brussels airlines (SN) market share @ Brussels airport (BRU)

[brusselsairlinesfan]

Dear All,

I was just asking to myself :

- What is the brussels airlines market share @ its Brussels Airport homebase? :

. for its own operations only
&
. including the codeshares

Thanks,

Vincent

[Thomas_C]

According an article in 'De Tijd' (Belgian financial newspaper) from Aug. 10th, 2009 (sorry but I couldn't find a more recent article) its 28,19%. It doens't say codeshare or not but I suppose its the market share on SN metal only.

[sn26567]

From an article in anna.aero dated 11 December 2009,

Brussels Airlines is by far the largest carrier at its Brussels hub with a 35% share of total scheduled seat capacity, followed by its partner Lufthansa at 6% and Jet Airways, which operates a scissor hub in Brussels for flights between India and North America, at 5%.

Of course, 35% of the capacity does not mean 35% of the passengers, especially since the load factor of SN is rather low compared to its competitors.

[Thomas_C]

The article I found was about the actual passenger numbers. I'll try to find a more recent article. But if you know the most recent BRU & SN passenger numbers, you can calculate the market share yourself.

[brusselsairlinesfan]

Thanks for your much appreciated info...
About 30-35% of the BRU passengers flown on own SN metal doesn't seem that much compared to FRA-LH, AMS-KL, CDG-AF or even LHR-BA?!
Maybe that the rate would rise to 50% if we do include the codeshares...

[sn26567]

Maybe that the rate would rise to 50% if we do include the codeshares...

It all depends on how you count the codeshares.

Take Jet Airways for exemple, which has 5% of the Brussels traffic: you cannot count all that traffic as being an SN codeshare. Perhaps only 2% of those passengers have an SN ticket.

From the LH passengers there is probably a higher percentage that have SN tickets.

[Thomas_C]

Yes, how do you want to count the codeshares? Another example: SN codeshare passengers on LH metal, you can add them to the total of SN passengers. But: LH codeshare passengers on SN metal? In my opinion you have to diminish that from the total of SN passengers. So I think the one is a counterbalance to the other.

SN doesn't publish their passenger numbers regularly. So I calculated the market share @ BRU with the information about SN on the * website. With that information SN's market share @ BRU is 32,37% for the year 2009.

[brusselsairlinesfan]

Yes, how do you want to count the codeshares? Another example: SN codeshare passengers on LH metal, you can add them to the total of SN passengers. But: LH codeshare passengers on SN metal? In my opinion you have to diminish that from the total of SN passengers. So I think the one is a counterbalance to the other.

SN doesn't publish their passenger numbers regularly. So I calculated the market share @ BRU with the information about SN on the * website. With that information SN's market share @ BRU id 32,37% for the year 2009.

Thank you very much! About 33% doesn't seem that much... Star Alliance and SN expansion will probably help to rise at about 50% I guess...

What was SABENA market share @ BRU (just to compare)?

[Thomas_C]

According to the archives of 'De Tijd' (Belgian financial newspaper, formerly 'Financieel Economische Tijd'):
'Het marktaandeel op Zaventem ging in tien jaar tijd van 38 naar ruim 50 procent.'
I'll try to translate but today isn't really my day "SN's market share @ BRU increased over the last ten years from 38 to over 50%"
article is from Jan. 16th, 2001 title 'Ademnood'

[brusselsairlinesfan]

According to the archives of 'De Tijd' (Belgian financial newspaper, formerly 'Financieel Economische Tijd'):
'Het marktaandeel op Zaventem ging in tien jaar tijd van 38 naar ruim 50 procent.'
I'll try to translate but today isn't really my day "SN's market share @ BRU increased over the last ten years from 38 to over 50%"
article is from Jan. 16th, 2001 title 'Ademnood'

Thank you very much for this appreciated info! I got the feeling that SABENA expanded well in the 1997-2001 period. With more than 50% market share @ BRU vs approx 33% for brussels airlines nowadays, the "young" belgian carrier is still far behind and got a large room to expand!

If SABENA kept a major dominant position @ BRU, I guess brussels airlines can also do it!

[sn26567]

If SABENA kept a major dominant position @ BRU, I guess brussels airlines can also do it!

Sabena used to have an important connections traffic at BRU, which brussels airlines is far from reaching now.

I remember having flown from Milan Linate to Copenhagen, connecting in Brussels, because there were no direct flights. And the flights were on Boeing 737s, not Avros. In a similar experience I flew from Warsaw to Dublin, also connecting in Brussels for the same reason. brussels airlines does not even fly to Dublin anymore.

As you say correctly, there is still room for expansion.

[brusselsairlinesfan]

Thanks for your contributions...

Fingers crossed for brussels airlines further expansion...

Is their current european network almost the same as SABENA (except some destinations like Dublin... btw, why don't they fly there anymore, as Aer Lingus seems to increase their flights?!)?

I think that they have rebuilt a descent african network... but that's all for own long haul ops...

Just hope they will soon give us some concrete news on their transatlantlic ops project!

[Thomas_C]

You're welcome. Today I feel better so I did some more research. In an article (DT, title 'Ryanair legt Sabena het vuur aan de schenen' sorry I don't know how to translate that correctly) from March 23, 2001 they talk about a market share for SN of 55% (!!!)

[JOVAN]

According to the archives of 'De Tijd' (Belgian financial newspaper, formerly 'Financieel Economische Tijd'):
'Het marktaandeel op Zaventem ging in tien jaar tijd van 38 naar ruim 50 procent.'
I'll try to translate but today isn't really my day "SN's market share @ BRU increased over the last ten years from 38 to over 50%"
article is from Jan. 16th, 2001 title 'Ademnood'

Thank you very much for this appreciated info! I got the feeling that SABENA expanded well in the 1997-2001 period. With more than 50% market share @ BRU vs approx 33% for brussels airlines nowadays, the "young" belgian carrier is still far behind and got a large room to expand!

If SABENA kept a major dominant position @ BRU, I guess brussels airlines can also do it!

In that period (Swissair period !) SN grew fast and had close to 10 million PAX a year.

Millions of transit PAX.

I know eg many French business PAX who prefered to travel from Bordeaux or Nntes to Budapest or Prague via BRU.

There were 5 to 7 waves every day from almost 50 airports in Europe to almost 50 airports in Europe.
Via BRU.

Transit was big.

But the airport was not adequate for this. Lots of bussing and too small accomodation. High personnel costs also because it needed a big organzation.

Then came 9.11, and the bancrupcy of SR and SN.

In April 2002, the New A-pier was opened: ideally made for transit PAX traffic.
You walk from one gate to the other for European (Schengen) destinations.
Perfect for the business man. but no more airline....

It came too late.

The lack of collaboration between BRU and SN existed then; still exists now.

SO: BOTH SN and BRU LOOSE FROM IT.

Poor SN, Poor BRU.

[brusselsairlinesfan]

Dear all,

With brussels airlines really booming for more than one year with double digits growth, we can expect gaining significant market share at brussels airport!

Does anyone have some information about their market share @ BRU. Are Lufthansa and Jet Airways still the 2nd and 3rd operators or did Ryanair enter the top 3?

Just to comparate, does someone have the market shares figures of LH @ FRA and MUC, AF @ CDG, BA @ LHR, KL @ AMS, IB @ MAD & BCN, AZ @ FCO and LIN/MXP, TP @ LIS and OPO, etc...

That would be interesting...

Thanks,

Vincent

[Inquirer]

Its true that if the trend of the first 5 months of this year continues, they are going to significantly increase their market share at BRU and possibly even in Belgium as a whole, because not only do they grow faster than the airport of BRU, they also grew faster than the airport of CRL so far, meaning all others in Belgium (combined) are losing market share despite their own growth, something not many people would have predicted a year ago.
Of course, market share by itself is a fairly meaningless parameter for the bottom line for any airline, but it is an good indication of their increased market penetration as well as their renewed appeal to customers of course, so it is a very interesting trend to judge just how well strategic plans work out in real.
No need for me to post a link to the video of an interview with the CEO of Ryanair in which he made the prediction that Brussels airlines would go from 6 to 5M passengers in 2014, and then to 4M, and then 3M etc. That obviously didn't exactly materialize, to say the least, for instance.
Contrary to an airline, I would say that for an airport however, market share of their main customer is a far more meaningful parameter with a direct relationship to their bottom line even, as a main customer with a too high market share means a high dependence of and likely also price control by that single customer, something you'd ideally want to avoid: far better to have several small clients than one big one.
BRU is a lucky airport in that perspective as no single client is large enough to be able to dictate its conditions unilaterally; CRL on the other hand is a nice example of a business held completely hostage by its main client. The risk such poses is reflected not only in their very depressing balance sheet (a structurally far too low ratio of their income from activities vs. the cost of services provided), it was made very obvious last year when their dominant client suddenly shifted part of its capacity to BRU, thus having an immediate impact on the operational figures of CRL too, which immediately took a dive.
But luckily for them, the ambitious expansion plans from BRU stalled very soon after and CRL sees renewed growth again. I am sure they are much relieved by this, but Id still try to actively reduce the market share of my main client and diversify my client base if I were them, in order to free myself from the crushing grip of a dominant customer who's actions have too much of an impact on the monthly operational result of the airport as a whole, as well as to be able to improve the ratio of income vs cost of the airport business by being able to increase prices without fear for the consequences.

[sean1982]

But luckily for them, the ambitious expansion plans from BRU stalled very soon after and CRL sees renewed growth again. .

says who?

BRU base was opened in feb 14 (14 months ago). initially with 9 routes and a seasonal IBZ

In the mean time VRN, SXF, DUB have been added and VY is withdrawing the VCE route

Not only is BRU ops growing, also CRL got extra routes and aircraft

Who's stalling?

[UAE777]

The guy is right, Sean!
He's not saying Ryan isn't growing from Brussels, he's saying others are growing even faster.
Just because you add a few flights and fly some more passengers than last year doesn't mean you are closing in on anybody; the others are actually growing much faster than you, so the gap is widening even!
Like it or not, but here some national airline is actually giving bigmouth Mickey a serious punch in his arrogant face, one he really didn't see coming in a thousand years..
Brussels airlines may be his second Aer Lingus, and we both know how frustrated he is with them in private, dont we? If others start to copy this model now that they see it really works well, he will go ballistic and his biggest fear will become reality (which is why they wanted to get Aer Lingus in the first place _ to take the successful antidote off market real quickly)
I'd say: what are they waiting for?

[airazurxtror]

BRU base was opened in feb 14 (14 months ago). initially with 9 routes and a seasonal IBZ
In the mean time VRN, SXF, DUB have been added and VY is withdrawing the VCE route
Not only is BRU ops growing, also CRL got extra routes and aircraft

Chi va piano va sano - e va lontano !
You'd be surprised at how many people still equate Ryanair with Charleroi only :
- What is your next Ryanair ?
- It's a Brussels-Treviso
- Brussels ?? Ryanair fly from Brussels, now ?
- Sure ! And to a dozen of destinations
- I didn't know ...

[sean1982]

The guy is right, Sean!
He's not saying Ryan isn't growing from Brussels, he's saying others are growing even faster.
Just because you add a few flights and fly some more passengers than last year doesn't mean you are closing in on anybody; the others are actually growing much faster than you, so the gap is widening even!
Like it or not, but here some national airline is actually giving bigmouth Mickey a serious punch in his arrogant face, one he really didn't see coming in a thousand years..
Brussels airlines may be his second Aer Lingus, and we both know how frustrated he is with them in private, dont we? If others start to copy this model now that they see it really works well, he will go ballistic and his biggest fear will become reality (which is why they wanted to get Aer Lingus in the first place _ to take the successful antidote off market real quickly)
I'd say: what are they waiting for?

Stalling = not growing

On the contrary of SN, belgium is not the only market that FR focusses on. Germany and france were higher on the list and also, due to limited aircraft deliveries growth has been limited. With 150 new NG's coming in before the MAX, growth will be more explosive in the coming years. The training schedule for the next years shure looks impressive regarding BRU base, there were some kinks that needed to be ironed our first, but I would expect next summer to be different