Brussels Airlines Focused On Renewing Airbus A320s Before Tackling A330 Fleet

Summary

• The focus for fleet renewal is on the short and medium-haul fleet with A320neos.
• Long-haul fleet options are currently being considered.
• Brussels Airlines continues to pursue plans for a US-Africa hub in Brussels together with United and Air Canada.

In an interview with Simple Flying, Brussels Airlines Chief Executive Officer Dorothea Von Boxberg confirmed that renewing the airline’s Airbus A330 fleet is not a current priority. Instead, the company’s focus is on renewing the short and medium-haul fleet with the introduction of additional Airbus A320neos.

However, while it may not be the priority, the airline has said that it is considering options for renewing its long-haul fleet. The CEO also confirmed that the airline plans to expand its Airbus A320neo fleet, subject to fleet allocation decisions at the Lufthansa Group level.

The comments came during a sideline interview with Simple Flying in Brussels at the Aviation Conference organized by the Belgian Minister for Mobility in the context of the country’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The conference tackled aviation sustainability, ranging from the economic and social arenas to the political measures needed.

Renewing the Airbus A330s

Brussels Airlines currently operates a fleet of nine Airbus A330-300 aircraft, having retired its four Airbus A330-200s in March 2020. The aircraft range in age from 13.8 to 18.8, with an average age of 16 years. The details are listed below, per data from planespotters.net.

When asked about a possible replacement of the Airbus A330 fleet with newer generation aircraft, the CEO indicated that the priority remains on the short-haul sector.

“So right now it’s really the roll over into the A320neo fleet and not yet on the long haul fleet. Our aircraft are a medium age of 16 years so there are other aircraft that are more due for a roll over right now. And the A330 is also a pretty good aircraft. Yes, it’s still old generation, but despite that it’s really very good.”

That is not to say that Brussels Airlines will neglect its trustworthy yet aging long-haul fleet. While the first step is to continue its narrowbody renewal, the widebodies might just be up next. A spokesperson for the airline, Nico Cardone, tells Simple Flying:

“We are looking into options to renew our long-haul fleet, but as the average age of our A330’s is younger than the average age of the fleet on the short and medium haul sector, we will welcome some more A320neos in our fleet first.”

The A320neo introduction & a new livery

Brussels Airlines’ narrowbody fleet comprises Airbus A319s and Airbus A320s. The airline has 15 Airbus A319-100s and 16 A320-200s, with an average age of 19.1 years and 17.8 years at the time of writing.

These are gradually being replaced, with three Airbus A320neos entering into service in December, February, and March, per Flightradar24 data. Unlike some other European airlines, Brussels Airlines aircraft are unaffected by the engine issues plaguing Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-operated A320neos. Instead, the CFM International LEAP-1A engines operate the carrier’s planes. Discussing the performance of the A320neos, the CEO tells us:

“We like them a lot. So they are performing as you would expect a brand new aircraft to perform while offering the benefits of half the noise, 20% less CO2 emissions and also a lot more hand luggage in the overhead bins.”

Its second A320neo aircraft, registered OO-SBB, was delivered in December in an all-white livery. The Chief Executive confirmed that it will introduce a brand new Belgian Icon livery on the plane at the end of this month.

Additional narrowbody growth

The airline will continue its short-haul renewal with the induction of additional Airbus A320neo aircraft. The Lufthansa Group orders aircraft, which are allocated to each airline after that. Brussels Airlines anticipates further growth in its A320neo fleet, with additional details decided in May. The CEO clarified:

“So far, by the end of this year, we’ll have five [A320neos] and it’s always once a year that we have this discussion on the allocation of aircraft in the group. So the aircraft are ordered and not [immediately] allocated to the individual airlines. It’s actually in May that we will know more when we get more of them. But we will get more of them [A320neos].”

The US-Brussels-Africa hub

The Lufthansa Group recently revealed its intention to create a connecting hub in Brussels for services between the United States and Africa. The intention is to make Brussels a global hub, capitalizing on increasing demand in the US-Africa sector.

Von Boxberg explained how the operation will pan out:

“We [Brussels Airlines] operate to New York and Washington. But the idea is to build a hub in Brussels together with our joint venture partners, so United and Air Canada, who are already flying but will be more flying into Brussels. We will then offer the additional transport into Africa.”

United offers service between Brussels and Chicago, Washington and Newark. Meanwhile, Air Canada flies to Montreal.

“What we see is that it’s really one of the highest growing relations worldwide from North America to Africa. And that’s why we want to build this together. For us, adding one aircraft long haul aircraft per year is quite a big step. But we can grow that much faster if then the others also add aircraft.”

United Airlines recently added a second daily flight on its Newark to Brussels service, operated by a Boeing 757-200. this brings the carrier’s total operation to four daily flights from Brussels, making it the largest airline in the Belgium to North America sector. It began operating to Brussels back in 1992.

While Brussels Airlines is not a significant player on the Transatlantic market, its focus lies in the African market.

“We’ve really built on the old Sabena expertise because I mean, it’s more or less 100 years now that we fly into Africa. We know the countries really well so it helps to know what you’re doing.”

Route expansion

The carrier is adding a tenth Airbus A330 this summer in time for the (re)launch of its flight to Nairobi, Kenya. Commenting on the new expansion, Von Boxberg says:

“Now in June, we’re opening our Nairobi route, which is actually I think, a very nice one also given the connection possibility with Washington. And we are offering also new intra European routes, like Krakow, for example.”

Krakow services were (re)launched at the end of March, operating four times a week with an Airbus A319.

What do you make of the airline’s future plans? Let us know in the comments below.

• Brussels Airlines

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  SN/BEL

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Brussels Airport

  Year Founded:

  2006

  Alliance:

  Star Alliance

  Airline Group:

  Lufthansa Group

  CEO:

  Dorothea von Boxberg

  Country:

  Belgium

  Region:

  Europe

  Loyalty Program:

  Miles & More

• Lufthansa

  Region:

  Europe

  Loyalty Program:

  Miles & More