16.5% growth for Brussels Airlines in February

During the month of February 636,068 passengers boarded a Brussels Airlines flight, 16.5% more compared to the same month last year. Across the entire network a passenger growth was recorded, leading to a 3.9 percentage point increase of the seat load factor.

Brussels Airlines closes February with growth. On board of the 5,526 flights that were operated during the past month, Brussels Airlines welcomed 636,068 passengers, or 90,199 more than in February 2017. The largest growth was recorded on the African and North American sectors (both +15.2%), followed by the European network (+14.9%), and the Middle East (+4.4%).

On the European network the growth is mainly due to the addition of the Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium activities that were integrated last October.

The passenger growth also led to an increase of the seat load factor by 3.9 percentage points, bringing the average seat load factor to 76.7%. The freight volumes transported in the belly of Brussels Airlines’ passenger flights also grew significantly (+35%). The cargo capacity however, grew faster, resulting in a very slight decrease of the cargo load factor (-1.8%)

Compared to February last year, Brussels Airlines operated 2% less flights. Nevertheless the airline was able to increase its growth rate. This is the result of the replacement of the last AVRO jets (100 seats) by Airbus aircraft with a greater capacity (180 seats). The pressure on airline ticket prices remains high. Thanks to its increased offer, Brussels Airlines was able to continue to propose competitive fares and attract even more customers.

These statistics do not include the passengers on board of the many charter flights Brussels Airlines operates on behalf of tour operators.