant Boury in Roeselare. Throughout 2021, Tim, Chef of the Year 2017, will again create gastronomic experiences for the Business Class customers of Brussels Airlines on its long-haul flights.

After a successful first collaboration in 2020, Tim Boury and Brussels Airlines join forces again to create a year full of Belgian gastronomic experiences at 10km altitude. To this end, Boury will create four different menus throughout 2021 for Brussels Airlines’ Business Class guests on intercontinental flights.

“After a turbulent year, we are delighted to be able to work with Brussels Airlines once again. With the experience we accumulated this year, we have the unique opportunity to make the Business Class dining even better in 2021. This will undoubtedly enhance the experience of their guests. We are grateful to Brussels Airlines for its confidence in us!” – Tim Boury

Brussels Airlines receives 2021 Four Star Rating by APEX

Brussels Airlines receives 2021 Four Star Rating by APEX

In a virtual award ceremony held by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) on Wednesday evening, Brussels Airlines received a Four-Star Major Airline Rating for 2021. The APEX Official Airline Rating is based on passenger feedback and insights gathered through APEX’s partnership with TripIt.

APEX is a non-profit membership trade association dedicated to improving the entire airline passenger experience and awards four and five star airlines every year in four categories: global airlines, major airlines, regional airlines and low-cost carriers. Using a five-star scale, more than one million flights were rated by passengers across nearly 600 airlines from around the world between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. First, passengers rated their overall flight experience from one to five stars. Then passengers were given the opportunity to provide anonymous ratings in five subcategories: seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, entertainment and Wi-Fi. As a result, Brussels Airlines was awarded a Four-Star Major Airline Rating for 2021.

Brussels Airlines makes top level changes as Dieter Vranckx moves to take over top job at SWISS

Peter Gerber to take over from Dieter Vranckx as CEO of Brussels Airlines and to act as Lufthansa Group Chief Representative for European Affairs

 

Peter Gerber, (56) currently CEO of Lufthansa Cargo, will be heading Brussels Airlines as from March 1st 2021 and fulfil the newly created role of Lufthansa Group Chief Representative for European Affairs in Brussels.

 

Dieter Vranckx, who joined Brussels Airlines in May 2018 as CFO and Deputy CEO and who has been acting as CEO of the Belgian airline since January 2020, will move within the Lufthansa Group to head the Zurich based Lufthansa Group network airline SWISS as of January 1st 2021.

Peter Gerber will succeed Dieter Vranckx as CEO of Brussels Airlines. Subject to the pending resolution of the Board of Directors of SN Airholding, Gerber, who is currently Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa Cargo AG, will move to Belgium as of 1 March 2021. Next to heading the Belgian airline, he will also assume the newly created function of Lufthansa Group Chief Representative for European Affairs in Brussels.

“Together with the other members of the Lufthansa Group Executive Board, I wish to thank Dieter for his exemplary commitment in guiding Brussels Airlines through rough times. The Belgian airline is on the right path towards a financially healthy future”, explains Christina Foerster, Member of the Lufthansa Group Executive Board Customer, IT & Corporate Responsibility.

Brussels Airlines concludes partnership with Randstad to help temporarily unemployed staff get back to work in another sector

The Corona crisis hits the aviation sector hard. Seven months after the start of the crisis, Brussels Airlines' staff are still partially temporarily unemployed. Given the forecast that the recovery of market demand for flight tickets will take a longer time, the system of temporary unemployment will still have to be applied for some time to come. In order to further limit the financial and social impact of this long period of inactivity on its employees, Brussels Airlines has entered into a partnership with Randstad. The aim of the partnership is to help employees who want to go back to work find a temporary job.

The Coronavirus crisis continues to cause low demand in the travel industry. Consequently, a large part of the Brussels Airlines employees is still temporarily unemployed and will continue to be so for a longer period, as recovery of the sector is not expected soon. In the meantime, Brussels Airlines wants to offer its employees the opportunity to look for another temporary job until they can resume their tasks at Brussels Airlines. Therefore a partnership was made with Randstad, the largest staffing company in the country. It is the first time that such a partnership is made between a company and a staffing company. Randstad will professionally guide Brussels Airlines staff towards a temporary job in another industry.  This way, Brussels Airlines wants to take its responsibility towards its staff and towards society in terms of lowering unemployment cost. The temporary employment that Randstad has on offer includes jobs in industries like retail, telecom and the food and logistics sectors.

Concretely this means that the RVA/ONEM benefit for temporary unemployment is replaced by a salary from the new employer. As a responsible employer, Brussels Airlines has decided to continue to pay out the company premium that it applies since March.

 

Brussels Airlines to expand its operations to Africa this winter

• More African flights this winter.
• 

Brussels Airlines has revised its previously advised winter schedule and will now operate more flights and rotations as it extends its route network, the carrier confirmed this week.  During the winter period, 25 October to 27 March the airline will offer up to 40% more flights to and from Africa.   

Intercontinental network

At the start of the winter season, 14 destinations will be included in the airline’s intercontinental offer, with a sole focus on Africa. The airline will expand its offer with 12% as of October 25th . As of this winter, Brussels Airlines will fly to Abidjan on a daily base. During winter holidays, extra frequencies will be added to Banjul, Bujumbura, Dakar, Douala, Entebbe, Freetown, Kigali, Kinshasa, Monrovia and Yaoundé.  During this peak period, running from the beginning of December until the beginning of January, the airline will offer 40% more flights compared to September/October 2020. In February ‘21, also Luanda and New York JFK are planned to be added to the network.

All destinations and frequencies of the intercontinental network are listed below.

 

Brussels Airlines accelerates process to resolve refund backlog

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented crisis that touches nearly all industries worldwide. The aviation and tourism sector is, unfortunately, no exception. Since the start of the crisis, Brussels Airlines was forced to cancel on average 83% of its scheduled flight program, impacting the travel plans of three million of its passengers. The pandemic and the worldwide travel restrictions caused a three-month grounding of the airline’s fleet (from March 21st until June 14th), and urged Brussels Airlines to adapt its offer to the continuously low travel demand.

As a result, Brussels Airlines had to cancel more than 36,000 flights in total since the start of the crisis, which led in that same period to more than one million calls to the airline’s service centre. For comparison, in the entire year of 2019, the Brussels Airlines service centre handled 400,000 calls.  Unfortunately, despite a maximum number of service agents and the 24/7 call centre service, the airline regrets that it wasn’t able to provide its guests with the service level they are used to receive at Brussels Airlines and customers requesting a refund are facing long waiting times. In total, the airline received so far refund requests of a value of 122 million euro.

Brussels Airlines restricts exemption from compulsory masks to make flying even safer

Flying without a mask for a medical reason now only possible with a medical certificate and negative Covid-19 test

Brussels Airlines restricts the exemption from the obligation to wear a mask on board their flights. Like the other airlines of the Lufthansa Group, the Belgian airline has adapted its general Conditions of Carriage, stipulating that as of 1 September 2020, an exemption from the obligation to wear a mask during the flight for medical reasons will only be possible if a medical certificate is presented on a form provided by the airline. Passengers can download the document from the airlines' websites. In addition, passengers who are unable to wear a mask during the flight must present a negative covid-19 test, not older than 48 hours at the scheduled departure of the flight. This ensures maximum safety for the passengers travelling with them. 

EU Commission Gives the Green Light for Brussels Airlines Stabilization Package

On July 24th, Brussels Airlines announced that it had reached an agreement with the Belgian Federal Government and Lufthansa to secure the future of Belgium’s home carrier and herewith the long-term development of the airline through a stabilization package. On August 17, the package was approved by the German Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF).

Today the EU Commission has also given its approval.

The stabilization package of 460 million euro - €290 million from the Belgian Federal government and €170 million from Lufthansa - covers in part the losses incurred by Brussels Airlines due to the crisis and secures at the same time tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs that are linked to the activities of Brussels Airlines. Thanks to the package, the airline can finance its turnaround plan and herewith create a long-term and structurally profitable future.

 

Dieter Vranckx, CEO of Brussels Airlines: “With this news, we finally conclude the three pillars of our survival and long-term competitiveness. We are relieved that the execution of the financial transaction can take place. We will now shift all our focus towards a timely implementation of our turnaround plan Reboot Plus. Thanks to the support and trust we receive from our shareholder Lufthansa, the Belgian government and from all our employees, we can create a strong and competitive Brussels Airlines with long-term perspectives, an important engine for the Belgian economy. For that, I sincerely thank all involved parties.”

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Brussels Airlines signs EASA Charter

• Brussels Airlines implements the European standard for safe flying under pandemic conditions
• Commitment to the strictest infection control standards in aviation worldwide

Aviation is one of the sectors most affected by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. This makes it all the more important to strengthen confidence in flying as a safe travel option. This is why Brussels Airlines, together with the other Lufthansa Group airlines, has signed the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) charter for safe flying under pandemic conditions. In doing so, Brussels Airlines commits itself to the strictest infection protection standards in aviation worldwide. By voluntarily implementing this standard, the Lufthansa Group is underlining that the safety of its passengers and crew continues to be the main priority.

With the charter, EASA establishes non-binding guidelines that were developed in cooperation with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). By involving all member states in cooperation with the ECDC, EASA was able to define the strictest rules of an association of states worldwide. Uniform standards have been established which reduce complexity for the airlines and create reliability and additional safety.

Brussels Airlines reports first-half loss of EUR 182 million due to coronavirus pandemic

 As a result of the coronavirus pandemic and its unprecedented impact on the aviation sector, Brussels Airlines reports a loss of EUR -182 million in the first six months of 2020, despite the drastic cost-control measures taken to combat the crisis. First half revenues fell to EUR 252 million, 63% below their prior-year level. (H1 2019: EUR 684 million). Brussels Airlines transported 67% fewer passengers between January and June and the seat load factor dropped by 7.4 percentage points to 72.4%.

The coronavirus, which brought aviation worldwide to a standstill within a few weeks’ time, had a dramatic impact on the financial results of Brussels Airlines in the first half year of 2020.

Brussels Airlines temporarily suspended all scheduled flights from 21 March to 14 June 2020. Minimal flight capacities were maintained for repatriating Belgian and German citizens, to transport medical equipment to Africa and to bring medical masks from China. On 15 June, the airline finally relaunched its commercial flights again, with a limited network.

Brussels Airlines to form closer operating arrangements with Lufthansa

Brussels Airlines optimizes its short-haul product and herewith closer aligns with the Lufthansa Group Network Airlines to offer its customers an even smoother travel experience. This way, the Belgian hub airline can participate in future Group-wide innovations. At the same time, the Belgian company chooses to continue to highlight its Belgian identity and promote Belgian partners. Five new travel fares will be available for bookings as from August 18 for flights as from the 1st of September.

By introducing the Lufthansa Group travel fares on its short- and medium-haul network, Brussels Airlines wants to offer its guests a smooth and consistent travel experience throughout all Lufthansa Group Network Airlines (Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and Swiss). With three new Economy Class fares, two Business Class fares and several add-ons, guests can tailor their travel to their preferences. By implementing Lufthansa Group standards, the Belgian airline will benefit too from investments by the Group in IT, product development and passenger experience. Brussels Airlines continues its buy-on-board concept* with delicious, healthy and fresh food from partners such as Foodmaker.

Paving the way for the turnaround of Brussels Airlines

• Stabilization package enables Belgium’s home carrier to overcome the unprecedented crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and to create a sustainable future.
• €290 million loan from the Belgian state and €170 million capital injection by Lufthansa.
• Agreement between the Belgian federal government and Lufthansa ensures the position of Brussels Airlines as one of the hub airlines of the Lufthansa Group based in Brussels.
• Lufthansa’s financial support allows Brussels Airlines to implement its turnaround plan and herewith to create a long-term and structurally profitable future for the company.
• The entire financing package is subject to the approval of the Economic Stabilisation Fund (WSF) of the Federal Republic of Germany and the consent of the EU Commission.

The Belgian Federal Government, Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines have reached an agreement securing the future of Belgium’s home carrier and herewith the long-term development of the airline.

The stabilization package of €290 million from the Belgian Federal government and the €170 million financial support of Lufthansa cover parts of the losses incurred by Brussels Airlines as a consequence of the crisis and secures at the same time tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs that are linked to the activities of Brussels Airlines. Thanks to Lufthansa, the airline can finance its restructuring plan and herewith offer the company a long-term and structurally profitable future. The financial support of Lufthansa shows that the German airline has full trust in the capabilities of Brussels Airlines to reach its turnaround.

Brussels Airlines to expand September and October schedule

                                            Brussels Airlines launches its flight schedule for September and October, offering more destinations and extra frequencies on both leisure and corporate routes. During these months, the Belgian airline will operate 45% of its normal schedule with 27 aircraft. Due to ongoing travel restrictions, the relaunch of Brussels Airlines’ long-haul operations – originally planned for June 22nd, has been delayed until August.

Adapted to the market demand and ongoing travel restrictions, the new Brussels Airlines network for September and October includes a range of holiday destinations as well as corporate ones. The airline adds frequencies to the already relaunched destinations and adds the following destinations to its network map:

Medium-haul:

• Basel
• Birmingham
• Bologna
• Edinburgh
• Goteborg
• Milan Linate
• Warshaw

Brussels Airlines reaches agreement with Workers Council over future job losses and structural changes

• Agreement reached between the management of Brussels Airlines and the Workers Council on structural measures increasing the competitiveness of the airline and herewith offering long-term perspectives to its employees.
• Measures taken reduce the number of forced dismissals to a minimum
• Strong support in terms of job search and career change will be provided to employees who leave the company.
• Structural measures allow for productivity increase and unit cost decrease to create a long-term sustainable future

This week an agreement was reached between the Brussels Airlines management and its social partners, representing the more than 4,000 employees of the company’s different departments: Cockpit crew, Cabin crew, Maintenance & Engineering, Ground Operations and Support Functions.

As announced in May, Brussels Airlines needs to take substantial measures in order to create a long-term future for the company. The carrier needs to structurally reduce its costs to a competitive level. Today, the Management and the Worker’s Council of Brussels Airlines came to an agreement that allows to tackle the company’s immediate and future needs.