Today, Corendon has kicked off the summer season in Belgium at Brussels Airport. The tour operator is expanding its high season operation at Brussels Airport and is stationing three aircraft at the airport. In addition, a large amount of capacity is being contracted from Brussels Airlines. In total, more than 200,000 available aircraft seats will result in a 35% capacity expansion compared to last summer, a percentage that may even increase further.
Already, the number of Belgian Corendon customers who have booked a holiday with departure from Brussels has increased by 80% on the same period last year. Another notable fact is the increasing number of Dutch travellers departing from Brussels Airport. Compared to last year, more than twice as many Dutch choose Brussels instead of Schiphol. The most important reason for this is the image of Schiphol in the past year: extremely crowded, long queues and missed flights. Now that it has become clear that the problems are still not under control, many Dutch travellers are opting for Brussels and Corendon is taking advantage of this.
From Brussels Airport, Corendon customers can fly this summer to twenty airports in Turkey, Spain, Greece, Egypt, Bulgaria and Portugal. In addition, more distant destinations are offered with various other airlines.
Steven van der Heijden, CEO Corendon: “We have been very warmly welcomed by Brussels Airport and we are delighted that we are able to expand our capacity at the airport even further this summer. Brussels Airport is an important airport for Corendon; not only for our Belgian customers but also increasingly for our Dutch customers, now the reputation of Schiphol is under pressure. Because Schiphol has announced that flights will again have to be cancelled in the coming months, we see our Dutch customers – particularly in the provinces of Brabant, Limburg, Zeeland and South Holland – more frequently choosing Brussels. We are therefore expanding our successful collaboration with Brussels Airport.”
Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company: “The increased capacity of Corendon at Brussels Airport is very good news for our Belgian and foreign passengers who will have more possibilities for their future holidays. The trust placed in us by Corendon demonstrates that Brussels Airport is a first–class airport where the customer experience comes first. We are working together with all our airport partners to be ready to welcome an increasing number of passengers this summer, in particular by recruiting effectively where the needs are and by optimising our operations. A strategy that worked well for us last summer.”
Sunny destinations
This summer, Corendon customers can now fly to Turkish holiday destinations on the Aegean coast and the Turkish Riviera. In addition, Corendon offers seats to the Spanish islands of Ibiza, Mallorca, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife, plus Malaga on the Costa del Sol. In Greece, travellers can choose from the islands of Corfu, Kos, Crete, Lesbos, Rhodos, Samos and Zakynthos. And finally, Corendon offers holidays in Bulgaria, Egypt and Portugal. Turkey is, with around 35% of the bookings, the most popular sun destination among Corendon customers. This is followed by Greece (21%), Spain (21%) and Egypt (13%).
