Brussels Airlines is ready for the busy summer season

A bigger fleet, resilient operations and product innovations are the highlights of the holidays

24/6/24

Brussels, June 24^th 2024 – Brussels Airlines is ready for the busy summer holidays. More than 1.6 million* people will travel with Brussels Airlines during July and August. The Belgian national airline takes several Initiatives to make sure all operations run smoothly, and passengers get a top-notch customer experience.

Summer is traditionally the busiest season in the aviation industry, and 2024 is no different. In Europe, Islands are particularly popular this summer with full flights to Zakynthos, Corfu and Rhodos in Greece and Gran Canaria, Mallorca, and Lanzarote in Spain. But also city-trips during summer are popular, specially to cities known for a slightly milder climate like Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden.

Outside Europe, many Belgians decided to explore the United Sates during the summer. Brussels Airlines offers direct flights to New York JFK and Washington DC. In cooperation with tour operators, destinations like Hurghada (Egypt) and Antalya (Turkey) are also very full.

Brussels Airlines has expanded its network. Thanks to an additional Airbus A330 and an additional Airbus A320, Nairobi (Kenya) and Krakow (Poland) are new in Brussels Airlines’ network.

Tomorrowland
Like every year, Brussels Airlines expects to bring over 20.000 party people to Belgium for Tomorrowland. The airline continues its tradition of the world-famous party flights, this year with the brand-new Amare plane.

New this year is that all Global Journey packages from Tomorrowland are so-called “Tomorrowland Green Fares”, including the purchase of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to reduce 20% of individual flight-related carbon emissions. On the specific party flights, Brussels Airlines and Tomorrowland have closed a partnership to even reduce 100% of carbon emissions of these specific party flights by the purchase of SAF.

Operational reliability
To be ready for summer, Brussels Airlines hired 180 additional cabin crew members and 64 extra pilots. The airport teams in Brussels have also been reinforced with 40 new passenger service agents, and on top of that: 70 summer students supporting the ground staff.

The chatbot on Brussels Airlines’ website has been enhanced to help passengers even better in case of irregularities. Also, a “pre-seating robot” was developed within Lufthansa Group, that assigns seats to passengers according to connecting times. This means passengers with a tight connection will be able to disembark the aircraft first, increasing the chance for them to make their connection.

“We’ve hired across all our operational departments to be able to work full force during summer. July and August are always challenging months in the aviation industry. We will do our utmost to ensure reliable operations. I want to take this opportunity to tank all our teams on the ground and in the air for their professionalism and dedication. It is thanks to their hard work, so many people can enjoy their well-deserved vacation.”
- Tilman Reinshagen, Chief Operating Officer, Brussels Airlines

Premium product
As from this summer season, Brussels Airlines offers Business Class on all its flights, including to popular leisure destinations in Spain, Greece, and North-Africa. This way, the airline responds to the growing demand for a premium product amongst leisure travelers.

Brussels Airlines didn’t only expand the footprint of the Business Class offer, it also invested in its product to remain at the top of the industry, amongst other with an enhanced meal offer on short- and medium-haul flights and with many summer events in THE LOFT, the biggest lounge of Brussels Airlines.

“If you want to travel on a premium product out of Belgium, it is obvious that Brussels Airlines is your carrier of choice. Our lounge has been awarded ‘Europe’s Leading Airline Lounge’ for six times in a row now, and we’ve invested a lot in our product on-board too. We’re really proud of the ‘Belgitude’ our guests will encounter on every step along the way: from Neuhaus chocolates to the world-famous beer, and the Belgian design of our uniform. We’re premium, we’re Belgian and we’re ready to show it.”
- Tilman Reinshagen, Chief Operating Officer, Brussels Airlines

Investments for staff
Brussels Airlines doesn’t just aim to make every passenger feel at home, the airline has also made significant investments to enhance the working conditions for all employees. A brand-new crew center was recently opened at the airport, where cabin crew and pilots can meet before their flight, perform pre-flight duties, or relax during a stand-by shift.

Earlier this year, Brussels Airlines opened a new training facility in Vilvoorde. With state-of-the-art simulators, trainings were enhanced even further and centralized on one location.