5th A330 for Brussels Airlines

[Boeing767copilot]

Fifth A330 for BruAir next year

http://www.tijd.be/nieuws/ondernemingen ... 36-431.art
source: De Tijd

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

FINALLY some good news than !
2010 will be a better year, altough it's a fleet reduction 2 737 gone, 1 A330 in and finally
some news/topics to discuss ( 30 avro's replacing is intresting ! ).
Wich 737 gonna leave the fleet first?

Cx-B

[kiwiandrew]

Great news ! ... but would some kind person take pity on me and provide a summary of the story in English

[sdbelgium]

For kiwiandrew, I summarized main points raised in the article:

• Brussels Airlines is to add a fifth long distance airplane to their fleet in 2010.
• They are looking for an extra A330-300, to complement the other 4 in the fleet.
• 2 Boeing 737s will leave the European fleet.
• Dakar will get a daily connection starting this Winter (25OCT09).
• Banjul will get a third weekly connection starting this Winter.
• Brussels Airlines is becoming more and more an 'African' airline.
• Starting a new destination costs about 20 million euros.
• During the next year, the CEO expects to make a decision concerning about 30 Avros in the fleet, as their lease contracts end between 2012 and 2014.

OO-VBR is normally spoken the first 737 to leave the fleet, that can be very soon. The second is either OO-VEK or OO-VEJ.

[sn26567]

2 Boeing 737s will leave the European fleet.

A rather strange decision, so shortly after having acquired an additional B737...

Also:

• A new codeshare with TAP
• Discussions with Austrian and Continental for new codeshares
• SN is one of the few companies to increase flights this winter compared to previous winter
• 2009 figures will be red (16% volume decrease, vs only 8% cost reduction)

[kiwiandrew]

For kiwiandrew, I summarized main points raised in the article:

Thanks , I really appreciate that ... I am pleased to say that you confirmed most of what I guessed I was reading Perhaps my Nederlands is not as bad as I thought it was .... no , on second thoughts it still is


edited to add : Am I correct in saying that the article admits the possibility of future longhauls to America or Asia ? ( or at least doesnt rule it out )

[HighInTheSky]

edited to add : Am I correct in saying that the article admits the possibility of future longhauls to America or Asia ? ( or at least doesnt rule it out )

Correct, long term projects...

[kiwiandrew]

Does anyone have any guesses where they might try to source a 5th frame from ? I am assuming that a new build is out of the question ?

If I am not mistaken at the moment they have 3 GE powered aircraft and 1 PW powered ... perhaps they should try for an RR powered one to complete the set ( Although , I suppose that if they get a new build it might be RR since both LH and LX have RR on their A330-300)

Seriously though I do have two questions :

1/ another -300 ? or a -200 ? I am guessing that they would need to stick to the -300 as otherwise it would be a scheduling nightmare . On the other hand a -200 might be a better size for some markets .

2/ EI seems to be in deep trouble and are reducing their longhaul flying . If I am not mistaken the 3 GE powered SN aircraft together with 2 of EI's aircraft were all built to the same specifications for Air Inter . Would it make sense to try to pick up one , or both of these aircraft to simplify spares/maintenance etc . On the positive side they could probably be acquired for a reasonable price , but on the negative side they are quite old aircraft and would probably need to be replaced within a few years .


What do you think ?

[regi]

With only 5 big birds it is too dangeros to expand the network. One local tribesman in Ruanda who is in a bad mood can change the entire shedule - remember the Silverback affair .

[teddybAIR]

There's one based at Melsbroek which the airforce will only use for max 2000hrs...

[AirDupont]

AER LINGUS will temporarily suspend its Dublin-Milan Malpensa route for the winter season and has announced another 676 job cuts. It has delayed the delivery of three A330-300s to 2013 and 2014 and will return an A330-200 and an A330-300 and take delivery of two additional A330-300s until April 2010 and then operate two A330-200s and six A330-300s for three years. As part of its longhaul fleet cuts, it is reportedly planning to cut more flights between Shannon and the United States.

[Atlantis]

According to the latest news, Brussels Airlines will add one new African destination next year to their portfolio.

[Shanti]

Only new african destinations?

[HighInTheSky]

Only new african destinations?

As stated before, North America and Asia are long term plans. I guess we will not see other long haul flights with SN metal before summer 2011. Maybe with a lot of luck and help from LH, winter 2010.

I do wonder what they have in mind to start up. In Africa it will surely be a destination in West Africa, à la Cotonou, Lomé,... But those long term destinations are something to think about

[taz001]

Most probably a naive thought, but is there any chance we would see this 'new' bird at the Ceremony when SN enters the *Alliance? As in another forum was stated, it would be nice to see such at bird in *Alliance colours that day.
Btw, I heard that an Airline that is part of the *Alliance needs a certain percentage of its fleet in *Alliance colours. Is this correct? And if so, what percentage are we talking about?

[airtrotter]

Btw, I heard that an Airline that is part of the *Alliance needs a certain percentage of its fleet in *Alliance colours. Is this correct? And if so, what percentage are we talking about?

I don't know, but doesn't SIA refuse to paint any of their planes in *A colors? I heard something like that.
Would be great to see the new bird during the ceremony, but I don't think they will find a A333 so soon.

[RoMax]

SIA has some planes in *A colors, but the tails are still in their own colors. They refused to paint their tails in the *A colors.

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

What's *A colors?, just a big text in blue ?
Let them paint the '*' of *A and give the plane a really special sheme!
I prefer the yellow bird of SIA instead of a dull text, even some red dots are less boring than
just text hehe !
Cx_B

[RoMax]

Do you mean the SN paint with that red dots? I like the SN paint. There are worser paints flying around.

[brusselsairlinesfan]

The brussels airlines colour scheme looks really nice...
It would be an ideal thing to see the new SN A330 in the *A colors @ the ceremony ... but time is running...