Brussels Airlines, with the help of Lufthansa Group, is expanding its fleet with five Airbus A320neo aircraft to replace its aging Airbus A319s. The first three units are scheduled to join the airline in 2023 and the remaining two by 2024.
Aiming to reduce its CO2 emissions and noise, the Belgian airline is introducing new state-of-the-art aircraft to meet its goal of becoming CO2 neutral by 2050. The Airbus A320neo consume 30% less fuel per seat compared to the older units in the fleet.
«In addition to fleet renewal, intermodality and alternative fuels are important pillars to achieve our climate ambitions. Connecting Brussels Airport to the high-speed rail network is key to reducing short flights,» said Peter Gerber, CEO of Brussels Airlines.
«At Brussels Airlines we aim to have the first flight with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in 2023. However, to use this more climate -riendly SAF on a large scale, significant investments will have to be made in production facilities,» added Gerber.
New destinations and more flights
To meet the demand of business and leisure travelers, the company is adding new destinations and increasing operations on its most popular routes.
For the 2023 northern summer season, Brussels Airlines will offer new services to Billund (BLL), Brindisi (BDS), Djerba (DJE), Monastir (MIR), Warsaw (WAW) and Zurich (ZRH).
It will also increase its operations to Berlin (BER), Bordeaux (BOD), Chania (CHQ), Copenhagen (CPH), Frankfurt (FRA), Gothenburg (GOT), Hamburg (HAM), Kos (KGS), Las Palmas (LPA), Lyon (LYS), Madrid (MAD), Munich (MUC), Palma de Mallorca (PMI) and Tenerife (TFS).
The airline is increasing capacity on its short/medium-haul routes to offer convenient connections to its intercontinental destinations and optimize travel for business passengers.
More aircraft
Brussels Airlines expects its European sector operations to increase by 10% by summer 2023, when compared to the previous season. The Belgian carrier is therefore planning to add four additional aircraft and create more than 200 jobs.
The airline will add two Airbus A320ceo from Lufthansa that will permanently join the fleet, these aircraft will be used for the company’s medium-long-haul missions.
In addition, Brussels will work with City Jet to lease two CRJs with 85 and 100 seat capacity, which will be used to serve secondary destinations such as Billund (BLL) and Bordeaux (BOD). This will connect these cities to the Belgian operator’s intercontinental and European network.
In the coming months, the company will hire 20 pilots and more than 90 cabin crew, who will be trained before the start of the summer. In addition, the company is looking for 30 technicians and engineers, around 50 airport services staff and 40 commercial and support positions, such as marketing specialists, business analysts and customer service experts.
See also: Austrian Airlines unveils its first Airbus A320neo
