Brussels Airlines grows its intercontinental fleet with a 9th aircraft

The Belgian airline expands its market position in West Africa

Brussels Airlines goes for growth in Africa, its most important market. After reducing its intercontinental fleet from 10 to 8 aircraft in the context of its turnaround programme in 2020, Brussels Airlines now sees an opportunity for expanding its intercontinental offer again. As of June 2022, a 9th A330 will become operational in the Brussels Airlines fleet. With the extra capacity, the Africa expert of the Lufthansa Group will reopen the West African stations Conakry and Ouagadougou and add frequencies on its routes from Brussels Airport to Freetown, Monrovia, Banjul and Lomé.

As part of the network resizing during the airline’s turnaround plan Reboot Plus following the COVID-19 crisis, Brussels Airlines discontinued its operations to Conakry (Guinea) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) in 2020. The first objective of the turnaround plan was to structurally lower the company’s cost structure to a competitive level, as to create a sustainable future for Brussels Airlines. The airline now sees an increasing demand in the market, creating an opportunity to expand its presence in West Africa again.

“We always said that we would go for growth as soon as market conditions permitted. As we see a strong demand in the West African market, we want to take the opportunity to go for growth and invest in an expansion of our African network. The allocation of this aircraft to Brussels Airlines is a clear sign of Lufthansa’s trust in Brussels Airlines and confirms once again our position as Africa expert within the Lufthansa Group.”

Peter Gerber, CEO of Brussels Airlines

 

“We are happy to welcome Conakry and Ouagadougou to the Brussels Airlines network again. With the additional A330 aircraft, we will operate 3 weekly flights to Conakry and Ouagadougou as well as add additional frequencies to Freetown, Monrovia, Banjul and Lomé.”

Jan Derycke, Head of Network and Planning

 

Additional employment

The additional intercontinental aircraft also creates new jobs in the company. Brussels Airlines will hire 50 cabin crew members, to join the company over the coming months. As promised during its restructuring, the Belgian employer will first offer the open positions to former cabin crew members who did not see their temporary contract prolonged last year due to the coronavirus crisis. For Brussels Airlines’ pilot community this offers perspectives for medium haul pilots to evolve to the long haul sector.

 

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About Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines is the home carrier of Belgium and one of the four network airlines of the Lufthansa Group. It connects the European capital from Brussels Airport with over 90 destinations, 18 of which are in Sub Saharan Africa. The company employs more than 3,500 people and operates 44 aircraft.

Brussels Airlines aims to emit 50% less CO2 by 2030 compared to 2019 and plans to be carbon neutral by 2050. The airline is participating in the Stargate Project led by Brussels Airport and is therefore part of the testing ground for sustainable aviation at its home base. In addition, the airline signed the Circular Economy agreement of the Antwerp Management School in 2021. The airline was the first to transport Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) through the CEPS-pipeline connecting Brussels Airport early 2023. By end 2024, Brussels Airlines will have welcomed five state-of-the-art Airbus A320neo allowing the airline to significantly lower its CO2- and noise-emissions on its medium-haul network.

As an ambassador of its country, Brussels Airlines brings the world to Belgium and the best of Belgium to the world, among others through collaborations with Belgian Star Chefs, Belgian culinary products and the Belgian Icons, specially painted aircraft that honour a Belgian iconic person, team or event to promote Belgian culture worldwide.

More information on brusselsairlines.com 


About Star Alliance

Established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance, the Star Alliance network was founded on a customer value proposition of global reach, worldwide recognition, and seamless service. Since its inception, it has offered the largest and most comprehensive airline network, with a strong emphasis on enhancing the customer experience throughout the entire Alliance journey.

Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 17,500 daily flights to over 1,150 airports in almost 190 countries.

More information on staralliance.com

Contact

b.house Zone General Aviation - Airport Building 26 1831 Diegem

+32 2 723 89 90

press@brusselsairlines.com

www.brusselsairlines.com