Brussels Airlines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Brussels Airlines | ||
|---|---|---|
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| IATA SN |
ICAO BEL |
Callsign BEE-LINE |
| Founded | 7 November 2006 | |
| Commenced operations | 25 March 2007 | |
| Hubs | Brussels Airport | |
| Frequent flyer program | Privilege (will end on 25 October) Miles & More |
|
| Member lounge | Business Centre & Sunrise Lounge and HON & Senator Lounge | |
| Alliance | Star Alliance (future) | |
| Subsidiaries | airDC Pan African Airlines [1] |
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| Fleet size | 45 | |
| Destinations | 76 (128 with codeshare) | |
| Parent company | SN Airholding N.V. Lufthansa (45%) |
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| Company slogan | Flying your way | |
| Headquarters | b.house -Brussels Airport buidling 26 Zaventem, Belgium | |
| Key people | Bernard Gustin (Managing director) Michel Meyfroidt (Managing director) Etienne Davignon (Chairman) |
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| Website: www.brusselsairlines.com | ||
Brussels Airlines (styled in its official logo as brussels airlines) is an airline based in Zaventem, Belgium. It is the largest airline based in Belgium, and operates to over 50 destinations in 20 European countries as well as long-haul flights to East, Central and West Africa. It also operates charter services, maintenance and training of cockpit and cabin crew[2]. The airline is a member of IATA and the Association of European Airlines (AEA).
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[edit] History
Brussels Airlines was created following the merger of SN Brussels Airlines (SNBA) and Virgin Express. On 12 April 2005, SN Airholding, the company behind SNBA, signed an agreement with Richard Branson, giving it control over Virgin Express. On 31 March 2006 SNBA and Virgin Express announced their merger into a single company. On 7 November 2006, the new name, Brussels Airlines, was announced at a press conference at Brussels Airport. Brussels Airlines began operations on 25 March 2007.
In January 2007, the company announced it had acquired a fourth Airbus A330-300, from the defunct company Air Madrid.
Through its Mauritius based subsidiary Pan African Airlines Leasing Company Ltd, Brussels Airlines founded the Congolese airline AirDC, of which it owns 49%, and partner airline Hewa Bora Airways owning the remaining 51%[3].
In December 2007 the airline expressed interest in joining an airline alliance, considering it a priority for the airline.[4]
In July 2008 it appeared that the project "AirDC" was delayed, as the Congolese government did not give the required authorizations to start the new airline with Mauritian registered aircraft (through the Brussels Airlines owned and Mauritius based Pan African Airlines Leasing Company Ltd).[citation needed]
On September 15, 2008 it was announced that Lufthansa will acquire a 45% stake in Brussels Airlines with an option to acquire the remaining 55% from 2011. As a part of this deal Brussels Airlines will join Star Alliance. [5][6]
On March 13, Brussels Airlines announced that the airline will codeshare all their flights to Germany with Lufthansa. The codeshare agreement will start from March 29. This new step is part of the integration of Brussels Airlines into the Star Alliance network. [7] Brussels Airlines is expected to become a Star Alliance member in 2009. [8]
On June 15, 2009 Brussels Airlines announced that the European Comission granted approval for Lufthansa to take over Brussels Airlines. As a result of this clearance by the EU, the road has been cleared for Brussels Airlines to join Star Alliance. [9]
[edit] Company
Brussels Airlines is the operating name of Delta Air Transport S.A./N.V..[10] From 26 October 2008, the ICAO code is no longer DAT but BEL. On June 3 2008, the CEO, Philippe Vander Putten resigned. The board appointed Michel Meyfroidt and Bernard Gustin as Managing Directors.
[edit] Service
On European flights, the airline offers three types of tickets, b.flex economy+ b.light economy and b.business (business class):
- b.flex economy+ is the more expensive ticket, offering full service, such as free newspapers and catering.
- b.light economy is the cheapest option, with a buy on board programme offering snacks and drinks available for purchase.[11]
- b.business is a full service Business class on the European network. It offers premium meals, VIP-parking, free champagne,...
On medium- and long-haul flights (Africa, Moscow, Helsinki, and Tel Aviv) Brussels Airlines continues to offer economy and business classes.
On March 3, Brussels Airlines announced that they will re-introduce business class from March 28, called b.business on all their European flights. This features a higher baggage allowance, VIP parking spaces, lounge access, priority boarding and premium meals. The re-introduction of business class configuration by brussels airlines is part of the steps that Brussels Airlines is taking for its entry into Star Alliance. [12]
[edit] Frequent flyer program
Brussels Airlines' frequent flyer program is called Privilege. Miles can be earned on all the flights operated by Brussels Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Etihad Airways, Finnair, Hainan Airlines, Jet Airways, Lufthansa, Malmo Aviation, Swiss International Air Lines, including all codeshare flights of brussels airlines and its Privilege partners. [13] Miles can also be earned by Brussels Airlines's non-airline partners. [14] Brussels Airlines will convert its frequent flyer program Privilege into Lufthansa's Miles and More as part of the preparation to become a Star Alliance member. [15] Brussels Airlines customers have been able to earn Miles and More benefits since March 29, 2009.[16] The frequent flyer program Privilege will end on the 25 October 2009 and be converted into Lufthansa's Miles & More. Practically this means that Privelege Gold members will receive a Miles & More Frequent Traveller (Silver) card while Privilege Platinum card holders will receive a Miles & More Senator (Gold) card. Registering for Privilege is no longer possible as of today. Privilege miles will be simply transferred into Miles & More miles and current Privilege card holders will receive an equivalent member status within Miles & More. Current Privilege members can to enrol into Miles & More and transfer their Privilege miles online only to their Miles & More account. Privilege miles can only be transferred if the enrolment to Miles & More was made before the 31 July 2009. [17]
[edit] Destinations
Brussels Airlines flies daily to Kinshasa. This may come to an end since the Democratic Republic of the Congo allows a foreign company to operate flights to Kinshasa maximum 5 flights per week. In order to have an additional 2 flights a week, Brussels Airlines codeshared that flight and leased these rights with Hewa Bora Airways. This agreement is about to end on April 1, 2009. Meanwhile, Brussels Airlines is in a rush to find possible solutions. One option offered from Kinshasa was to operate this route with Hewa Bora Airways, but this is not possible since the entire fleet of Hewa Bora Airways is blacklisted by the European Union. Hewa Bora Airways has offered to operate this route by wet-leasing an aircraft of a European airline, such as KLM. This option is being considered by Brussels Airlines. [18]
Brussels Airlines is considering to add more African destinations and eventually to fly to the USA. [19]
[edit] Codeshare agreements
Brussels Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[20] As Brussels Airlines is joining Star Alliance, code-share agreements with non-Star Alliance partners will be terminated and replaced by Star Alliance members. Only code-share agreements with Star Alliance members and airlines that are not member of any airline alliance will continue. [21]
[edit] Fleet
The Brussels Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (at 4 January 2009):[22][23]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 4 | 132 |
| Airbus A330-300 | 4 | 264 |
| Avro RJ85 | 14 | 82 |
| Avro RJ100 | 12 | 97 |
| Boeing 737-300 | 5 | 142 |
| Boeing 737-400 | 6 | 164 |
[edit] Livery
The livery consists of a 'dotted B' logo on the tail, a light blue belly covering the whole aircraft's length, with the name 'Brussels Airlines' written in dark blue on the upper fuselage, preceded by the airline's 'b' logo. Most planes have an altered 'b' logo after superstitious travelers complained about the thirteen dots bringing bad luck.[24] The logo now contains fourteen dots. The Brussels Airlines callsign is BEE-LINE.
[edit] References
- ^ http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/news/detail.aspx?uri=tcm:141-17451
- ^ Flight International 27 March 2007
- ^ Brussels Airlines press release December 3, 2007
- ^ Belgian Airliner to join alliance? December 4, 2007
- ^ http://konzern.lufthansa.com/en/html/presse/pressemeldungen/index.html?c=nachrichten/app/show/en/2008/09/857/HOM&s=0 Official press release by Lufthansa
- ^ http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/news/detail.aspx?uri=tcm:141-19030 Official press release by Brussels Airlines
- ^ http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/942/Economie/article/detail/765044/2009/03/13/Brussels-Airlines-en-Lufthansa-bieden-vluchten-in-codeshare-aan.dhtml
- ^ http://www.staralliance.com/en/press/press_releases/2008/brussels-airlines-join-staralliance.html
- ^ http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/news/detail.aspx?uri=tcm:141-19321
- ^ "General Conditions of Carriage". Brussels Airlines. http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/legal/misc/legalmentions.aspx. Retrieved on 2008-06-17.
- ^ "b.light menu." Brussels Airlines. Accessed October 13, 2008.
- ^ http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/news/detail.aspx?uri=tcm:141-19301
- ^ http://www.brusselsairlines.com/en_be/privilege/program/get-miles/collect-miles/with-other-airlines.aspx
- ^ http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/news/detail.aspx?uri=tcm:141-19297
- ^ http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/news/detail.aspx?uri=tcm:141-19297
- ^ "Brussels Airlines is the newest Miles & More airline partner". Miles and More. April 1, 2009. http://www.miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/de/program/news/detail?l=en&nodeid=2650265&cid=18002. Retrieved on 2009-04-29.
- ^ http://company.brusselsairlines.com/en/news/detail.aspx?uri=tcm:141-19318
- ^ http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/942/Economie/article/detail/712666/2009/02/21/Weldra-geen-dagelijkse-vlucht-meer-naar-Kinshasa.dhtml
- ^ http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?articleid=J82BNDB2
- ^ Brussels Airlines Codeshare Agreements
- ^ http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?articleid=J82BNDB2
- ^ Brussels Airlines Fleet
- ^ Brussels Airlines Fleet Information
- ^ BBC News: 'Unlucky' airline logo grounded
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brussels Airlines |
- Brussels Airlines official website
- Brussels Airlines b.Places
- b.There! inflight magazine
- b.Spirit! inflight magazine
- Brussels Airlines at YouTube
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