Brussels Airlines

IATA SN ICAO BEL Callsign BEE-LINE
Founded	7 November 2006
Commenced operations	25 March 2007
Hubs	Brussels Airport
Frequent flyer program	Miles & More
Member lounge	HON & Senator Lounge
Alliance	Star Alliance (joining on 9 December 2009) [1]
Subsidiaries	airDC Pan African Airlines [2]
Fleet size	44 (+1 on order)
Destinations	76 (128 with codeshare)
Company slogan	Flying your way
Parent company	SN Airholding N.V. Lufthansa (45%)
Headquarters	b.house -Brussels Airport building 26 Zaventem, Belgium
Key people	Bernard Gustin (Managing director) Michel Meyfroidt (Managing director) Etienne Davignon (Chairman)
Website	www.brusselsairlines.com

Brussels Airlines (styled in its official logo as brussels airlines) is an airline headquartered in the b.house in Zaventem, Belgium^[3] and a subsidiary of Lufthansa. It is the largest airline based in Belgium, and operates to over 50 destinations in 20 European countries as well as long-haul flights to East, Central and West Africa. It also operates charter services, maintenance and training of cockpit and cabin crew^[4]. The airline is a member of IATA and the Association of European Airlines (AEA).

[edit] History

Brussels Airlines was created following the merger of SN Brussels Airlines (SNBA) and Virgin Express. On 12 April 2005, SN Airholding, the company behind SNBA, signed an agreement with Richard Branson, giving it control over Virgin Express. On 31 March 2006 SNBA and Virgin Express announced their merger into a single company. On 7 November 2006, the new name, Brussels Airlines, was announced at a press conference at Brussels Airport. Brussels Airlines began operations on 25 March 2007.

In January 2007, the company announced it had acquired a fourth Airbus A330-300, from the defunct company Air Madrid.

Through its Mauritius based subsidiary Pan African Airlines Leasing Company Ltd, Brussels Airlines founded the Congolese airline AirDC, of which it owns 49%, and partner airline Hewa Bora Airways owning the remaining 51%^[5].

In December 2007 the airline expressed interest in joining an airline alliance, considering it a priority for the airline.^[6]

In July 2008 it appeared that the project "AirDC" was delayed, as the Congolese government did not give the required authorizations to start the new airline with Mauritian registered aircraft (through the Brussels Airlines owned and Mauritius based Pan African Airlines Leasing Company Ltd).^{[citation needed]}

On 15 September 2008 it was announced that Lufthansa will acquire a 45% stake in Brussels Airlines with an option to acquire the remaining 55% from 2011. As a part of this deal Brussels Airlines will join Star Alliance. ^[7][8]

On 13 March Brussels Airlines announced that the airline will codeshare all their flights to Germany with Lufthansa. The codeshare agreement will start from March 29. This new step is part of the integration of Brussels Airlines into the Star Alliance network. ^[9] Brussels Airlines is expected to become a Star Alliance member in 2009. ^[10]

On 15 June 2009 Brussels Airlines announced that the European Commission granted approval for Lufthansa to take over Brussels Airlines. As a result of this clearance by the EU, the road has been cleared for Brussels Airlines to join Star Alliance. ^[11]

Since 25 October 2009 Brussels Airlines is an official member of Lufthansa's frequent flyer program Miles & More. Brussels Airlines is joining the Star Alliance on 9 December 2009.

[edit] Company

Avro RJ85 in SN Brussels Airlines livery landing at Birimingham International Airport, England. (2007)

Brussels Airlines is the operating name of Delta Air Transport S.A./N.V..^[12] From 26 October 2008, the ICAO code is no longer DAT but BEL. On 3 June 2008, the CEO, Philippe Vander Putten resigned. The board appointed Michel Meyfroidt and Bernard Gustin as Managing Directors.

[edit] Service

On European flights, the airline offers three types of tickets, b.flex economy+ b.light economy and b.business (business class):

• b.flex economy+ is the more expensive ticket, offering full service, such as free newspapers and catering.
• b.light economy is the cheapest option, with a buy on board programme offering snacks and drinks available for purchase.^[13]
• b.business is a full service Business class on the European network. It offers premium meals, VIP-parking, free champagne,...

On medium- and long-haul flights (Africa, Moscow and Tel Aviv) Brussels Airlines continues to offer economy and business classes.

On 28 March 2009, Brussels Airlines re-introduced a business class called b.business on all their European flights. This features a higher baggage allowance, VIP parking spaces, lounge access, priority boarding and premium meals. The re-introduction of business class configuration by Brussels Airlines is part of the steps that Brussels Airlines is taking for its entry into Star Alliance. ^[14]

[edit] Frequent flyer program

Brussels Airlines' frequent flyer program is called Miles&More. Miles can be earned on all the flights operated by Brussels Airlines, American Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Etihad Airways, Hainan Airlines, Jet Airways, Lufthansa, Malmo Aviation, Swiss International Air Lines, including all codeshare flights of brussels airlines and its Miles&More partners. ^[15] Miles can also be earned by Brussels Airlines's non-airline partners. ^[16] Brussels Airlines customers have been able to earn Miles and More benefits since March 29, 2009.^[17] The frequent flyer program Privilege ended on the 25 October 2009 and was converted into Lufthansa's Miles & More. Practically this means that Privilege Gold members received a Miles & More Frequent Traveller (Silver) card while Privilege Platinum card holders received a Miles & More Senator (Gold) card. Privilege miles have simply been transferred into Miles & More miles.

[edit] Destinations

Brussels Airlines Avro RJ85 takes off from Birmingham International Airport, England. (2008)

Brussels Airlines flies daily to Kinshasa. This may come to an end since the Democratic Republic of the Congo allows a foreign company to operate flights to Kinshasa maximum 5 flights per week. In order to have an additional 2 flights a week, Brussels Airlines codeshared that flight and leased these rights with Hewa Bora Airways. This agreement is about to end on 1 April 2009. Brussels Airlines is considering to add more African destinations and eventually to fly to the USA or Asia. ^[18]

[edit] Codeshare agreements

Brussels Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:^[19] As Brussels Airlines is joining Star Alliance, code-share agreements with non-Star Alliance partners will be terminated and replaced by Star Alliance members. Only code-share agreements with Star Alliance members and airlines that are not member of any airline alliance will continue. ^[18]

All Oneworld codeshares ended on 25 October 2009 except with American Airlines which will be ended on 27 March 2010.

[edit] Fleet

Brussels Airlines Airbus A319 landing at Brussels Airport, Belgium. (2007)

Brussels Airlines Avro RJ85 landing at Birmingham International Airport, England. (2008)

The Brussels Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (at 1 November 2009):^[20][21]

[edit] Livery

The livery consists of a 'dotted B' logo on the tail, a light blue belly covering the whole aircraft's length, with the name 'Brussels Airlines' written in dark blue on the upper fuselage, preceded by the airline's 'b' logo. Most planes have an altered 'b' logo after superstitious travelers complained about the thirteen dots bringing bad luck.^[22] The logo now contains fourteen dots. The Brussels Airlines callsign is BEE-LINE.

[edit] References

Brussels portal

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brussels Airlines

• Brussels Airlines official website
• Brussels Airlines b.Places
• b.There! inflight magazine
• b.Spirit! inflight magazine
• Brussels Airlines at YouTube

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