Sabena or not...

[HighInTheSky]

Furthermore, how many Africans compared to Europeans/Americans are flying on SN to Africa?

75% Africans, and 25% others...
So your point is?

[DIDA]

When i read "brussels airlines" comments it's clear he or she) is a member of the wonderful marketing departement at the sabena house that has given birth to the (bad)new name and to the ridiculus concept of b-flex,b light...
please be a bit realistic...saying everything is super fine with B.A is useless.

[b-west]

Well, It seems that my little topic has caused quite a stir

I notice a lot of emotional reactions, be it pro or contra Sabena. Still, we shouldn't let emotion dictate our decisions. The real question is: does it make economic (marketing) sense to revive the name? At present, I can't say the Brussels Airlines brand name is a big success. People refer to the airline with various names, SN Brussels, Brussels, SN and the odd Sabena... At least nobody mentions Virgin Express anymore.

I think it would not be such a bad idea if Lufthansa were to do some market research into this issue... What does the "average (business) passenger" think of when he hears Sabena, what kind of service level and which destinations would he associate with it? And how would our average Joe define Brussels Airlines? Does the name überhaupt ring a bell or not?

[Ducatibiker]

Enough market research ! I think that Lufthansa and Swiss have enough experience on service on board. As for the market, Lufthansa has a sales team in Brussels and they are very capable people as they have experience. It is exactly what is lacking today at Brussels Airlines and its unprofessional management who barely understand the concept of Frequent Flyers.

[Comet]

Yes, the name should be revived, for an airline which offered a similar standard of onboard service and not one which charged vastly over-inflated prices for a buy onboard service. When SNBA became Spotty Tail the prices soared through the roof and the onboard service became something akin to Ryanair.

The only airline which now has anything like Sabena service is VLM.

I know people who will not fly on Spotty Tail because of the hugely expensive prices they now charge. Full service VLM is cheaper.

[kmo]

This was indeed to be expected: a much replied topic

I would say as already indicated: it is very hard to discuss about taste, color schemes etc.
Personally: I quite like the Brussels logo; I think it's relatively speaking quite trendy and modern

The only thing I would like to add; I believe most people who are so keen on seeing the name "Sabena" return in aviation, feel so out of nostalgic feelings from the old days.
I am not so sure about service levels dropping just because of the "name change" (but I guess this could start a whole knew discussion, so nu further comment on that...)
Anyway, for all my friend's (who are in their mid 20's and probably the current and future frequent flier's) Brussels Airlines is a well established and reliable name and if I talk about Sabena they (including me) only remember the bankruptcy and don't really consider/know the former glory of what Sabena used to be

[outofafrica]

There is no need to rebrand the name of Brussels Airlines, because nowadays Africans don't use the name sabena any longer. I never heared the name sabena popping up in the last 14 months that I fly to Africa 2/4 times a month. You can only spot the name on your invoice of a former sabena hotel (because they still have them in stock) and on the match boxes but that's about it. There are also very huge bill boards with Brussels Airlines' publicity in almost every African destination city. And in some Airports and city centres like the ones of Kigali, Burundi and Entebbe it looks like Brussels Airlines is even there national homecarrier.

Concerning Brussels Airlines' livery and colour scheme, it is curently probably one of the most attractive in the entire *A fleet .

So sabena or not....definitely NOT. I rather prefer Lufthansa but Brussels Airlines is just fine, don't underestimate its potential ...reminds me of another airline with the name of a city : Singapore Airlines.

[DIDA]

Hi outofafrica,

the comparaison between Brussels airlines and singapore airlines , may be you never flew singapore.... that's just like comparing a rolls with a renault the two share the same first letter...but that's all.
Yes B.A. try to build an image in africa and europe with very expensive bill boardsb ad,but if you ask people they know SABENA not B.A.
Indeed Everybody knows the SABENA meaning" such...." but nobody knows the B.A one...'cause there is no such thing as not being known... and B.A is totally unknown.

[brussels airlines]

Maybe a better question is: will Brussels Airlines have economic advantages with changing the name to Sabena ? I don't think so. As I already posted, it will cost a lot of money to rebrand Brussels Airlines into Sabena. Secondly, i doubt Brussels Airlines will carry more passengers with the name Sabena.

Result= very expensive re-rebranding operation <-->no extra passengers=no extra money.

This is just loosing a lot of time and money for something that wont have much influence on our revenue, in positive way.

[Air Key West]

Indeed, rather than changing the name, the priority is to change the management and I'm convinced LH will do that when taking full ownership (control) of the airline.
And when new aircraft arrive in a few years from now with the fleet renewal, they will come in LH livery and the name on the planes will be Lufthansa Brussels (on the model of Lufthansa Italia). B.Air will be the first airline they fully take over on which they will test the sensitivity and impact of rebranding an airline into Lufthansa. (All this is, of course, just a guess).

[Boavida]

I think, and many people agree with me, that 'Brussels Airlines' sounds like a cheap regional company without any 'class'. The name doesn't appeal to people, it sounds so 'boring'. Also, the name is not very known in the world. Many people still talk about Sabena when they're flying SN, and in some airports they even use the Sabena logo for a 'Brussels Airlines' flight.

I think it would be great, also from a marketing point of view(!), that in the future they would rename Brussels Airlines 'Sabena' again. This name has so much history, it's known all over the world (in some parts of Africa it's even a synonym for 'airplane') and it represents class and quality.

If I were LH, I would seriously consider this. Just look at it:



Who would fly "brussels airlines" if you could fly Sabena? :thumbup:

[dsa330]

seriously, you gonna wake this one up again? ^^

[cnc]

a new sabena airline... now that would hurt all the ex sabena workers including me that aren't a part of the new SN airline.

[airazurxtror]

Agreed : the name "Brussels Airlines" is not sexy.
But "Sabena" is not either, and moreover the name conjures up recollections of bankrupcy and unhappy ending.
If an old name of belgian airline is demanded, why not "Delta Air Transport" or "Virgin Express" ?
Both were well known and liked (when headed by Freddy Van Gaver and Richard Branson resp) and bring back happy memories in Belgium and abroad.
And also, come to think of it, Belgian International Air Transport - BIAS !

[cathay belgium]

remember my first flight;
B757-200 OO-ILI of .........AIR BELGIUM !!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, ... nice in these political times
To the point : AIR - BELGIUM !

CX-B

[Megaman]

Maybe the name could be revived as a low cost carrier belgium based at charleroi. Unfortunatly, as the name is a french acronym, this already plays against that, which is another reason to put it at charleroi. And since it would be low cost, the past memories would no longer be relevant as you wouldn't be paying for a service you were expecting before. I think the sabena name is tremendously popular, especially amongst french speakers. Once they have a regional network, thet can challenge bru air on africa