SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express going together

Airbus330lover · Post by **Airbus330lover** » 06 Aug 2006, 11:21

As said earlier, my preference goes to SABENA.
First, well know outside Belgium
Second, reference in Africa
Third, well know everywhere in the worls but with différent appreciations (can be changed with the time)
Fourth : S tail remain and SN can be hold in all the reservation systems (knowed by travel agnecies WORLDWIDE)

By the way, in some countries like Thailand (BKK Don Muang) not deserved by Sabena the last 8 years, the SABENA stickers and boards outside the airport are still in the lists.....

It's not nostalgy but efficient method to be know worldwide

DAT202D · Post by **DAT202D** » 07 Aug 2006, 14:40

Airbus330lover wrote:
By the way, in some countries like Thailand (BKK Don Muang) not deserved by Sabena the last 8 years, the SABENA stickers and boards outside the airport are still in the lists.....

What do you mean by that? It interests me since i'm living in Thailand

b-west · Post by **b-west** » 07 Aug 2006, 15:43

DAT202D wrote:
Airbus330lover wrote:
By the way, in some countries like Thailand (BKK Don Muang) not deserved by Sabena the last 8 years, the SABENA stickers and boards outside the airport are still in the lists.....
What do you mean by that? It interests me since i'm living in Thailand

I think he means that at the terminal entrance, the sabena sticker is still among the ones of airlines serving the airport. You have several entrances to the Bangkok airport, and passengers are urged to take the entrance closest to the desks of their airline, which is indicated with the logo of the airline just before the entrance.
I've noticed it too when I was in Bangkok early this year.

The same thing in JFK in 2004, my codeshare SN/AA flight to DCA was announced on the screens as American Airlines / Sabena.

And yeah, Sabena is in my opinion still the best choice. A lot of people here seem to think that Sabena might have a negative ring to it outside Belgium because they went bankrupt. But I think people forget very quickly. They still remember Sabena, but what happened and all that, they forgot. And since you still have the famous S-tail flying around, a lot of people won't even realise Sabena's gone, at most they'll presume the airline got a new name. -

Airbus330lover · Post by **Airbus330lover** » 07 Aug 2006, 16:49

DAT202D wrote:
Airbus330lover wrote:
By the way, in some countries like Thailand (BKK Don Muang) not deserved by Sabena the last 8 years, the SABENA stickers and boards outside the airport are still in the lists.....
What do you mean by that? It interests me since i'm living in Thailand

on the left side of the departure hall, you will see the logos of the airlines deserving the airport.... SABENA was still on it in april 2006 !! and not a small sticker, weel a big steel plate

sn-remember · Post by **sn-remember** » 07 Aug 2006, 18:09

Airbus330lover wrote:As said earlier, my preference goes to SABENA.
First, well know outside Belgium
Second, reference in Africa
Third, well know everywhere in the worls but with différent appreciations (can be changed with the time)
Fourth : S tail remain and SN can be hold in all the reservation systems (knowed by travel agnecies WORLDWIDE)

It's not nostalgy but efficient method to be know worldwide

I totally agree with you.
All alternative propositions I've been hearing up to now sound so very poor compared to Sabena.

You know the choice of a brand name is crucial and it should never be allowed to be decided hurriedly or without the support from true marketting experts in the field of airlines.
And even with all the guarantees from true professionals, you can still miss your target.

Charging unexperted or childish hands with the job of designing the company colours can be an interesting marketting game , no more.

Cheers
Christophe

Post by **Kapitein** » 07 Aug 2006, 19:43

Airbus330lover wrote:
DAT202D wrote:
Airbus330lover wrote:
By the way, in some countries like Thailand (BKK Don Muang) not deserved by Sabena the last 8 years, the SABENA stickers and boards outside the airport are still in the lists.....
What do you mean by that? It interests me since i'm living in Thailand
on the left side of the departure hall, you will see the logos of the airlines deserving the airport.... SABENA was still on it in april 2006 !! and not a small sticker, weel a big steel plate

In Narita Terminal 2 same thing, somewhat smaller but still Sabena is being displayed.

airazurxtror · Post by **airazurxtror** » 07 Aug 2006, 20:13

sn-remember wrote:
You know the choice of a brand name is crucial and it should never be allowed to be decided hurriedly or without the support from true marketting experts in the field of airlines.
And even with all the guarantees from true professionals, you can still miss your target.

That is the understatement of the year !
Successful brand names like "Virgin", "easyJet", "GO", and even "Ryanair" have been found after having sent to hell all marketing so-called "experts"...
Please let's forget once and for all the Sabena disaster and give the new company a name that will speak of future, not of ill-placed nostalgy.

As one seems to be looking for Sabena left-over in the most unexpected places, I may add that, at CRL, there is still at least one old airport van with full sabena titles...

Airbus330lover · Post by **Airbus330lover** » 08 Aug 2006, 10:09

airazurxtror wrote:
sn-remember wrote:
You know the choice of a brand name is crucial and it should never be allowed to be decided hurriedly or without the support from true marketting experts in the field of airlines.
And even with all the guarantees from true professionals, you can still miss your target.

not of ill-placed nostalgy.

As said it's not nostalgy, but quick recognition in the only profitable market ... Africa and still easy recognition worldwide.....

fokker_f27 · Post by **fokker_f27** » 08 Aug 2006, 11:05

Personally I will agree with their name as long as it's no too cheap and low-cost sounding. That would be the problem with 'Brussels Express' and 'SN Express'. With Sabena I don't know. It may be well-known but as said before that could be either positive or negative, because of the bankruptcy. So I would come up with a new catching name, that is still suitible for a full service carrier as well as a low-cost.

tolipanebas · Post by **tolipanebas** » 08 Aug 2006, 18:05

once again: it's simply going to be Brussels Airlines.

sn-remember · Post by **sn-remember** » 08 Aug 2006, 18:19

airazurxtror wrote: Please let's forget once and for all the Sabena disaster and give the new company a name that will speak of future, not of ill-placed nostalgy.

Well you speak on your behalf here.
I can only assure you that SABENA is still a much regretted brand in the whole of the african continent because it represented a.o. a symbol of quality
5 yrs after the Company's demise, this is quite an achievement from my humble point of view.
And considering the financial side this is an important asset.
So why spit on it ?

Brussels Airlines is still widely percieved as SABENA-bis because it kept the sn code and the tail design and the logo. And i am sure it helped them a lot in terms of marketing because (between us ;o) there is not so much to boast about !
Now is maybe the time to give the company the name it never completely lost provided some bigger business ambitions come along.

My point of view
Christophe

Post by **airbuske** » 08 Aug 2006, 23:38

I don't want to create a new topic so I ask it here:

Does someone know something about the big ticket action that SNBA and Virgin will launch ?

TWA · Post by **TWA** » 09 Aug 2006, 02:58

Some of my colleagues made some very clever remarks and they've been thinking carefully about all the facts:

Mr Branson is still the biggest shareholder of the SN-air holding (30%).

Mr Davignon and Mr Branson are best friends.

We all know that Virgin is becomming very big in Africa: Virgin Nigeria has an impressive order of A320's / A340's and Virgin might set up a LCC in South Africa as we can read in the latest news section.

And maybe the Virgin mother company wants to keep a strategic base on continental Europe, as LHR/LGW are reaching their boiling point of saturation. Easy going Brussels would be the ideal place for that.

So the"Virgin express" brand will dissapear but we might witness the birth of a new "Virgin" brand. ... Virgin Continental, SN Branson Airlines or SABRANSON

Maybe SNBrussles is securing Africa in favour of Virgin or is it going to be tough competition after all.
In that case: who will be able to pay Mr Branson's Virgin Company in case he withdraws?

Am I talking nonsense here or does my reasoning sounds logical?

Post by **sn26567** » 09 Aug 2006, 10:11

tolipanebas wrote:once again: it's simply going to be Brussels Airlines.

That's also what my sources say...

camel · Post by **camel** » 09 Aug 2006, 11:06

Maybe it's only a rumour but several VEX people tell me they already saw new "safety cards" for their 737 with the name.........BRUSSELS AIRLINES printed on it!

This would just confirm the previous message but once again it can also be one's imagination

tolipanebas · Post by **tolipanebas** » 09 Aug 2006, 12:31

Hi, sn26567 and Camel.

Your sources are correct.

It is going to be Brussels Airlines.

BTW, I feel like one of the apostels from the Bible, since this is the 3rd time I say it now...

TCAS_climb · Post by **TCAS_climb** » 09 Aug 2006, 13:20

I remember Richard Branson saying (and I quote) "sexy name" when he heard "SN Brussels Airlines" for the first time.

Typical British fourth-degree humor !

airazurxtror · Post by **airazurxtror** » 09 Aug 2006, 14:17

sn-remember wrote: I can only assure you that SABENA is still a much regretted brand in the whole of the african continent because it represented a.o. a symbol of quality

Big deal ! Africa is the poorest continent, with a good many African air operators on the European black list... Respect from them does not mean much.
Anyway, Virgin was and remains a much more respected brand, in the whole world.

Atlantis · Post by **Atlantis** » 09 Aug 2006, 16:45

My source is also talking about Brussels Airlines.

Post by **airbuske** » 09 Aug 2006, 17:23

It will be Brussels Airlines.