Brussels Airlines welcomed 9.1 million passengers on board its flights in 2017, an increase of 17.2% compared to the previous year. The passenger load factor grew to a record average of 78.5% throughout the year.
Brussels Airlines invested heavily in its leisure offer in 2017, as it continues to do in 2018, when the airline adds 26 summer holiday destinations to its network, thanks to the intensified cooperation with Thomas Cook Belgium.
The seat offer (ASK) grew by 14.5%, but the number of passengers grew faster, resulting in a seat load factor of 78.5%, the highest ever recorded for Brussels Airlines.
Brussels Airlines Cargo showed very positive results as the transported volumes grew by 22.6% and the cargo load factor increased by 10.3 percentage points, amounting to 67.7%. The cargo volumes increase is due to several initiatives to better forecast the belly capacity and therefore maximize the use thereof, and the addition of Mumbai as a destination.
| Year | Year | VLY difference in % | |
| Total 2017 | Total 2016 | ||
| Flights | 81,582 | 76,685 | 6.4% |
| Total Passengers | 9,077,178 | 7,747,576 | 17.2% |
| — Passengers Europe | 7,444,458 | 6,379,900 | 16.7% |
| — Passengers Africa | 1,022,958 | 903,853 | 13.2% |
| — Passengers North America | 331,294 | 290,517 | 14.0% |
| — Passengers Middle East | 198,018 | 173,306 | 14.3% |
| — Passengers Asia | 80,450 | / | / |
| Available seat-kilometres (ASK) | 19,425,209,619 | 16,969,546,031 | 14.5% |
| Revenue Passenger-Kilometres (RPK) | 15,257,102,851 | 12,693,728,415 | 20.2% |
| Passenger Load Factor (%) | 78.5% | 74.8% | 3.7%pt |
| Available Tonne-Kilometres (ATK) | 2,317,515 | 2,019,449 | 14.8% |
| Revenue Tonne-Kilometres (RTK) | 1,770,261 | 1,443,553 | 22.6% |
| Cargo Load Factor (%) | 67.7% | 57.4% | 10.3%pt |
| These figures are based on preliminary data currently available | |||
December 2017
December was again a month of growth for Brussels Airlines, although this growth was slowed down by the winter weather conditions and subsequent temporary closure of Brussels Airport on 11 December, which forced the airline to cancel 218 flights.
In total, Brussels Airlines welcomed 644,545 passengers on board its flights in December, an increase of 9.2% compared to the same month in 2016. Brussels Airlines was able to attract 6.6% more passengers on its European flights, thanks to its large network choice.
The slight decrease in the Transatlantic network (-2.6%) is due to the fact that there is a lower flight frequency on the Toronto route compared to 2016. The decrease in the Middle East sector (-6.2%) is due to winter cutbacks on the Tel Aviv route.
The significant growth on the African sector (+17.3%) is mainly due to the start of the intensified partnership with Thomas Cook Belgium in October, which added 5 new winter holiday destinations in North Africa to Brussels Airlines’ network.
Brussels Airlines Cargo recorded a significant increase in its transported volumes (+22.5%) and reached a Cargo load factor of 74.1% (+8.0 percentage points).
These statistics do not include the passengers on board of the chartered flights operated by Brussels Airlines for third parties.
| Month | Month | VLY difference in % | |
| Dec-17 | Dec-16 | ||
| Flights | 5,491 | 5,987 | -8.3% |
| Total Passengers | 644,545 | 589,886 | 9.3% |
| — Passengers Europe | 504,786 | 473,392 | 6.6% |
| — Passengers Africa | 96,671 | 82,405 | 17.3% |
| — Passengers North America | 20,931 | 21,483 | -2.6% |
| — Passengers Middle East | 11,819 | 12,606 | -6.2% |
| — Passengers Asia | 10,338 | / | |
| Available seat-kilometres (ASK) | 1,512,841,426 | 1,336,426,822 | 13.2% |
| Revenue Passenger-Kilometres (RPK) | 1,167,841,799 | 976,454,575 | 19.6% |
| Passenger Load Factor (%) | 77.2% | 73.0% | 4.2%pt |
| Available Tonne-Kilometres (ATK) | 181,921 | 160,136 | 13.6% |
| Revenue Tonne-Kilometres (RTK) | 139,569 | 113,901 | 22.5% |
| Cargo Load Factor (%) | 74.1% | 66.1% | 8.0%pt |
| These figures are based on preliminary data currently available | |||
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
