Brussels Airlines future and financial perspective

[RoMax]

The Spanish mother company of Flightcare has an agreement with the mother company of Swissport to sell Flightcare (nothing firm yet tough, just an agreement that Swissport has to sole right to buy Flightcare for a certain time). If that would happen (could happen soon), Flightcare would be integrated into Swissport.
That may be the right moment for SN to take the handling in-house?

[Flanker]

Very often, the red cap appears after the aircraft has arrived at the gate, keeping customers stuck in the aircraft. Departure delays too. That's not how it's supposed to work.

In-sourcing red caps can be done, but how do you want to organize that with the rest of the handling team?
In my experience, it's not good to work with a team leader from one company and a team from another when the team leader has to work very closely with the team.

In-sourcing the handling? With what money?
The best solution is to force BRU to abandon their 2 handling companies policy, which reduces competition and makes handling more expensive. Swissport and other new handling companies should be allowed to join the competition.

BRU is really not helping SN's situation at all.

[1V1]

I see the doomsday preachers are out again? What a surprise...
Surely not because they LH is not likely going to excercise their call option this year?
As inquirer and euroflyer have already said, that is a fairly normal business practice really, especially as there is no urgency involved.

Always found this a strange statement, especially as you must have known about the restructuring plans as from Dec. or Jan.

I don't know what plans you are hinting at there, but the only plan I know of is that of the 737\RJ85 phase out, a plan which is half completed by now. I am sure somebody can give you the exact fleet figures to date, but a huge cut (8 out of 14RJs and 4 out of 8 737s) has apparently slipped largely under the radar, probably because it only resulted in lower frequencies, rather than route closures...

The rest of the remaining RJ85s and 737s is said to be gone by the end of October, after which 6 southern European leisure routes are going to be closed, something which is also shown in the GDS, BTW (see the topic about W2012 news at BRU).

Any other firm plans you know of which you want to share, maybe?

I was talking about the word URGENCY

What concerns any plans, I don't think this is the place to have a chat about that. Lets have a beer when you're in for the interview

[Flanker]

Tolipanebas going for the 77W driver job in the sandpit?
I used to read you blog 1v1, always very nice pics and nice comments, congrats on your picture book.

[RoMax]

The European parlement will vote for a new law which will make it impossible for airlines like Ryanair to have their flying staff registred in Ireland while flying out of another European country.
With these new rules RYR will loose a big advantage. Tough it is not known yet from when the new law will be take into effect when it'll be voted tomorrow. Normally that's not something for this year anymore.

http://www.tijd.be/nieuws/ondernemingen ... 6-3085.art

Brussels Airlines asked for measures that'll take in effect before the summer...wonder if the Belgian government will do something or if they'll just wait for the European rules to take into effect.

[1V1]

Tolipanebas going for the 77W driver job in the sandpit?
I used to read you blog 1v1, always very nice pics and nice comments, congrats on your picture book.

Thanks.

For the interview I was joking guys. Just saying I'd be happy to have a chat and a beer with Toli.

Btw Flanker you're posts are usually rather accurate. Where do you get the info?

[tolipanebas]

I was talking about the word URGENCY

Oh, I see.
Well everything is relative of course, but things could be much worse still.
Maybe it's because we're used to something already?

What concerns any plans, I don't think this is the place to have a chat about that. Lets have a beer when you're in for the interview

You can buy me a beer any time and well have a look at your great pictures then, but don't expect me over on any interview. Even the latest offer to direct entry captains on A330 isn't going to lure me in: there's no way I'd be able to convince my wife to quit her job and when I look at her pay slip, I can't blame her.
But send my regards to all the ex Sabena boys there, I'll be over in november for a visit and a beach holiday.

[convair]

It might not be the right topic for this but it is definitely related:

How on earth could the members of the European Parliament vote for such a stupid rule as the existing one concerning flying staff?!

It should have been obvious (even to these indecently highly paid politicians) that that rule would encourage airlines to move their HQ to the low taxation countries and/or be deeply unfair to those that would resist the temptation!

[1V1]

I was talking about the word URGENCY

Oh, I see.
Well everything is relative of course, but things could be much worse still.
Maybe it's because we're used to something already?

What concerns any plans, I don't think this is the place to have a chat about that. Lets have a beer when you're in for the interview

You can buy me a beer any time and well have a look at your great pictures then, but don't expect me over on any interview. Even the latest offer to direct entry captains on A330 isn't going to lure me in: there's no way I'd be able to convince my wife to quit her job and when I look at her pay slip, I can't blame her.
But send my regards to all the ex Sabena boys there, I'll be over in november for a visit and a beach holiday.

See you in november. Beer is in the fridge.

Btw the DEC list is growing rapidly.

Cu

[tolipanebas]

Brussels Airlines asked for measures that'll take in effect before the summer...wonder if the Belgian government will do something or if they'll just wait for the European rules to take into effect.

Don't hold your breath for it; this will take years still.

Back to topic: the reason SN is so pissed with Belgian politics is that for the one and only time that they do pay attention to aviation as a sector of our economy, government has managed to interfere in the most fantastic way (sarcasm): The strategic re-orientation of SN towards more long haul flying -which in itself is long overdue- and more so even the corresponding change in FTEs are both perfectly manageable in a fairly "soft way" if making use of the dedicated pension scheme air crews have been enjoying since decades, yet all of that was unilaterally ended last year without any prior notice or negociation by our government, while it is still unclear what will replace it, almost 4 months later! Needles to say this gives a completely different social context.

This is really just another demonstration of just how the government of E. Di Rupo is detached from reality and just messes around till in the end nobody knows what to expect any longer, be it on taxes on leasing cars, gas or electricity costs at home, and here indeed even the basics like pension and minimum carreer length.

1V1, I reckon that's Begian beer, you have?

[FlightMate]

Just for information, what's the new european rule you're refering to?

[lindahabana]

I didn't find the information on the net...but you have to read the page n°23 in "Le Soir" of today about the new european rules for the welfare costs of flying crew !

[BrightCedars]

I saw it too on my iPad last night, here's the link:

http://www.lesoir.be/actualite/le_fil_i ... 909775.php

Shortly, they say the EP will vote to have the social base where the crew is based rather than the airline.

[FlightMate]

So that won't solve b.air problems...

Only CRL-based Ryanair staff will have to pay their taxes in Belgium.

[flightlover]

So that won't solve b.air problems...

Only CRL-based Ryanair staff will have to pay their taxes in Belgium.

It may make tickets for Ryanair a bit more expensive as the crew will cost more. Or as Ryanair is used to do when costs rise, may make them cut a few routes. Both will have a positive effect for all other airlines that are in competition with them. And don't forget, it ain't just for Belgian flight crew but also for all non Irish based ones (in respective countries).

And, on a Belgian point of view, there will be more return for social security. Which in these times is a plus. No mather how limited.

If the next step is taken, belgocontrol fees payable in CRL and LGG, an almost level playing field will return.

[BrightCedars]

In the press this morning it is reported that LH has reduced the value of SN in its books by 13MLN EUR.

They say they won't exercice their option this year and that they have full hands to deal with restructuring OS and offloading BD. I think they came to realize they will just have to shut down bmibaby and pay for it or give BD on a silver plater to IAG. Looks like the Germans weren't the smarter ones this time around.

Clearly this paves the way for some solid cost cutting at SN. They need to rationalize the fleet and turn the Euro network profitable by all means or they will just bite the dust.

[tolipanebas]

In the press this morning it is reported that LH has reduced the value of SN in its books by 13MLN EUR.

In all fairness, but that is something which was published in LH's annual report from the 15th of March already; more than ever, it just shows that our press only reports on things when they are given easy to read summaries, or better still, when they can just copy-paste each other.

FWIW, the audited result of SN for 2011 can also be derived from the same LH annual report published over a month ago, yet despite this we still see a financial newspaper like L'echo refer to an "estimated loss of xxM over 2011" only a few days ago ...

Whatever happened to investigational journalism if even a financial newspaper can't read an annual report any longer!? Okay, it's 264 pages long, but it really is in there for everybody to read....

Clearly this paves the way for some solid cost cutting at SN. They need to rationalize the fleet and turn the Euro network profitable by all means or they will just bite the dust.

I'd think that is something understood long before today, but for some reason the press is only now discovering it.

Last week they came with the breaking news the European fleet is going to be cut, right at a time when just 4 of the 8 737s and 5 of the 14 RJ 85 are still around and today they report news from an annual report of mid March.

Time for them to read luchtzak.be, I should say?
Maybe that's why we have all those server crashes as of lately: journalists trying to download the entire content to get up to speed!

[Inquirer]

Brussels Airlines asked for measures that'll take in effect before the summer...wonder if the Belgian government will do something or if they'll just wait for the European rules to take into effect.

Don't hold your breath for it; this will take years still.

Seems like Tolipanebas is right:

http://m.standaard.be/sp/artikel.xhtml? ... id=2459075

the new rules are only applicable to newly hired staff: transition period of 10 years for the rest!

[FlightMate]

And anyway, what will it bring?

Instead of paying your Ryanair ticket 1 euro, you'd have to pay it 5 euros?

That won't make SN more attractive...

And if it does, I'm sure Ryanair could still sell cheap tickets and make less profits for awhile, just long enough to definitely kill SN.

That new rule will just make life more difficult for our colleagues in Ryanair, probably not for the managers or for the company itself!

[Inquirer]

And anyway, what will it bring?

Fiscal fairness maybe?

If some of your neighbours who live in houses twice as big as yours and make far more money than you, are known to be paying zero municipal taxes and suddenly the mayor of your town would announce he'd have to seriously raise municipal taxes for instance, would you still not care about the fact not everybody in your street is contributing fairly towards the municipality and you're thus going to be asked to pick up a too large share of the financial burden faced by the town you all happen to live in?

That new rule will just make life more difficult for our colleagues in Ryanair, probably not for the managers or for the company itself!

It will not make their life any harder than that of anybody else working here in Belgium and paying all of his taxes due here. No need to pitty them as this is only common sense: it should have been done away with ages ago.

Just my 2 cents.