Air Belgium in 2018

[sonic boom]

Air Belgium delay's it start to the 3rd of june:

https://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com ... s-flights/

(Also announced via press mail)

[TLspotting]

BREAKING NEWS !
Air Belgium postpones the first flight to 3 June !

[Passenger]

No surprise for me:

If they want a good load factor and a decent yield, they have to leave more time then just a few weeks before they operate their first revenue flight to Hong Kong. They must respect the time lapse between booking date and flight date.

Best scenario to limit the damage now is to announce a first-flight-date somewhere in September, with of course opening and accepting bookings as from today. And in between: to operate ad hoc flights = additional flights and unplanned backups for TUI, Brussels Airlines, Corendon, Transavia, SLM (Surinam).

And, of course, charters for the World Cup Soccer in Russia (June-July).

[Flanker3]

No surprise for me:

If they want a good load factor and a decent yield, they have to leave more time then just a few weeks before they operate their first revenue flight to Hong Kong. They must respect the time lapse between booking date and flight date.

Best scenario to limit the damage now is to announce a first-flight-date somewhere in September, with of course opening and accepting bookings as from today. And in between: to operate ad hoc flights = additional flights and unplanned backups for TUI, Brussels Airlines, Corendon, Transavia, SLM (Surinam).

And, of course, charters for the World Cup Soccer in Russia (June-July).

I also wonder what GDS has to do with everything if the tour operators can book directly. If GDS can't accept them, they can be booked in through the website or a backdoor (as with the trial flights).

I too am concerned that the schedule isn't meshing well with tour operators. June is high season already so they better stick to this schedule.

The Russia overflight permits could take a while.
But they're not really a deal breaker.
If you take the route great circle via TBS, the detour is less than 6%. The A343 can take it range-wise so it's only a matter of slighty higher operating costs.

Thank you for the trip reports.
As it sits, IMO Air Belgium doesn't stand a chance on the O&D market. Finnair has a rather poor hard product even on the new A350, so for me, these A340's aren't comparable in product to CX's A350's.

Finding a magazine in a seatback pocket, it sounds like the plane hasn't even gotten a thorough cleaning. It's a passenger airline, not cargo. Some would call that a mistake, but it's really complacency. And embarassing.

The visuals of the meal look ok, but I hope that longhaul passengers get more than that, in terms of quantity.

Not exactly perfectionists at work here, but I hope that they don't cut corners in the safety department and that they lower their fares to less than 400 Euro's.
If they do that, they should pull through.
If a person pays 399 EUR for a flight to HKG, a subpar IFE or a tieed looking cabin are not really big issues, as long as they're transported safely and reliably to their destination.
If you start asking more than 600 Euro's as is the case on several dates, everything has to be top-notch.

Interesting to see that several regional entities have invested. It looks like Air Belgium is getting flag carrier treatment.
The beginning is always hard, so I wish Air Belgium lots of good luck.

[TLspotting]

Well... AB will open Wuhan soon.

About July or August, it is only a supposition from me because, June would be risked... They only open HKG and then Wuhan... It doesn't make sense, so they will probably wait before the opening of Wuhan. #ToBeContinued

[TLspotting]

AB says it is not correct. They didn't release any destination...
Pagtour.info announces it, maybe thanks to an interview of the CEO.

Who lies?

EDIT : Confirmed : https://twitter.com/airbelgium_off/stat ... 7396206592
They even follow me xD

[convair]

The Russia overflight permits could take a while.
But they're not really a deal breaker.
If you take the route great circle via TBS, the detour is less than 6%. The A343 can take it range-wise so it's only a matter of slighty higher operating costs.

Maybe not a big detour (for HKG; it can be worse for other destinations in China) but they will need a few more pints of fuel, which will not help their T/O at CRL.

And I find it strange they have yet to obtain that permit (which I think won't be easy, given the current relations between Russia and the "Western World") after so many months of preparation.
Did you say professionals?

I wish them luck, as they deserve it, but I still have doubts.

[Passenger]

The Russia overflight permits could take a while. But they're not really a deal breaker. If you take the route great circle via TBS, the detour is less than 6%. The A343 can take it range-wise so it's only a matter of slighty higher operating costs.

Your “...6%...” turns out to be 1,5 hours extra flying time one way, AB has calculated.

I also wonder what GDS has to do with everything if the tour operators can book directly. If GDS can't accept them, they can be booked in through the website or a backdoor (as with the trial flights).

When your market exposure (naambekendheid) is not 99% like Ryanair, you need a GDS. Without GDS, airbrokers are unable to show your flights. I’m not going into detail here - it's a basic rule.

The delay with the GDS is probably because they wanted too much possibilities from Day one. They should have started with a basic package: a copy of an existing package from another airline. Show flights A to B, show tariff, confirm flights, end. No add-ons possible, no preseating, no meal change, no wheelchairs, no extra sport equipment, no baby cots, no personal assistance, no extra oxygen, no group bookings, no UM’s, ... For all these extras, it’s “please contact the airline”.

[Passenger]

We are very sorry to announce to you that Air Belgium has decided to reschedule its flights of May 2018 to Hong Kong including yours. Circumstances have forced us to reschedule the launch date – which was originally planned on April 30th – towards June 3rd 2018. There are two main reasons that made it unavoidable for us to make this hard decision, which we will explain to you further on in this letter.

But first allow us to express our sincere apology for this unfortunate set-back and to assure you that we are doing everything we can to find a satisfying solution for you. This solution will consist of three compensation proposals:
•A seat on a flight of another airline, so you can reach Hong Kong as planned without any additional cost.
•A deferred travel date with Air Belgium, with financial compensation.
•A full reimbursement.

Our team will call you as of tomorrow to explain these proposals and to discuss which one you prefer.

There are two reasons behind this decision. Despite all efforts of our teams and the Belgian authorities, we are still expecting to receive the overflight permit from the Russian Authorities, knowing that overflying Russian airspace is unavoidable. Air Belgium did secure all other required permits well in advance. However, the Russian permit has not yet been granted. The second issue is that the uncertainty created by the above together with complicated and delayed GDS implementation – GDS is the system which should make our flights visible to third parties such as tour operators or travel agencies worldwide – prevented Chinese tourist groups from being directed to our flights.”

We sincerely hope you understand that we had no other option and we hope you will fly with us soon!

A more serious problem are those traffic rights for Russian airspace. When they don’t have them by now, it's far from sure they will have them by 4th June. Actually, they need them by 21st May (cfr the two weeks notice to avoid the penalty for EU261/2004 cancellations).

On 30th January, our prime minister Charles Michel visited Poetin. One of the files Michel has probably given to Poetin’s team, was the AB traffic rights. However, on 27th March Belgium has expelled a Russian diplomat. I heared a big scream when that decision was announced: apparently that scream came from Charleroi (and I live near ANR Airport). Kicking out a diplomat out is an insult – and now the insulted have to issue a permit with urgency?

AB is full of optimism – and that’s is great. But now, they need realism.

[Amavro]

Who can do the worst, can the best. If AB manages to go through all thoses problems they are forced to deal with, they will certainly succeed. But as passenger stated extremely well, if they have to cancel another bunch of flights, they might go out of business. Finger crossed.

[Inquirer]

A more serious problem are those traffic rights for Russian airspace. When they don’t have them by now, it's far from sure they will have them by 4th June. Actually, they need them by 21st May (cfr the two weeks notice to avoid the penalty for EU261/2004 cancellations).

On 30th January, our prime minister Charles Michel visited Poetin. One of the files Michel has probably given to Poetin’s team, was the AB traffic rights. However, on 27th March Belgium has expelled a Russian diplomat. I heared a big scream when that decision was announced: apparently that scream came from Charleroi (and I live near ANR Airport). Kicking out a diplomat out is an insult – and now the insulted have to issue a permit with urgency?

AB is full of optimism – and that’s is great. But now, they need realism.

Yet this technical issue concerning overflight rights has been around for a few years already, hasn't it?

Strange they only discover this issue now?

If I am understanding it correctly, the issue comes from an unpaid airway bill dating back to the final months of Sabena: Russia absolutely wants that bill paid first before granting new overflight rights to Belgian airlines.

Of course, as you say, the entire diplomatic issue concerning the EU sanctions in retaliation of the Crimea annexation by Russia and the recent attempt to poison an ex-KGB spy in the UK, all add to an unfavourable diplomatic climate: I personally wouldn't hold my breath for the permit to be delivered any time soon, even if the outstanding bill would be paid by now by somebody full of goodwill (for which i do not have any evidence).

Somebody mentioned going around Russia would add 6% to the route: I suppose such would also add a similar amount to the operating costs of the flight? How much profit margin would still be left, if any, by doing so? The fact they clearly do not dare to launch without overflight permit makes me think the routes are unsustainable without it.

[sn26567]

Russia gets a lot of money from overflying rights. Why would they refuse one more airline?

[luchtzak]

I read somewhere that Norwegian had to wait a long time before its right to overfly Russia ...

[Shengenzone]

The delayed launch is making headlines in Taiwan...
https://travelhito.com/%E6%AF%94%E5%88% ... %E3%80%8D/

[Passenger]

Somebody mentioned going around Russia would add 6% to the route: I suppose such would also add a similar amount to the operating costs of the flight? How much profit margin would still be left, if any, by doing so? The fact they clearly do not dare to launch without overflight permit makes me think the routes are unsustainable without it.

Actually, the source for that 6% is flanker. The real figure is 1,5 hours extra flying time (source: AB itself).

FR24 shows as average flying time for Cathay's A350-900:
BRU-HKG CX-338: 10h35min
HKG-BRU CX-339: 12h07min

[Passenger]

The delayed launch is making headlines in Taiwan...
https://travelhito.com/%E6%AF%94%E5%88% ... %E3%80%8D/

... and in the South China Morning Post - Hong Kong Economy news:
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/econ ... er-failing

[Boeing767copilot]

A reliable source familiar with AB management told me that there is just only reason for the delay: 'Hardly sold tickets for the coming weeks and months'

[Amavro]

A reliable source familiar with AB management told me that there is just only reason for the delay: 'Hardly sold tickets for the coming weeks and months'

They must not lie to their customer. The issue with the russians is real. I heard they had already sold 75% of the seats for the coming year thanks to agreements with UTOUR.

Anyway, i don't know anymore what's true or not !

[Vic Diesel]

Russia gets a lot of money from overflying rights. Why would they refuse one more airline?

Politics. It would be very typical of Russian diplomacy: if you kick our diplomats out of your country, we will do whatever we can to make your companies' life difficult when they want to deal with us. They did this for decades if not centuries. Not a very sympathetic approach to international relations (nor are those propaganda campaigns via Russian-run "news" sources spreading fake stories - or concerted hacker attacks on European governments originating in Russia, etc.) - but this is the way they're playing. Wladimir wants to show the world he's got the biggest... button. You know, the one that always works...

[JustPlanes]

How about you wait until you have the overflight rights... and then announce flights for 90 days later so you can sell some tickets... By June 2nd they still won't sell a lot of tickets and who says they will have the permissions...
Starting an airline is rough but it must be done properly and professionally if you want to succeed!

It reminds me of VG Airlines... FVG absolutely wanted to fly to Boston without have a single connection on either side of the Atlantic... Before getting hired to work in Boston I told him to absolutely forget about flying point to point but he was going to do it no matter what... and it was a huge failure passenger wise... Some people just don't want to listen and they have to learn the hard way... VG had a very nice product... nice A330s, great SN crews, good service... but if you put 20-30 people on a plane that's not going to last long...

Hopefully ABB does better but so far their actions have not been very impressive!