Washington and Edinburgh: new additions to Brussels Airlines’ summer flight schedule



Brussels Airlines adds two destinations to their summer timetable: Washington and Edinburgh. Several other destinations will have a higher weekly flight frequency, including Douala, Yaounde, Freetown and Milan Linate.

This weekend doesn’t only mark the change to daylight savings time, but also the start of the summer season in the aviation industry. The Brussels Airlines flight offer welcomes new destinations and returning summer destinations.

Europe

Brussels Airlines connects Brussels Airport to 46 European destinations this summer season. On a weekly basis the short and mid-haul fleet will operate 680 flights per week.

A new addition to the summer schedule is Edinburgh. The scheduled service to the Scottish capital was launched this winter and is now being expanded with an extra frequency. In total 12 weekly flights are planned for the summer.

The airline also invests heavily in its popular Italy offer. After an interruption of 2 years, Palermo is again added to the summer timetable, with 2 weekly direct flights. Catania will be flown three times weekly from now on. The flight frequency to Linate, Milan’s city airport, is being increased with an extra evening and morning flight. In total 18 flights will be operated between Linate and Brussels this summer season. There’s also good news for those looking to fly to Venice. With three extra flight frequencies, the city will be served 17 times per week. Extra flights to Naples are also scheduled this summer and Florence and Lamezia Terme are back on the network after the winter break.

The flight offer to other summer vacation destinations will also increase. Passengers travelling to the Costa del Sol or Andalusia can choose from 17 instead of 14 flights per week to Malaga. Faro, the entry port to the popular Algarve region, will be served 5 times per week instead of 4. The number of flights to the Hungarian capital Budapest will be slightly increased.

Warsaw and Krakow have disappeared from the summer timetable compared to last summer season.

In the mid haul offer, the weekly flights to Tel Aviv will be increased during the peak period of the summer season.

Long haul network

Brussels Airlines’ entire long haul fleet is now equipped with the new Business Class (flat-beds, latest generation in in-flight entertainment) and Economy Class cabins (new ergonomic seating with plenty of legroom, latest generation of in-flight entertainment), so all passengers can now enjoy the impressive comfort upgrade that the airline invested in last year and that has been awarded several times already. The long haul fleet will be expanded with an additional Airbus A330, bringing the total at 8 long haul aircraft.

Brussels Airlines also adds an important new destination to its intercontinental network, Washington Dulles. Starting June 18, he American capital will be served 5 times per week, directly from Brussels Airport. Washington is the second US destination for the airline, after the launch of New York JFK last year. With its White House, the Pentagon and several museums and magnificent parks, Washington is a perfect city trip destination.

The flight schedule of the Washington service (late afternoon departure from Brussels, late night departure from Washington) is perfect for those who want to spend the entire day in Brussels or Washington. It also allows smooth connection to other international destinations, both via Brussels or Washington.

On the African continent, Brussels Airlines also reinforces its flight offer, thanks to extra flight frequencies. Both Yaoundé and Douala, in Cameroun, will be served daily during the peak months in summer season. The frequency to Freetown (Sierra Leone) will be increased from 2 to 4 times weekly and Conakry (Guinea) will be served 3 times a week. Dakar will be served daily.

Holiday flights

More than ever Brussels Airlines is active on the holiday market. Tens of thousands of Belgian, French and Swiss holiday passengers will be flown to Mediterranean destinations by the airline. These holiday flights are operated by Brussels Airlines on behalf of Belgian and foreign travel organisations.

Brussels Airlines 29 March 2013

Brussels Airlines records seat load factor increase of 6 percent in March

In the month of March Brussels Airlines recorded an increase of the seat load factor of 6 percent. The number of passengers increased by 1.4 percent

During the last month of the winter season 465,138 passengers flew with Brussels Airlines. On board the long haul flights to Africa and New York a significant passenger- and seat load factor increase was recorded. The daily service to New York achieved an average seat load factor of 81.9 percent and an additional 8.9 percent passengers travelled with Brussels Airlines to Africa.

On the European network, less seats were offered according to the “Beyond 2012-2013” management plan. This capacity decrease led however to an increased seat load factor of the intra-European flights (+2.4 pct points).

The end of March marked the beginning of the summer season in aviation. As from the Easter weekend Brussels Airlines increased its flight frequencies to some leisure destinations and to several African destinations.

These passenger figures only reflect the scheduled flights of Brussels Airlines. The passengers of charter flights operated by Brussels Airlines on behalf of tour operators are not included.




Brussels Airlines 10 April 2013

Brussels Airport and Brussels Airlines test automated “self baggage drop-off”

Brussels Airport, in cooperation with Brussels Airlines, launches a unique pilot project that will allow passengers on intra-European flights to check in their baggage themselves at the airport. The brand-new self-service baggage drop-off units, which will be exhaustively tested in the next few months, allow passengers to weigh and label their baggage in no time. This constitutes a real gain of time since they no longer have to queue at the manned check-in desk.

An increasing number of travellers are using the self-check-in machines in the departures hall or check in online from home, from their office or through their smartphone before leaving for the airport. However, if they are carrying hold baggage, they still need to proceed to a desk at the airport for an accelerated check-in procedure that only processes baggage. The new machine that is currently tested, now also frees passengers from the latter. Henceforth, passengers will be able to check in both themselves and their baggage.

Brussels Airport is one of the first European airports to integrate these automated check-in units for hold baggage into the existing check-in desks. However, to be able to use these units, passengers need to be in possession of a self-printed or mobile boarding pass. The new system is extremely user-friendly. Passengers insert their suitcase or bag into the machine and scan their boarding pass. The machine weighs the bag and checks its dimensions, prints the baggage tag and shows the passenger how to attach the tag to their bag. Next, the checked-in bag follows the usual itinerary through the airport baggage sorting system to the aircraft hold. For the passenger, the whole check-in procedure takes about one minute. If the bag is overweight or does not meet the baggage size limits, the passenger is referred to the manned check-in desk. For the time being, the same also goes for passengers who wish to check in several pieces of baggage.

During the trial period which lasts until this summer, two self baggage drop-off units will be available in the departures hall near Brussels Airlines check-in row 5. Passengers who travel with Brussels Airlines will be encouraged by the airport staff to actually use the units. “During the trial stage we will test the user-friendliness of the technology”, explains Brussels Airlines Vice President Ground Operations Peter Cornillie. “If the results are positive, the automated baggage check-in system will become a permanent option for all of our passengers travelling within Europe.”

For Brussels Airport this is an important milestone. Self-service check-in systems for baggage have been a familiar sight at Amercian airports for several years and now European airports are also ready to introduce them.
Ward Decaluwé, Director Operations of The Brussels Airport Company confirms that in time other airlines too will be able to use this technology: “Brussels Airlines is our natural partner for important test projects such as this. The technology and the set-up we chose require a far-reaching integration in the traditional baggage and check-in systems from our point of view as well as the airline’s.”

This test project is part of the efforts made by Brussels Airport and Brussels Airlines to increase the check-in comfort of their passengers. Passengers who choose to use the system, do not only speed up their own check-in process, they also contribute to reducing the queuing times for other passengers. Brussels Airlines passengers have the choice, at no extra cost, to check themselves in online from their PC or mobile device, at the self check-in machines in the terminal or at the traditional check-in desks. If the test project proofs successful, the self baggage drop-off units are sure to be added to the list. Technological innovations such as these always attract much curious attention from airport staff as well as passengers.

The units that are installed at Brussels Airport were developed by the Dutch company Type22, a spin-off of the Technische Universiteit Delft (TU Delft). They are marketing the system under the name ‘Scan&Fly’.

Brussels Airport, March 26, 2013

During the month of February, the number of passengers transported by Brussels Airlines on their European network decreased slightly. The load factor, the intercontinental traffic and the cargo activities continued to grow.

In February 2013, 364,207 passengers have traveled with Brussels Airlines. This is a slight decrease compared to the same period last year, but is in line with the decreased number of seats offered on the European network. The number of passengers that flew on Brussels Airlines’ long-haul network increased by 1,6 percent.

The freight volume, expressed in freight ton/kilometres, increased by 32,8 percent.

The passenger figures only reflect the scheduled flights of Brussels Airlines. The passengers of charter flights operated by Brussels Airlines on behalf of tour operators are not included.




Brussels Airlines, Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Brussels Airlines and Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI), both Star Alliance members, today announced the further development of their existing cooperation. During peak-season, THAI will increase its capacity between Brussels Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport. The joint announcement was made at the Regis Hotel in presence of His Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium, on the occasion of the Belgian Economic Mission to Thailand.

Also in attendance at the event were members from the Belgian Economic Mission, including His Excellency Didier Reynders, Federal Deputy Prime Minister and Minster of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs; Her Excellency Céline Fremault, Minister of Economy, Employment, Scientific Research and Foreign Trade of the Brussels-Capital Region; His Excellency Mark Michielsen, Belgian Ambassador to Thailand; His Excellency Apichart Chinwanno, Thai Ambassador to Belgium and to the European Union; and Mr. Emmanuel van Innis, Member of the Board of Brussels Airlines and Founding Partner.

“We look forward to further develop our successful cooperation with THAI, a quality airline offering premium on board-service”, said Brussels Airlines CEO Bernard Gustin. “Since Brussels Airlines became member of the global Star Alliance network we have been developing our home base at Brussels Airport into a Star Alliance hub that offers passengers connections to a growing number of long haul destinations. Our partnership with Star Alliance partner THAI, that allows passengers to fly nonstop to the Thai capital, fits perfectly in that strategy.”

Since November 2011 Thai Airways International operates a nonstop service between Belgium and Thailand for which the two airlines have formed a code-share agreement in July 2012, which means that Brussels Airlines can sell seats on the THAI flights under an SN flight number. This partnership has resulted in an increase in passenger numbers for both airlines, due to the convenience of the direct route and the excellent connexions with the Brussels Airlines network. The additional capacity THAI will offer during the peak-season, allows both partners to further intensify their cooperation.

“The timing for expanded cooperation is excellent for both airlines as we are seeing an increase in demand on this route, as well as on extended routes beyond Bangkok and Brussels,” added Dr. Kasemsuvan, THAI President.

Brussels Airlines, Brussels/Bangkok – 18 March 2013