LONDON – Belgian flag carrier Brussels Airlines becomes the second Star Alliance airline in just weeks, to welcome brand new Airbus A320neos into their fleet in 2023.
The addition of the Airbus A320neo aircraft becomes the third Airbus A320 family type to enter their fleet, and further reduces their carbon footprint.
The new aircraft
On December 7, a press release by Brussels Airlines shows the news that the board of directors have approved two additional Airbus A320neos for year 2024.
Currently, the airline is scheduled to take delivery of three of the brand new Airbus A320neo aircraft in 2023, making the Brussels Airlines fleet just a little greener.
By adding these aircraft, Brussels Airlines will see reductions in their carbon footprints, a statistic that will improve positively as more of these aircraft enter the fleet.
The addition of the Airbus A320neo aircraft comes as a result of fleet renewal plans, with their goal of reducing CO2 emissions in half by 2030 compared to 2019.
The airline also aims to be CO2 neutral by year 2050, and a fleet renewal is definitely the way to go, as also demonstrated as being the most powerful measure in reducing CO2 footprints and noise emissions.
Brussels Airlines statement
Chief Executive Officer at Brussels Airlines, Peter Gerber, stated the following: “In addition to fleet renewal, intermodality and alternative fuels are important pillars to achieve our climate ambitions.”
“Connecting Brussels Airport to the high-speed train network is essential to reduce short flights. That is not the case today. In addition, most of the emissions come from long-haul flights, for which there is no suitable alternative today.”
“That’s why we, together with the whole sector, must invest more in alternatives to fossil fuels. At Brussels Airlines we aspire to have the first flight with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in 2023.”
“However, in order to use this more climate-friendly SAF on a large scale, major investments will have to be made in production facilities. Investments that we as a sector cannot bear alone.”
Second airline in weeks
Brussels Airlines becomes the latest soon-to-be operator of the Airbus A320neo aircraft in Star Alliance, following just weeks after Austrian Airlines received their second A320neo.
On November 4th, Austrian Airlines, the flag carrier of Austria, took delivery of yet another Airbus A320neo aircraft from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France.
An Austrian team stood behind the transfer of the aircraft, registered OE-LZO (MSN 11076), and the airframe is set to enter commercial operations in December. Austrian has decided to name MSN 11076 “Seewinkel”, an Austrian national park.
Just three weeks earlier, Austrian announced the implementation of the new A320neo aircraft, all of which are on track to complete deliveries on time, by Spring of 2023.
At the time, Chief Executive Officer at Austrian, Annette Mann, stated:
“The Austrian team has bravely navigated the crisis over the past two and a half years and put the company back on track. The restructuring has been completed, and the Austrian Team is “fit to fly” again.”
“This summer, we successfully demonstrated our performance level. This was the basis for us to add factory-new aircraft to our fleet for the first time in more than 16 yearsand thus take an important growth step for our company and the Vienna hub.”
Conclusion
Overall, if you are an all-Airbus operator, the Airbus A320neo is the way to go when it comes to an overhaul of the fleet, and especially for Brussels Airlines giving an amount of their Airbus A320’s starting to become quite old, with the average fleet age being 17.9-years-old, according to Planespotters.net.
