Brussels Airlines in 2019

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TLspotting
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by TLspotting »

lumumba wrote: 12 Jan 2019, 16:39
TLspotting wrote: 12 Jan 2019, 15:26
Boavida wrote: 12 Jan 2019, 15:24 2019: probably the last year of Brussels Airlines :cry:
The last complete year I guess
Is this speculation or you have inside information????
If it's speculation again please shut up.....
Not speculation, but the end is expected for end 2020, so maybe like TCAB, finish the ops at the end of the summer season
Hi. I'm Thibault Lapers. @ThibaultLapers & @TLspotting

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Vic Diesel
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by Vic Diesel »

b720 wrote: 12 Jan 2019, 18:40 Well, it is definitely not going in the right direction..
More towards a full lcc. Catering for C class downgraded on European flights, bottled water removed from the lounges.. and last night I witnessed check in agents hartasing people including c class and priority with their hand luggage. They actually forced people to pack their duty free purchases into their hand luggage! It seems that from now on duty free purchases amount to an item of hand luggage.. let s see how long that will last before BRU airport does something about it.
C'mon, that "harassment" of paxes at the gate is been a usual practice on VIE-ZRH-VIE flights for quite some time - although even at "LCC hell CRL", there are big signs stating that ONE bag of duty free purchases is free. They also routinely ask cabin trolleys to be checked in at the gate if flights are fully booked. Last time the gate agent tried it, I simply refused, remarking that I had fragile items in my hand luggage and will definitely not check it in (and with priority boarding, I will definitely HAVE the space for that trolley). I stayed friendly but firm in my opinion, so eventually she moved along the line.

Also, removal of bottled water from the lounges: I can only applaud to that, at least plastic bottles should be banned from the lounges. It was about time to do that! They could introduce glass bottles though.
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Viktor

(Budapest-born, Vienna-raised, Brussels-based)

brusselsairlinesfan
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by brusselsairlinesfan »

What will be - in your opinion - the main expectations for brussels airlines in 2019 :
- destinations : new dots (if any…) on the world map, frequencies, etc...
- fleet
- marketing : new brandname, logo, corporate image
- further integration within the EW Group
- others

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lumumba
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by lumumba »

I hope they put back a third flight to Luanda and double there flights to Moscow.

Also why not open flights to smaller airports like Brest,Rennes etc....

Also the Bordeaux flights must be integrated in the hub system with two flights a day,to deserve this smaller airports it's more complicated for BA,LH,KLM etc... because they don't have the space at there airports,also every slot is very expensive to let fly smaller planes so Brussels Airlines management where are you !!!!!

By the way I never understood why there is no morning flight from Nice to feed the long haul network?

Another thing I never understood is all this long haul flights on Sunday morning they poorly feeded by European flights?
Hasta la victoria siempre.

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sn26567
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by sn26567 »

lumumba wrote: 21 Jan 2019, 07:43 I hope they ... double there flights to Moscow.
Not going to happen. On the contrary, the SVO flights (replacing DME) will be reduced from 7 to 4 per week.
André
ex Sabena #26567

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lumumba
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by lumumba »

sn26567 wrote: 21 Jan 2019, 12:42
lumumba wrote: 21 Jan 2019, 07:43 I hope they ... double there flights to Moscow.
Not going to happen. On the contrary, the SVO flights (replacing DME) will be reduced from 7 to 4 per week.
Woaw so they completely lost this market to Aeroflot....that's bad!!!!!
Hasta la victoria siempre.

Passenger
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by Passenger »

lumumba wrote: 21 Jan 2019, 18:53 Woaw so they completely lost this market to Aeroflot....that's bad!!!!!
Better 4 flights with a high load factor then 7 flights with a low load factor.
On top, Russian citizens prefer their flag carrier. That's normal!!!!!

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lumumba
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by lumumba »

Passenger wrote: 21 Jan 2019, 20:39
lumumba wrote: 21 Jan 2019, 18:53 Woaw so they completely lost this market to Aeroflot....that's bad!!!!!
Better 4 flights with a high load factor then 7 flights with a low load factor.
On top, Russian citizens prefer their flag carrier. That's normal!!!!!
I understand but 4 flights for SN against 21 for Aeroflot on the same market.....that's a huge difference.

People in my bussiness fly regularly to Moscow it's much more flexible with Aeroflot.
Hasta la victoria siempre.

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BrightCedars
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by BrightCedars »

In the news this morning, Brussels Airlines will most likely re-brand to Eurowings in Europe.

Free source (in French): https://www.lecho.be/entreprises/aviati ... 89698.html

In a nutshell: re-brand in Europe, no new long-haul destinations in 2019, begging for more frequencies on FIH.

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Note of the moderator: the larger original interview on which the article of L'Echo is based was issued in La Libre Belgique: https://www.lalibre.be/s/art/5c4622907b50a60724e4546e

Inquirer
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by Inquirer »

BrightCedars wrote: 22 Jan 2019, 08:17 In the news this morning, Brussels Airlines will most likely re-brand to Eurowings in Europe.

Free source (in French): https://www.lecho.be/entreprises/aviati ... 89698.html

In a nutshell: re-brand in Europe, no new long-haul destinations in 2019, begging for more frequencies on FIH.
Sounds like they will indeed move in the direction I've been pushing for some time! :-D

While keeping them as a separate legal Belgian entity, I'd have brussels airlines route network commercially split in two so all of their European flights are immediately sold and in a second phase also visually operating under Eurowings banner (too), while at the same time remaining as they are on their intercontinental flights.

Of course, there would still be an SN code on all of their own European flights so as to have feed continuing as before and in a first phase to also keep selling as brussels airlines in Belgium too even, but it would allow them to fully and immediately benefit from the brand recognition and the much bigger customer base of eurowings in Europe and better fill their European flights from the non-Belgian end.

Lufthansa seems to be considering doing pretty much the same in Austria too, and let's be real: if they can manage to turn all of their daughter airlines (and why not even themselves?) into premium brands used only for intercontinental flying while at the same time have all of their European flights operating under a single generic, white, and somewhat vanilla flavoured product banner, they have moved a long way towards the prediction of Ryan Air's CEO that low cost airlines like his would do the feeding of network carriers in future. In fact, they seem to agree with him, but they are going to build that cost efficient, large, Europe-wide feeding airline themselves from large chunks taken from their current portfolio of airlines as well as going after clients of traditional low fare airlines, thus leaving them behind.

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BrightCedars
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by BrightCedars »

I like the name Brussels Airlines but I'm not feeling so attached to it. However I love their Belgian touch and I would hate to loose that and for them to be a carrier like any other. I find this differentiation important. I'm not saying I'm ready to pay much of a premium for it though. So if Eurowings becomes the airline at the heart of Europe, it wouldn't bother me.

Now coming to the more premium long-haul carrier, would keeping the name Brussels Airlines make sense? The brand recognition has always been problematic outside Belgium. And if operating outside Brussels e.g. in Cologne or Dusseldorf it is the most confusing. Sure you could call it Eurowings also but then it doesn't have that premium aspect we're looking for. Wouldn't the historical brand Sabena be more effective? Not everyone can establish a reputation à la Singapore Airlines and operate some exotic long-haul routes between points far away from Singapore while still being recognised as a top notch carrier.

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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by sean1982 »

I see the same non-sensical romantic dreaming again as usual whenever someone tries to change the shitshow into a good news show.

My opinion? While a big pan european EW seems a good plan it is falling victim to the same problem as Norwegian and that is uncontrolled expansion. When the shit hits the fan, the smaller EW entities will be slaughtered first to save mother luftie’s investment. The non-expansion of SN’s LH is best proof that LH has no intention at all of any significant investment in that area, just merely keeping the african cash cow alive as long as possible.

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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by Boavida »

Obviously the decision to rename Brussels Airlines to Eurowings (in Europe) is already taken a long time ago. They are just (cowardly) not willing to admit it to avoid problems at this stage. So we can say goodbye to Brussels Airlines in Europe. We will no longer be able to fly in Europe on an airline with a Belgian identity. Sad but true.

For the long haul, they want to use a different name apparently. To me, it makes NO SENSE whatsoever to have a different brandname for a handful of planes flying to Africa and a few routes to the US. What's the point of that?

It could ONLY make sense if they would develop a large long haul network, meaning a lot more planes and destinations. Only this would justify to have a separate name for this "new" airline. Eurowings sounds too cheap (duh!), they don't like Brussels Airlines... I guess the only viable name for this is Sabena.

I realize the last is wishful thinking. In reality it will probably go like this: SN becomes lousy low cost Eurowings, and the long haul goes to Lufthansa.

Conclusions: the Germans will have totally killed Belgian aviation.

I can only hope that if this horror becomes reality, the Belgian population will boycott Eurowings as much as they can. Think of it: why would we fly EW (the killer of our national carrier), if we can fly for the same price on another lowcost like Ryanair, Easyjey or Vueling???

jan_olieslagers
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by jan_olieslagers »

Nonsense.
1) you are talking about commercial air transport only, not about the whole of aviation. Correct vocabulary is the beginning of communication.
2) it is the Belgians and nobody else who killed Sabena AND its successors. Sabena was killed by bad management, SNBA by refusal to invest.
3) The Germans are not the killers, they saved what little could be saved. But for the LH take-over, there wouldn't be any SNBA at all today.
Last edited by jan_olieslagers on 22 Jan 2019, 14:21, edited 1 time in total.

sean1982
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by sean1982 »

jan_olieslagers wrote: 22 Jan 2019, 12:14 Nonsense.
1) you are talking about commercial air transport only, not about the whole of aviation. Correct vocaubalry is the beginning of communication.
2) it is the Belgians and nobody else who killed Sabena AND its successors. Sabena was killed by bad management, SNBA by refusal to invest.
3) The Germans are not the killers, they saved what little could be saved. But for the LH take-over, there wouldn't be any SNBA at all today.
I think you mean vocabulary

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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by jan_olieslagers »

You think right - for this once ;) Correcting now. In a phrase like that, it had to draw some attention, of course, from the attentive.

Jetter
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by Jetter »

Boavida wrote: 22 Jan 2019, 11:37Conclusions: the Germans will have totally killed Belgian aviation.
You can also see it in a positive way: BRU will be a big hub for one of Europe's leading LCC's!

Jetter
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by Jetter »

Ansett wrote: 22 Jan 2019, 16:54I agree. CS will only allow SN to fly long haul to Western and Central Africa and will want us to fly thru FRA, MUC, or Zurich to, for instance, fly to North America (but not me).
You forget about the transatlantic JV LH has with UA. If a passenger flies on UA from BRU they make the same amount of money as on SN. I think LH wants UA to do most flying from BRU and in return they can fly more to the US from their own hubs.

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Conti764
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by Conti764 »

Ansett wrote: 22 Jan 2019, 16:54 I agree. CS will only allow SN to fly long haul to Western and Central Africa and will want us to fly thru FRA, MUC, or Zurich to, for instance, fly to North America (but not me).
What sense does that make? Give up (a large part of) whatever Belgian market there is to KL, AF and BA?
As to CF's statements today in Lalibre, if LH gives brand new aircraft to SN like it does for itself and LX, SN's performance will increase. And when she says that if «we» want to create a large paneuropean platform, we cannot keep all these individual brands, does that imply that LX's European flights will also be integrated into EW ? (no, of course). No level playing field.
First of all I am wondering how SN can improve its figures when they are dragged down with EW's horrific performance? It's not SN's figures that matter, but EW's.

The difference in aproach between SN on one side and LX on the other is, except the fact that LX was taken over by a more favourable LH board, LH considers BRU (and Belgium) as a lower end of the market then ZRH and Switzerland. And honestly, I can follow their reasoning. The reason why AMS took such a high flight is mainly because of KL's vast hub and spoke system and the very deep cooperation with US giants DL... I could have seen a similar future (albeit smaller) for SN with AA, but not with UA. The reason is the A++ JV, in which all companies have a say about what flight is being done by which airline.

And indeed, in a longer term I could see Austrian going down the same path if LH succeeds in making EW a success, thus only retaining LH itself and LX as premium brands in Europe, SN and OS as long haul entities flying from their respective hubs on top of EW doing the European flying.

I for one do not believe the doomsday predcitions often seen on this forum about SN or BRU. LH will (let SN) fly from and to wherever they can make money. If SN can sustain a long haul flight outside Africa, LH will let them fly it from BRU. At LH they are not stupid and they know most pax (if not all) will prefer direct flying over some short hop on EW to FRA of MUC to fly intercontinental. But SN will only be allowed to fly to where they can make money. If JFK for example is making money, SN will continue to fly to JFK. If SN fails to make money on BOM, the flight will be axed.

And if indeed LH is looking to cut most long haul flying from BRU, BAC would be wise to look for alternatives. As long as LHR is congested, have BA set up some sort of shuttle flying between LHR and BRU and have other OW airlines fly long haul into BRU to transfer to BA. I know in they are working at expanding capacity on LHR, but in the meantime BRU might prove to be a solid base for those airlines meaning they'd stay once capacity at LHR will grow. I'm just thinking out of the box, though.

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Conti764
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Re: Brussels Airlines in 2019

Post by Conti764 »

Jetter wrote: 22 Jan 2019, 17:05
Ansett wrote: 22 Jan 2019, 16:54I agree. CS will only allow SN to fly long haul to Western and Central Africa and will want us to fly thru FRA, MUC, or Zurich to, for instance, fly to North America (but not me).
You forget about the transatlantic JV LH has with UA. If a passenger flies on UA from BRU they make the same amount of money as on SN. I think LH wants UA to do most flying from BRU and in return they can fly more to the US from their own hubs.
I don't see much activity at UA to support this theory. Since UA merged with CO, nothing has happened except for some equipment changes on several routes. Ever since 2009 UA has only been flying daily to EWR, ORD and IAD. No second flight to EWR, no flight to IAH, no flight to the West Coast,...

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