Brussels Airlines in 2024

[jan_olieslagers]

Agreement with unions found, pilot strike cancelled.

Thanks for info! Any reliable reference?

[Ge203]

Agreement with unions found, pilot strike cancelled.

Thanks for info! Any reliable reference?

Just out in Le Soir https://www.lesoir.be/576594/article/20 ... es-annulee

[Miqvell]

Agreement with unions found, pilot strike cancelled.

Thanks for info! Any reliable reference?

https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/03/24 ... an-toch-a/

[luchtzak]

Agreement with unions found, pilot strike cancelled.

Thanks for info! Any reliable reference?

You can read it here: https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/luft ... ay-strike/

[brabel]

Happy to hear that.
Hopefully now they can have a good year so that next year they can grow more, preferably without strikes.

[lumumba]

Happy to hear that.
Hopefully now they can have a good year so that next year they can grow more, preferably without strikes.

[TimTam]

However, I remain curious (sorry) what the agreement entails.
Well, now that this discussion seems close to be (temporarily) closed, I would like to ask a question to those who are more in the know than me : why is OS getting a direct fly from Vienna to Boston and not SN ?
And while I am asking questions, why doesn't SN get Embraer 170 or A220-100 for the "thin" routes when OS and LX get them ?

[Miqvell]

Well, now that this discussion seems close to be (temporarily) closed, I would like to ask a question to those who are more in the know than me : why is OS getting a direct fly from Vienna to Boston and not SN ?

Maybe because OS doesn't have any niche market but still needs to develop long-haul ?

[TimTam]

Good question, but I thought that OS's niche market was (far) Eastern Europe and the Balkans or is this a thing of the past ? (of course, it's not long haul). But what are LH and LX's niche markets ?
I seem to remember forum members contributions saying there is a demand for a non-stop BRU BOS flight.
So, my (perhaps naive) question is : why did not SN get a direct BRU BOS v.v. flight (and aircraft) while making Austrians connect at BRU to BOS ?
For those (who ???) who want to remain loyal to the LhGroup, from Brussels, flying to Boston, just to name one North American city, most of the time flying there means flying east first to fly west afterwards. Oh "God" wie tief Deine Wege !
.

[Miqvell]

I seem to remember forum members contributions saying there is a demand for a non-stop BRU BOS flight.
So, my (perhaps naive) question is : why did not SN get a direct BRU BOS v.v. flight (and aircraft) while making Austrians connect at BRU to BOS ?

Well, BOS-BRU will come but certainly not with SN as they stick to Africa (btw rumors say that IAD will leave SN's network and UA will go double-daily). Also, it is known that United has big plans in BRU and, in fact, Boston is in discussions (could be launched in 2025 or 2026).

[TimTam]

Please, don't get me wrong. I have no intention to offend you, Miqvell, on the contrary, discussing with you is interesting.
But... I do not believe in this Africa hub at BRU with UA (AC) and SN.
"DvB" said it has to be profitable. Ha ha... No commitment so far. Just a lot of hot air.

First : How many North Americans need/want to fly to the Western and Central African destinations served by SN (let's not forget that most of them are french-speaking) ?

Secondly : are UA and AC prepared to offer flights to BRU from more destinations in North America and do they have the aircraft to engage in such a commitment ?

Thirdly : if the answer to "Secondly" were to be positive, SN could (temporarily) stop to fly to North America, which should make one or two A330's available for expansion in Africa.

Fourthly : expansion in Africa ? Where ? OK, perhaps an increase in frequencies the end of horrible triangular flights. But apart from that ?
Maybe Brussels Bamako-Cotonou, Cotonou-Bamako Brussels ? And ? Brussels Lomé-Libreville and Libreville-Lomé Brussels ?
And imho, if this BIG Africa hub at BRU needs to be profitable, at least a non-stop flight to Cape Town (not JNB) should be included.

My personal, hopefully wrong conclusion, is : it is not going to happen.

[Miqvell]

Please, don't get me wrong. I have no intention to offend you, Miqvell, on the contrary, discussing with you is interesting.
But... I do not believe in this Africa hub at BRU with UA (AC) and SN.
"DvB" said it has to be profitable. Ha ha... No commitment so far. Just a lot of hot air.

First : How many North Americans need/want to fly to the Western and Central African destinations served by SN (let's not forget that most of them are french-speaking) ?

Secondly : are UA and AC prepared to offer flights to BRU from more destinations in North America and do they have the aircraft to engage in such a commitment ?

Thirdly : if the answer to "Secondly" were to be positive, SN could (temporarily) stop to fly to North America, which should make one or two A330's available for expansion in Africa.

Fourthly : expansion in Africa ? Where ? OK, perhaps an increase in frequencies the end of horrible triangular flights. But apart from that ?
Maybe Brussels Bamako-Cotonou, Cotonou-Bamako Brussels ? And ? Brussels Lomé-Libreville and Libreville-Lomé Brussels ?
And imho, if this BIG Africa hub at BRU needs to be profitable, at least a non-stop flight to Cape Town (not JNB) should be included.

My personal, hopefully wrong conclusion, is : it is not going to happen.

Well, I'm not offended at all, it's your right not to believe in this plan. Still, 'no commitment so far', such a project requires a lot of preparation and discussions, we're not talking about a new flight to Thessaloniki or Malaga, we're talking about a global hub between America and Africa.

'First' - Many destinations in Africa are not only French colonies, but they're also English and German diasporas, which is what SN is aiming for. North America is not limited to Montreal and New York but there's also Houston, which has one of the biggest African diaspora in the US.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/254 ... to-the-us/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans

'Second' - That's why this is still a project and also the reason why discussions are ongoing. United and Air Canada know what they do, they have plenty of new planes arriving and they know on which destinations they'll fit the best. The project will take years before reaching its final stage.

'Third' - At the moment, only Washington is rumored to be stopped, but this is still not the case as it'll continue this summer season. SN doesn't need this to get more capacity as it'll get a new plane every year (apparently aiming for a record 15 A330 at the moment, we'll be at 11 in 2025)

'Fourth' - As you say, more frequencies and more direct flights is one the priority but also new destinations and there are plenty left. Thinking of Bamako, Libreville, Brazzaville, Lagos, Kilimanjaro, and way more. Cape Town shouldn't be the highest priority as United is already serving it and quite expensive to operate. A hub is not only about having 50 destinations but also having more choice to depart in a single day in order to facilitate connections, this has to be done on both sides, Africa and America. One clear example of this is Air France, having sometimes double or triple daily flights to african destinations, and Air France is one of the main target of this UA-AC-SN project.

[TimTam]

You certainly have valid points, Miqvell. I understand that the project cannot be concreted overnight. However, even if AF is no longer flying to Sahel countries, there is some urgency overall and especially filling the gap left by AF.

[TimTam]

And another comment/question. Is it not a pitty that the Big Boss apparently discards the A321LR ? As Boston is really a short intercontinental flight, wouldn't this aircraft not be totally appropriate ? Same for a double daily flight to Dakar (trafic rights permitting) ? Just asking...

[TimTam]

I had not realized UA was already flying to CPT. You are right : not a priority for SN.

[lumumba]

And another comment/question. Is it not a pitty that the Big Boss apparently discards the A321LR ? As Boston is really a short intercontinental flight, wouldn't this aircraft not be totally appropriate ? Same for a double daily flight to Dakar (trafic rights permitting) ? Just asking...

I'm agree with the A321LR even for Luanda it could be a solution....but two or three planes in the fleet I'm not sure it's financially possible?

[rwandan-flyer]

SN probably won't be competitve using the A321LR to Luanda and probably on many routes to Africa.

All airlines (outside Southern, West and Central Africa) serving Luanda use widebodies aircraft : Lufthansa, Air France, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Ethiopian Airlines. Only Royal Air Maroc has downgraded their service since covid, replacing B787 by the B737Max. Kenya Airways with their ERJ 190 didn't resume flights to Luanda after covid.

Competitors will rub their hands by seeing SN sending a tiny aircraft. You can't use narrowbody in Africa any old how. It depends of the demand, the location of your hub, your network, the fleet utilization,....

It's not because TAP or Turkish do this, that it's will work with SN on a big part of their network.

In the case of Turkish Airlines, they provide mix of B737s and A330s on many routes to Africa, but with huge frequencies (most of time daily flights). But these planes are used to Europe, Turkey, Middle East and North America or Asia for A330s. TAP A321LR are used to Toronto, Montreal, Brazil, USA and Africa.

In both cases : a good hub (with many waves of connecting for long haul flights during the day), good fleet utilization on their network with aircraft serving many destinations and thus better for profits, good location close to Africa. Flight time btw IST and BRU and LIS and BRU is 2h30-2h45. More fuel saved and probably less money spent to reach Africa than from Brussels.

What about SN A321LRs ? Boston and some Africans routes, but with which frequencies ? 3 times a week ? 4 times a week ? It's probably not enough for now.

[lumumba]

I prefer to fly long haul on a A321 or 757 than a wide body last flight I did was Porto NY (Y) with a 757 its very confortable.

[longwings]

What I don't understand with pilots is that it's the top of the social basket; they can find a job wherever they want in any other company, why go on strike?

Seniority...

A pilot who moves to a new airline drops at the bottom of the seniority list for the aircraft type and position they hold. SN's most experienced A320 captain will become the most junior A320 captain if they move to another airline. At airlines where pilots and copilots get to choose the routes they fly, seniority drives the order in which they choose. Opportunities to move to another aircraft type, or from right seat to left seat, also come in order of seniority.

Then add quality of life... Family doesn't want to move, pilot doesn't want to commute...

[oldblueeyes]

What I don't understand with pilots is that it's the top of the social basket; they can find a job wherever they want in any other company, why go on strike?

Seniority...

A pilot who moves to a new airline drops at the bottom of the seniority list for the aircraft type and position they hold. SN's most experienced A320 captain will become the most junior A320 captain if they move to another airline. At airlines where pilots and copilots get to choose the routes they fly, seniority drives the order in which they choose. Opportunities to move to another aircraft type, or from right seat to left seat, also come in order of seniority.

Then add quality of life... Family doesn't want to move, pilot doesn't want to commute...

Well nobody passt for your cherry picking.
You compare whole package in Option A vs whole package in Option B, not just what you like from others.