BRU Summer 2015: latest news, routes, airlines

[Stij]

A test ok... But is it not also to celebrate the anniversary of the route? On 18 september, 1 year

Mmm... wasn't it September 5th?

Cheers,

Stij

[pele]

Is Brussels Airport also not equipped to handle a 747 passenger version?

[Atlantis]

Is Brussels Airport also not equipped to handle a 747 passenger version?

Dear Pele,

Yes of course BRU is equiped to handle a 747 passenger version. Look at the B747's of Sabena in the past and the other carriers who came with a B747 like RAM, Egyptair, etc.

[pele]

So the issue with the A380 are the doors above each other, now I understand . Actually there is no difference in handling a 777 or an 747..it just takes a little more time.

[Conti764]

And the weight of the plane.

Now, since LH already landed an A380 in BRU as a promotional stunt and since BRU is a diversion airport for A380 ops, I assume the basic infrastructure is A380-ready.

For the wingspan you'll have to add 15m extra compared to the biggest aircraft BRU now gets on a regular base (77W) but for that occasional A380 flihgt they might leave two adjacents gates unused. The remaining issue is boarding the plane. I can imagine it must be hell to unload and load again via one jetway...

[sn26567]

Ideally an A380 needs three boarding bridges, as I could experiment in FRA (picture below) and MIA with LH:

[crew1990]

Or they can do that on a remote position with severe stair

[Passenger]

De Lijn (= the public transport company for Flanders, excluding railways) will do a first test with so called "bus transport without driver". In 2018, an automatic-driven bus do a 5 km parcours at the airport territory, from the staff parking via cargo parkings to the main building. Speed: 15-20 km/h.

http://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20150423_01644660

[chineseboy]

And the weight of the plane.

Now, since LH already landed an A380 in BRU as a promotional stunt and since BRU is a diversion airport for A380 ops, I assume the basic infrastructure is A380-ready.

For the wingspan you'll have to add 15m extra compared to the biggest aircraft BRU now gets on a regular base (77W) but for that occasional A380 flihgt they might leave two adjacents gates unused. The remaining issue is boarding the plane. I can imagine it must be hell to unload and load again via one jetway...

i think it is also a hell to unload and load the catering etc from te upper deck, or do the servicetrucks equipped with a lift to the upper deck in BRU ? I doubt

[sn26567]

From 30 June, SunExpress will be offering 2 flights a week between Brussels Airport and Izmir on Tuesdays and Sundays.

The flights will be operated using a modern fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft.

Source: Brussels Airport Travel News

[crew1990]

And the weight of the plane.

Now, since LH already landed an A380 in BRU as a promotional stunt and since BRU is a diversion airport for A380 ops, I assume the basic infrastructure is A380-ready.

For the wingspan you'll have to add 15m extra compared to the biggest aircraft BRU now gets on a regular base (77W) but for that occasional A380 flihgt they might leave two adjacents gates unused. The remaining issue is boarding the plane. I can imagine it must be hell to unload and load again via one jetway...

i think it is also a hell to unload and load the catering etc from te upper deck, or do the servicetrucks equipped with a lift to the upper deck in BRU ? I doubt

If the catering companies are already able load the upper deck of a 747 why would t it be possible with a A380

[sn26567]

Like this:

[airazurxtror]

http://www.lalibre.be/economie/actualit ... e9b2ec5b11

Un mastodonte est attendu dans le ciel belge le 18 septembre prochain. Emirates, la compagnie aérienne de Dubai, a ainsi décidé de faire atterrir l’un de ses 60 Airbus A380 à Zaventem à la fin de cet été. L’opération est un "one shot" : l’Airbus effectuera l’aller-retour Dubai-Bruxelles dans la journée et ne devrait rester que quelques heures sur le tarmac de Brussels Airport.
Mais l’opération unique d’Emirates, plus grand acheteur mondial d’A380, pourrait devenir régulière prochainement.
Officiellement, la compagnie explique "vouloir célébrer la première année d’Emirates en Belgique."

On 18 September, Emirates has decided to make one of its 60 Airbus A380 land in Zaventem.
The Airbus will make the round trip Dubai -Brussels in the day and is expected to stay only a few hours at Brussels Airport.
But this single flight could soon become regular.
Officially, the company says they "want to celebrate the first year of Emirates in Belgium. "

[sn26567]

In the same article it is said that if those flights become regular, Brussels airport should invest 10 million euros for suitable jet bridges and renovation of some taxiways. The alternative for Emirates is to fly twice daily with a 777. Is a 10 million investment for one single customer justified? Some say that it could have a snowball effect: it would attract other A380 operators to BRU. Which ones? That's the question...

[Airbus A330]

Some say that it could have a snowball effect: it would attract other A380 operators to BRU. Which ones? That's the question...

A second daily A380 by EK? TG upgrading to A380? (I know I'm dreaming! )

[Inquirer]

As previously said, my take is it is nothing but a tactic to get permission for a second daily flight instead, something which must be far more commercially interesting to them than a single daily A380 flight, but that such an extension of traffic rights may currently be unattainable politically, hence the buzz they intend to create around their presence and its sales' success, pointing out the A380 as alternative may turn out costly for the airport.

I think capacity to the Gulf is already more than ample right now, so Belgium shouldn't be any more accommodating to any of the Arabian airlines than it currently is already, otherwise it can kiss it hopes for any new nonstop Asian routes goodbye forever!
I hope that those nonstop Asian routes are much higher in the "most wanted" list of our country over yet another flight to the Gulf region of which there are already 3.
Having some non-stops to highly developed countries in the Far East like Japan, Korea, Singapore or Hong Kong would make it far easier for Belgium to attract much more direct Asian investment in our country than we currently only see, yet in contradiction to this, extending the ability to connect to Asia via foreign hubs will only reduce the chances of any such non-stops from being opened in future, so a clear strategy and possibly also a cap on the growth of transfer oriented airlines is required if we want to prevent (part of) the potential Asian investors in our country's economy from simply getting out at the first stop.
We can't prevent transfers via EU hubs of course, but we can -and IMHO we should- limit the number of transfers via non-EU hubs: those risk hurting our economy more than they bring as there's a real potential for the loss of passengers with a very high added value, all for the sake of potentially lower prices for passengers with low/no added value.

Belgium must consider more carefully the rights it grants to airlines like Emirates in order not to shoot itself in the foot. Their interests are not exactly those of our country as a whole, even though they may be aligned with those of (just) our airports.

[b720]

EK still ok, in my opinion... DXB is a world class city, now population over 2 million... Attracting lots of O.D. Business, and tourism. even from Belgium..add to that pax connecting, but QR, and EY? what 99.5 pct of their capacity out of BRU is transfer? Ridiculous that a country (Qatar) the size of the Sheraton hotel at Brussels North is operating such a network. Their operations can not be profitable.

[sn26567]

Belgium must consider more carefully the rights it grants to airlines like Emirates in order not to shoot itself in the foot.

Exactly! Traffic rights are normally granted on a reciprocal basis. What did Belgium get in exchange for granting traffic rights to the UAE (currently 15x/week) and Qatar (7x/week)?

[Inquirer]

I can only assume that any Belgian airline may serve those countries too in return, but the fact remains there's very little demand for point-to-point seats to those all-in-all just scarcely populated places without meaningful industrial output, so any demand is more than covered by the current capacity offered.
Meanwhile, what is happening is that the Belgian market towards Asia is sucked completely dry, effectively preventing the launch of potential new nonstop routes to the Far East which might otherwise have been a real possibility in the near future thanks to the continued economic growth of the region, further technological advances (e.g. smaller and highly efficient long range planes) and other things.
And that loss of nonstop links is the real price of the huge presence of those 3 airlines at BRU for the Belgian economy as a whole, as the added value of their presence very likely doesn't go far beyond just the direct jobs supported by them. In contrast, any direct flight to say Japan or Korea would most likely boost the Industrial investment in Belgium, on top of a similar number of direct jobs created by such a flight.
It's why I strongly feel Belgium should restrict access to airlines like Emirates in order to give more chances to Asian nonstop flights in future: it's in our nation's wider economy's interest to do so and it shouldn't give in to demands from foreign airlines just like that, nor from lobbying groups supported by the airport: it's not because to them it's basically all the same where a flight heads to, that it's also all the same to the rest of our country of course. In fact, it's exactly the opposite even somehow, as I try to make clear.

[lumumba]

Those airlines from the Gulf is a blessing for Brussels.
We have a lot of good connection now to Asia and Australia.
For year all the Asian airlines preferred to serve bigger hubs like Franfurt,Paris etc...
And at the time there where no flights to the Gulf.