Air Belgium’s “Dress rehearsal” sold out in less than three hours – [Update: second flight scheduled!]

As a “final rehearsal” before Air Belgium’s first flight from Brussels South Charleroi Airport to Hong Kong, the new Belgian airline will, on Saturday 21 April 2018, operate a flight that will take them through Europe. Passengers who have booked a ticket will support charity (Télévie and Kom Op Tegen Kanker) as the total revenue of the flight is going directly to the two Belgian organisations that support cancer research.

Sales of the 250 tickets didn’t take very long: in less than three hours all the tickets were sold out. But Air Belgium quickly responded to the many requests and will organise a second flight on Saturday afternoon (21 April).

Passengers will pay €50 for business class, €40 for premium economy and €25 for economy. After baggage handling (maximum 10 kgs per passenger), the flight will take off at 11:00 (UTC +2) for a round-trip above Europe. During the three-hours flight passengers will discover the full Air Belgium in-flight service, mainly Belgian products. Passengers can enjoy a wide range of movies, just like the passengers that will fly between Charleroi and Hong Kong.

After the flight, passengers will have the opportunity to share their experiences with Air Belgium and Brussels South Charleroi Airport by filling out a survey. The survey will then be examined to allow both Air Belgium and Charleroi Airport to fine-tune their services for the very first long-haul flight to Asia.

On the round-trip flight, Air Belgium’s CEO Niky Terzakis said: “This is a big test for both Air Belgium and Brussels South Charleroi Airport. Normally such a “dress rehearsal” is reserved for employees and their relatives, but we are going for a different approach and like to hear the opinion of the passengers: from baggage handling and check-in to the service on board.”

The revenue of the flight will go completely to Kom Op Tegen Kanker and Télévie, two Belgian organisations that support cancer research. After the flight, passengers can donate the contents of their suitcases (clothes, books, …) to Oxfam Solidarity. Air Belgium hopes to donate €5,000 to the charities. It will certainly succeed since the flight is already fully booked.

This morning Air Belgium’s Airbus A340 OO-ABB was transferred to Brussels South Charleroi Airport.