First Airbus A340 long-haul jet for Eurowings took off, ‘operated by Brussels Airlines’

• From the end of April, the Belgian airline will use three aircraft for Eurowings to attractive long-haul destinations in the United States and the Caribbean
• Growth spurt for Düsseldorf: +1.700 long-haul flights per year and +450.000 guests
• Managing Director Michael Knitter: “Establishment of the Düsseldorf long-distance operations by Brussels Airlines and Eurowings in record time is a world-class performance“

Let’s get started: in Düsseldorf, on 20 March, an Airbus A340 lifted for Eurowings for the first time ever. Flight EW9778 started in the morning in the North Rhine-Westphalia state capital and landed in Vienna just under an hour later.

The four-jet jet with Eurowings livery is the first of three aircraft that Brussels Airlines will operate in Düsseldorf on behalf of Eurowings. In the coming weeks, the long-haul jets will initially be used for the line training of the pilots on short-haul flights to Vienna and Palma de Mallorca, and from the end of April, they will cross the Atlantic. Then several destinations will be served in the US and the Caribbean – including New York, Fort Myers and Miami (US), Cancun (Mexico) and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic).

With the three long-haul jets operated by Brussels Airlines, the Eurowings Group will be able to offer more than 1,700 long-haul flights per year and carry around 450,000 additional passengers, in addition to its rapidly expanding short and medium-haul range.

The long-haul fleet of the Eurowings Group in Düsseldorf will grow to seven jets already during the winter timetable 2017/18. “We will supply North Rhine-Westphalia on a large scale with worldwide connections and consistently expand our long-haul business in Dusseldorf,” says Eurowings CEO and Chief Operating Officer Michael Knitter.

For this purpose, the Belgians have teamed up with Eurowings in just five and a half months starting from scratch. “The fact that we can start in Düsseldorf at the end of April is a prime example of how fast and professional the Eurowings Group is on the road,” says Knitter.

In less than half a year, not only 250 cockpit and cabin crew members were recruited, trained and made fit for long-haul operations. A new branch office was also established at Dusseldorf Airport, aircraft were transferred from one flight operations centre to another, a full-fledged business class developed and much more was done. “Brussels Airlines and Eurowings have mastered highly complex and time-consuming processes in record time in close collaboration – this was world-class from beginning to end,” says Knitter. “Because both airlines have worked on time, we can soon offer our guests attractive long-haul destinations from Dusseldorf.”