Brussels Airlines (styled in
its official logo as brussels airlines) is an
airline headquartered in the b.house in
Zaventem
, Belgium
and a
subsidiary of Lufthansa
. 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. The airline is
a member of
IATA and the
Association of European
Airlines (AEA).
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%.
In December 2007 the airline expressed interest in joining an
airline alliance, considering it a
priority for the airline.
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).
On 15
September 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.
On 13
March 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.
Brussels Airlines is expected to become a
Star Alliance member in 2009.
On 15 June
2009 Brussels Airlines announced that the European
Commission
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.
Since 25
October 2009 Brussels Airlines is an official member of Lufthansa's frequent flyer program Miles & More. Brussels Airlines
is joining the
Star Alliance on 9
December 2009.
Company
Brussels Airlines is the
operating name
of
Delta Air Transport S.A./N.V.. From 26 October
2008, the ICAO code is no longer DAT but BEL. On 3 June 2008, the
CEO, Philippe Vander Putten resigned. The board appointed Michel
Meyfroidt and Bernard Gustin as Managing Directors.
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.
- 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 and Tel Aviv)
Brussels Airlines continues to offer economy and business
classes.
On 28 March 2009, Brussels Airlines re-introduced a business class
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.
Frequent flyer program
Brussels Airlines'
frequent flyer
program is called Miles&More.
Miles can be earned on
all the flights operated by Brussels Airlines, American Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Etihad Airways, Hainan Airlines, Jet
Airways, Lufthansa, Malmo Aviation,
Swiss International Air
Lines, including all codeshare flights of brussels airlines and
its Miles&More partners.Miles can also be earned by
Brussels Airlines's non-airline partners.Brussels Airlines
customers have been able to earn
Miles
and More benefits since March 29, 2009.
The frequent flyer program Privilege
ended on the 25 October 2009 and was converted into Lufthansa's Miles &
More. Practically this means that Privilege Gold members
received a
Miles & More
Frequent Traveller (Silver) card while Privilege Platinum card
holders received a
Miles & More
Senator (Gold) card. Privilege miles have simply been transferred
into
Miles & More miles.
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 ended
on 1 April 2009. Brussels Airlines is still flying daily to FIH.
Brussels
Airlines is considering to add more African
destinations and eventually to fly to the USA
or Asia.
Codeshare agreements
Brussels Airlines has
codeshare agreements
with the following airlines: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.
List of Codeshares
| Airline |
Airport & City |
Country |
Alliance & Notes |
| Adria Airways |
Ljubljana International
Airport , Ljubljana |
Slovenia |
Star Alliance |
| Aegean Airlines |
Athens International Airport , Athens
Thessaloniki
Airport , Thessaloniki
|
Greece |
Star Alliance (future) |
| Air Baltic |
Riga International Airport , Riga |
Latvia |
|
| Air Canada |
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau
International Airport , Montreal
Toronto Pearson International
Airport , Toronto
|
Canada |
Star Alliance
Begins 4 June 2010
|
| Air Malta |
Malta International Airport , Luqa /Catane Airport, Catane |
Malta ,Italy |
|
| American Airlines |
All
U.S.A routes |
United States of America |
Oneworld
Ends 27 March
|
| bmi |
East Midlands Airport , East Midlands
Edinburgh
Airport , Edinburgh
Leeds Bradford International
Airport , Leeds
Bradford
London
Gatwick Airport , London
London
Heathrow Airport , London,
Selected European destinations
|
United Kingdom , Europe |
Star Alliance |
| Bulgaria Air |
Sofia Airport , Sofia |
Bulgaria |
|
| Croatia Airlines |
Zagreb Airport , Zagreb |
Croatia |
Star Alliance |
| Cyprus Airways |
Larnaca International Airport , Larnaca |
Cyprus |
|
| EgyptAir |
Cairo International Airport , Cairo
Luxor
International Airport , Luxor
|
Egypt |
Star Alliance
Begins 12 January 2010
|
| Ethiopian Airlines |
Bole International Airport , Addis
Ababa |
Ethiopia |
|
| Etihad Airways |
Abu Dhabi International
Airport , Abu
Dhabi
Al Ain
International Airport , Al
Ain ,
Selected European destinations
|
United Arab Emirates , Europe |
|
| Hainan Airlines |
Beijing
Capital International Airport , Beijing |
People's Republic of China |
|
| Jet Airways |
Suvarnabhumi Airport , Bangkok
Toronto Pearson International
Airport, Toronto
Chennai
International Airport , Chennai
Indira Gandhi International
Airport , Delhi
Chhatrapati Shivaji International
Airport , Mumbai
Selected European destinations
|
Thailand , Canada, India , Europe |
|
| LOT Polish Airlines |
Warsaw Frederic Chopin
Airport , Warsaw |
Poland |
Star Alliance |
| Lufthansa |
Entebbe International Airport , Entebbe
Frankfurt
Airport , Frankfurt am Main
Berlin Tegel
Airport , Berlin
Libreville International
Airport , Libreville
Munich
Airport , Munich
Stuttgart
Airport , Stuttgart
Hannover
Airport , Hannover
Nuremberg
Airport , Nuremberg ,
Selected European destinations
|
Germany, Uganda, Gabon , Europe
|
Star Alliance |
| Malmö Aviation |
Göteborg City Airport , Göteborg
Stockholm-Bromma Airport , Stockholm
Umeå
Airport , Umeå
|
Sweden |
|
| Royal Air Maroc |
Mohammed V International
Airport , Casablanca |
Morocco |
|
| Rwandair Express |
Kigali International Airport , Kigali |
Rwanda |
|
| Spanair |
Madrid Barajas |
Spain |
Star Alliance |
| Swiss International
Air Lines |
EuroAirport
Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg , Basel
Geneva
International Airport , Geneva
Zürich
Airport , Zürich
|
Switzerland |
Star Alliance |
| TAAG Angola Airlines |
Quatro de Fevereiro Airport , Luanda |
Angola |
|
| TAP Portugal |
Lisbon Portela Airport , Lisbon
Francisco de Sá Carneiro
Airport , Porto
Faro
Airport , Faro
Selected European destinations "Begins 12 January 2010"
|
Portugal |
Star Alliance |
| Ukraine International
Airlines |
Boryspil International
Airport , Kiev |
Ukraine |
|
| United Airlines |
Washington Dulles Airport , Washington
Chicago
O'Hare Airport , Chicago
|
United States of America |
Star Alliance
Begins 28 March 2010
|
All
Oneworld codeshares ended on 25 October
2009 except with American Airlines which will be ended on 27 March
2010.
Fleet
The Brussels Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (at
1 November 2009):
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. The logo now contains fourteen dots. The Brussels
Airlines callsign is BEE-LINE.
References
- " Corp - Contact Us." Brussels
Airlines. Retrieved on 23 October 2009.
- 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
- " 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://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?articleid=J82BNDB2
- Brussels Airlines Codeshare Agreements
- Brussels Airlines Fleet
- Brussels Airlines Fleet Information
- BBC News: 'Unlucky' airline logo grounded
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