Brussels Airlines' fleet renewal

[sn26567]

It will be 2 Q400s ( replacing 2 Avro RJ 85) on LYS, BHX, HAM , TRN, BSL, SXB.

I thought that BSL was going to be served by an RJ100, like now with LX. This was mentioned in SN's press release.

[crew1990]

Now the the Q400 will be repainted and everything, what about the crew, will it be a SN crew from now?

[airazurxtror]

What is the difference of flight time between a jet and a propjet to, say, Torino ?
Personnaly, I love aircraft with propellers, like the Q400 (and I would love still more a DC3, for instance), but what is the usual reaction of the customer accustomed to fly in a 737 or A319 ?

[Air Key West]

I'm just a passenger, so others on this forum will probably be able to give more accurate technical explanations than me, but Bombardier claims that its Q400s are the fastest props. I have flown them with Luxair on a few occasions between LUX and FRA and the flight time was the same compared to the same flight operated by a 737.
As to Brussels Airlines, if you check flight times on their web site, you will see they give a block time of 1h35mn for BRU Torino with the Avrojet, compared to 1h45 with the Q400. So, one can deduct that on such a flight, travel time is approximately 10 mn longer with the Q400 than with the Avrojet (but iI stand to be corrected by the experts in this field).
See also Bombardier's explanations below :
http://q400nextgen.com/en/#/q400/econom ... ductivity/

As to passenger comfort, the seats on the Q400s are 17 inches wide, which is the same as for seats on 737s (generally speaking). An A319 will usually offer a seat which is 18 inches wide and these 2.5 cm do make a difference in passenger comfort.

I'm not a fan of props, but for thin routes and feeder services they are OK. It's better, for instance, imo, to have a direct flight with a prop aircraft than no flight at all and having to take a connection somewhere to get to your destination, which at least triples you travel time.

I find flying a jet aircraft more pleasant, but props are sometimes a necessary evil, imho, in today's environment.

[RoMax]

I've flown the Q400 on domestic flights in Croatia (between Zagreb and Zadar) and I liked it on that short flight. But this was a really short flight and the aircraft was brand new (at that time Croatia Airlines had just one Q400 and it was only about one month old at the time of my two flights) and I had to connect on an old F100 of Sunadria between Zagreb and BRU (used by Croatia Airlines during that summer on routes like BRU-ZAG), maybe the experience of that F100 let the Q400 feel like heaven...

I hope the Q400 is quite OK to fly on a flight of about 1:45, an A319 would be more comfortable, but of course you can't fly each route with such an aircraft.

[shockcooling]

Still with old reg. D-ALTH Airbus A320-214 Brussels Airlines

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elevationa ... /lightbox/

[Bel33]

According to recent informations, the following aircraft are on order for 2012 :

Orders

Airbus A319-100 5
Airbus A320-200 4
Airbus A330-200
Airbus A330-300
Avro RJ85 To be phased out by the end of 2012
Avro RJ100
Boeing 737-300 To be phased out by the end of 2012

Boeing 737-400 To be phased out by the end of 2012

Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 4
Embraer ERJ-145

[Boavida]

Now the the Q400 will be repainted and everything,

Does anybody know when these aircraft will be painted in Brussels Airlines colors?

[airbuske]

According to recent informations, the following aircraft are on order for 2012 :

Orders

Airbus A319-100 5
Airbus A320-200 4
Airbus A330-200
Airbus A330-300
Avro RJ85 To be phased out by the end of 2012
Avro RJ100
Boeing 737-300 To be phased out by the end of 2012

Boeing 737-400 To be phased out by the end of 2012

Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 4
Embraer ERJ-145

An other A330-300 ??

[RoMax]

No it seems this is a combination of existing fleet and new comming aircraft...look only at the numbers behind the aircraft type (like with A319 and A320) for the new comming aircraft. But I don't know if it's correct...I tought some of these 5 A319's were not for this, but next year...

[brusselsairlinesfan]

Thanks, so can someone confirm how many birds/which types are to enter the fleet in 2012?

[Bel33]

Confirmed in the next few months: 2 A 319 (total 12) and 2 A 320 (total 4).
Depending of the phasing out of the 2 737-300 and 4 737-400, 3 A 319 and 2 extra A 320 must join the fleet.

[convair]

To Bel33, could you please give your source(s)?

Apparently, the 11th 319 ( OO-SSW) started commercial operations yesterday (flightradar24) and the 12th has already been bought (to become OO-SSN as previously indicated on this topic).

Also 2 320 have been bought (OO-SNC and OO-SND); SNC should join the fleet next month (b.spirit magazine) and SND was flown to DUB for re-paint into SN colours (Skyliner), as earlier mentioned on this topic.

[RoMax]

From a flightglobal article:

- This month the leasing of A319 MSN3255 started (leased from Banc of America leasing)
- Next month the leasing of an A320 (MSN1797) will start, currently leased by Air Berlin from GECAS
- In May another A320 will be delivered, also currently on lease by Air Berlin from GECAS
- In June another A319 (MSN 1963) will join the fleet, from GECAS

These are the 4 A32S that were already known that would join SN this year.

SN also said to flightglobal more Airbus jets will join the fleet of SN in the 3rd and 4th quarter, also trough leasing agreements, but further information has yet to be disclosed.

It's also said the second A332 will enter sheduled service at the end of March.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... 12-369157/

[Bel33]

Correct! These birds are already confirmed and 16 A 32.. (12+4) will be active for summer season.
Extra (3+2) are coming later depending of the phasing out of the 737 (end of 2012 or soon in 2013...)
The sources are Plannespotter, Wikipedia, Airfleet.com and previous Brussels Airlines press releases concerning fleet expansion and/or renewal.

[SpottairBRU]

According to recent informations, the following aircraft are on order for 2012 :

(...)

Embraer ERJ-145

First time I see ERJ-145 on order for SN. I guess I missed something, can somebody enhance my knowledge?

I admit I haven't read the all thread and 180+ replies...

Thanks in advance!

[Didymus]

The is no number next to it, so the number of ordered planes is zero.

[shockcooling]

the ERJ-145 are operated by BMI on certain routes, and indeed Bel33 could have made his list more clear by adding : ; - = > { ~ / ... so everybody would understand it

[SpottairBRU]

Great, thanks for the clarifications, shockcooling and Didymus

[Flanker]

Flybe Group plc
("Flybe" or "the Group")
Contract Flying Agreement Signed With Brussels Airlines
Flybe, Europe (Chicago Options: ^REURUSD - news) 's largest regional airline, is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to provide two Bombardier Q400 aircraft - with pilots, cabin crew and engineering support - to Brussels Airlines at the end of this month on a two year contract flying agreement.
The contract flying arrangement will commence on 25 March 2012 and run two years, at which point the aircraft will return to Flybe's scheduled services.
The Bombardier Q400 aircraft will serve core routes for the Belgian airline to various European destinations. The aircraft will carry the livery of Brussels Airlines but will operate under the Flybe Airline Operating Certificate (AOC), be crewed by Flybe pilots and cabin crew and maintained by Flybe engineers.
Commenting on the agreement, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jim French said:
"The partnership with Brussels Airlines is an exciting development for Flybe and we are delighted to be working with such a respected European operator. It is also further confirmation of our reputation as a quality provider of professional turn-key solutions in the regional aviation market.
"Brussels Airlines is 45% owned by Lufthansa Group, for whom Flybe already performs a significant amount of maintenance work on its regional fleet. Flybe's independence has enabled it to enter into a range of commercial relationships with major airline groups such as Lufthansa (Xetra: 823212 - news) , Air France (Paris: FR0000031122 - news) /KLM, IAG and Finnair (Xetra: 891823 - news) .
"Given the success of the identical partnership we had with Olympic Airline in 2009 - 10, we are confident that the partnership with Brussels Airlines will progress extremely well and also pave the way for further partnerships as we continue to seek to optimise the use of our existing fleet."
8 March 2012

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/flybe- ... 00627.html

You're welcome.