This week saw Brussels Airlines announce a new CEO as well as an expansion to its route network ahead of the Summer season.
Such news represents a significant operational changeup in the carrier, which AviationSource will dissect for you.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
A New CEO for Brussels Airlines…
March 23 saw Brussels Airlines announce the appointment of a new CEO, Dorothea von Boxberg, who is currently the Chairperson of the Executive Board at Lufthansa Group.
It is understood that Boxberg will take the reigns of the Belgian carrier from April 15.
Christina Foerster, Member of the Executive Board of the Lufthansa Group and Chair of the Board of Directors of SN Airholding, said the following:
“I am very pleased that Dorothea von Boxberg, an experienced and skilled airline manager from within Lufthansa Group, is assuming the leadership position at Brussels Airlines.”
“With her extensive knowledge and broad understanding of cargo and passenger airlines, she will continue to drive the successful transformation of Brussels Airlines, Belgium’s national airline, in the coming years.”
New Aircraft on the Way…
On March 22, Brussels Airlines announced an expansion of its Summer offering as well as the addition of some aircraft via wet-leasing arrangements.
Between March 26 and October 28, two CRJ-900 aircraft belonging to Irish carrier CityJet will join the fleet to deal with Summer demand.
On top of that, two additional Airbus A320 aircraft will join the Brussels Airlines fleet, which will enable the carrier to grow its European operations by 10% this Summer.
It is understood that the CRJ-900s will be used for daily flights to the likes of Bordeaux, Milan, Lyon, Geneva, and Vienna from the Brussels Airlines hub.
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“This cooperation allows us to grow our fleet in a flexible manner and increase our European offer,” said Jan Derycke, Head of Network Strategy & Planning at Brussels Airlines.
“In total, our fleet now grows to 36 medium-haul and 9 long-haul aircraft. With this fleet and network expansion, Brussels Airlines is achieving its targeted growth three years ahead of schedule.”
“In addition, we can add Billund to our network and increase frequency to and from Copenhagen and Berlin.”
“We will also be able to serve regional (business) routes such as Hamburg and Birmingham even more. In total, we will serve nine destinations in cooperation with CityJet.”
“Thanks to this wet-lease agreement, a smooth and broad connection with Brussels Airlines’ intercontinental network will be created during the summer season.”
Overall…
It remains clear that Brussels Airlines wants to put out all of the stops to ensure it is capturing as much of the demand that will be created due to the upcoming Summer 2023 season.
All eyes will be on the carrier to see how the Summer 2023 season goes for them, as well as what sort of direction the new CEO von Boxberg will take the airline.
But for now, all eyes are on the carrier to see how they cope during what is typically the busiest period of the year.
