Brussels Airlines joining Star Alliance in December 2009

[pilot A320]

Is the A330 is already fully painted Star Alliance?

[HighInTheSky]

Is the A330 is already fully painted Star Alliance?

There is no A330 painted in *A livery yet (except for the small plastic one ).

If and when we recieve the 5th A330, this one will be probably painted in *A livery.

[Atlantis]

The last couple of days I was really surprised that most of you thought that Brussels Airlines was going to announce a lot of new stuff. Didn't you learned your lesson from the past with Brussels Airlines events? F.e. AirDC, new livery, etc, etc.

Actually it didn't surprise me a lot, however... The big press conference was one big joke... Why even call it a press conference if you are only willing to make a 40 minute commercial for Star Alliance? In the end it was nothing more then one big commercial...

But in the end we can be happy that SN is now a Star Alliance member but that's about it...

It's indeed a show and more a commercial for the capital of Brussels.

Atlantis, you are absolutly right about CDG and AMS. Even the newspaper 'de telegraaf' of Holland said that Paris and Amsterdam expect to lose A LOT of passengers. And when a dutch newspaper say this that means they really think this will happen.

About "the big announcements of SN" when do you expect new things than, the coming days/weeks/months?

First we have to wait when they will receive the 5th A330. Will the summerseason be too soon, I don't know. Maybe next winter? We will see the first signs on their European network: own flights to LHR, 2nd flight to CDG, etc.

[Conti764]

The ceremony was what is was intented for in the first place: put the entry of SN to Star Alliance in the spotlights...

It never was portrayed as a big press conference about all of SN's future plans.

I expect some more information in the coming next weeks or months. Probably some more codesharing (CO?), maybe some new routes ot AFI or an expansion to excisting routes, some new players at BRU,...?

[b.lufthansa]

Membership costs 7000000€ 7 million euro! Let's hope revenues will make up for that! And let's hope it's not every year you have to pay membership fee!

[pilot A320]

First we have to wait when they will receive the 5th A330. Will the summerseason be too soon, I don't know. Maybe next winter? We will see the first signs on their European network: own flights to LHR, 2nd flight to CDG, etc.

The show is not over yet ,I know there will be anther meeting coming soon this month,and who knows what will be,more Aircraft's

[brussels airlines]

This entry is very good news for Brussels Airlines, the Belgian passenger and the entire Belgian aviation.
There hasn't been communicated about any expansion. The expansion is still being examined and when the decision is made there will be official communication about it. At this moment, there isn't set a date on the expansion, acoording tot Managing Director Bernard Gustin in demorgen.be (http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/996/Econom ... ance.dhtml)

Congratulations for Brussels Airlines.

[airbuske]

Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber and Philippe Vander Putten, CEO Brussels Airlines

Philippe Vander Putten is not the CEO of Brussels Airlines , he left the company.
Managing Directors are Bernard Gustin & Michel Meyfroidt

[Atlantis]

The ceremony was what is was intented for in the first place: put the entry of SN to Star Alliance in the spotlights...

It never was portrayed as a big press conference about all of SN's future plans.

I expect some more information in the coming next weeks or months. Probably some more codesharing (CO?), maybe some new routes ot AFI or an expansion to excisting routes, some new players at BRU,...?

Speaking about CO, it's a surprise that we didn't hear from them. I expected a few weeks or months ago an announcement of them about a second daily EWR or a new route to Houston.

[sn_rj85]

The A340 wasn't for SN, it had an Irish registration so it was rather clear from the start that this wasn't a SN Aircraft.

That's an assumption that doesn't make any sense. Remember the registration that OO-SFW used to wear during its ferry to BRU in 2007? EI-DVB ...

[Sabena320]

Some photos from the private ceremony in the Town hall: http://www.flightlevel.be/425/brussels- ... iance.html

[cnc]

any news about ET joining *alliance? if they do i really hope they move the cargo back to bru

[airbuske]

any news about ET joining *alliance? if they do i really hope they move the cargo back to bru

Mid 2010

[Sabena320]

Are you sure? I can only find press articles in which states that ET wants to become a member and that the members eventually will approve their application in 2010, but that ET still needs another year at least like SN did in preparing to become a full Star Alliance member. Or is there already anything official yet?

[airbuske]

I read on Airliners.net that Ethiopia was confirmed. Middle 2010

[fets]

Damn...

I don't like the partnership with UA...

http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6867,53264,00.html

Only 50% for the most common bookingclasses...

It's a little bit better on US:
http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividend ... lines.html

[regi]

More competition, for Wizz Air on the Warshaw and Krakov line ?
Busines travellers will like it to add their miles.

[Conti764]

Speaking about CO, it's a surprise that we didn't hear from them. I expected a few weeks or months ago an announcement of them about a second daily EWR or a new route to Houston.

Yes, strange indeed... A new route to Houston is too optimistic, I'm afraid, but a second daily rotation to EWR is quite the opposite... Not even a permanent T7 operation to cater for the bigger demand to NYC with SN joining Star Alliance...

Or does SN rely solely on UA and LH to fly transatlantic and will SN pax have to make a transfer in FRA, ORD or IAD to go to NYC? I assume SN won't fly to New York on their own equipment and the market to fly direct between BRU and NYC is definately present...

Does CO have a codeshare agreement with SN for SN's euro and Africa flights?

[NCB]

Yes, the EI- registration is required to keep an insurance policy open, even as storage for the Irish lessor. If the previous owner de-registered, the lessor had to reregister.
It could still be for SN but still in advanced stages of negotiations...

So the Star Alliance press conference was just the usual blablabla.

SN's mysterious expansion plan may just be hot air after all... this was an excellent opportunity to announce something big but the PR people probably believe that a separate occasion would be better suited... but the bigger the news, the more wires it will hit.

Thank you LH, for making SN join Star Alliance. It may help fill those empty RJ's and help with passengers to Africa. Oh wait,... maybe LH is the one that should be saying thank you because SN is going to feed FRA, ZRH.

Now let's see if CO, US, UA, AC, LH, LX, OS will help fill the African flights... but I doubt that there would be any big difference with the times when SN had countless codeshares with strategic partners.
UA out of ORD could pitch some, but how many?

Question: now that SN is flying to LIN, why do they still bother flying to MXP even when LH Italia is doing the exact same?

[HighInTheSky]

LH Italia is not flying MXP-BRU anymore... SN took it over