Today’s focus is on the topic of travelling and the Belgian airline Brussels Airlines (SN), which is the national airline of Belgium and part of the Lufthansa Group. With its base at Brussels Airport, it offers connections to over 100 destinations in Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East. However, until the early 2000s, it was backed by an even better-known brand…
1923 – 2001: Sabena
It is interesting to take a look at the history. The Belgian airline Sabena was founded in the Sturm und Drang phase of aviation and was internationally successful for decades before its demise in 2001. Sabena is considered the forerunner of Brussels Airlines.
Sabena’s successor Brussels Airlines
Today, the successful airline stands for Belgian hospitality, modern fleets and sustainability. Its strong presence on African routes in particular emphasises its historic connection with the continent.
Brussels Airlines is strong in Africa
Brussels Airlines currently serves 18 airports in Africa. Africa is a central part of the airline’s route network and its connection to the continent has historical roots. Destinations in 2024/25 include cities in West, Central and East Africa, making Brussels Airlines an important player for connections between Europe and Africa.
The airline has established itself as a strong partner in passenger and cargo traffic on these routes and is also a powerful player due to frequent flight frequencies. With a range of almost 12,000 kilometres, this modern aircraft can reach even the most remote corners of Africa.
Examples of African destinations are
- Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Entebbe (Uganda)
- Kigali (Rwanda)
- Nairobi (Kenya)
- Dakar (Senegal)
- Abidjan (Ivory Coast)
- Accra (Ghana)
- Banjul (Gambia)
- Douala and Yaoundé (Cameroon)
Brussels Airlines has been operating since 2006
The airline was formed in 2006 through the merger of SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express. Today’s wholly-owned Lufthansa subsidiary operates largely independently and above all cultivates the Belgian aviation tradition. The carrier focuses on a high-quality travel experience that includes local culinary specialities and excellent service.
Africa is growing in economic and touristic importance
As Africa attracts more and more investors and is also being visited by more and more Europeans, the editorial team believes it is worth taking a closer look at suitable and reliable airlines that serve the gigantic African continent.
Interview with Brussels Airlines about the future of the Belgian carrier
1)
Oliver Gaebe, travelindustry news:
‘Mr Cardone, thank you very much for the interview. What have been the key factors in the success of Brussels Airlines in recent years, particularly in overcoming challenges such as the pandemic and competition?
Nico Cardone, Brussels Airlines:
‘Very much so Mr Gaebe. Without a doubt, the pandemic was the biggest crisis in the history of the aviation industry. Brussels Airlines found itself in a special situation: back in 2019, Brussels Airlines launched the ‘Reboot’ turnaround programme. In previous years, Brussels Airlines had recorded increasing passenger numbers every year, but profits did not necessarily grow with them. The idea behind Reboot was to achieve a more economical cost/benefit basis that would allow us to be sustainably profitable. During the Covid pandemic, this process was intensified and renamed ‘Reboot Plus’. Unfortunately, we had no choice but to downsize our fleet and reduce our workforce.
‘The desire to travel is back’
‘After the pandemic, we saw demand return very quickly. People love travelling, that much is clear. In order to stay true to our ‘reboot’ values, we did not immediately increase our capacity abruptly. Rather, we have opted for what we call ‘profitable growth’: We grow every year, but not too fast. We only add aircraft when we are sure that we can operate them profitably.
‘Capacity utilisation above 82%’
‘Brussels Airlines has a good load factor on its African long-haul routes, which plays a crucial role in the airline’s profitability. For 2024, the seat load factor across the entire network, including African destinations, averaged around 82% in the first half of the year. The airline has highlighted Africa as a core market in its strategy, which is supported by sustained demand despite challenges such as global operational disruptions’
‘Long-haul is running’
‘In our long-haul network, we are back to 10 aircraft, as we were in 2019. In the short-haul segment, we are still slightly smaller than before Covid. But we have already announced that we will expand our fleet in the coming years so that Brussels Airlines will be bigger and stronger than ever before.
2)
Oliver Gaebe:
‘How does Brussels Airlines plan to develop, or rather expand, its African business?’
Nico Cardone:
‘We recently announced that we plan to add 3 more Airbus A330-300s to our fleet in the coming years. This additional capacity will mainly be deployed in Africa (sub-Saharan Africa).
‘Africa in the focus of the Lufthansa subsidiary’
‘As Brussels Airlines, we are the African competence centre for the entire Lufthansa Group. This means that we also support flights operated by our sister airlines Lufthansa and Swiss, which fly to sub-Saharan Africa.
‘100 years of direct flights to Kinshasa’
‘In February 2025, we will celebrate 100 years of direct flights between Brussels and Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Flying to many metropolises in Africa is an expertise that we have built up over the years. In many of our destinations, we have our own ticketing offices in the cities. We also have several locations where passengers can check in. In general, many people in Africa prefer personal contact, and that’s exactly what we offer with over 200 Brussels Airlines employees on the African continent south of the Sahara.
‘Reliability, even in crises’
Mr Cordone continues:
‘We have always been a very reliable partner for the people of Africa. During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa around 10 years ago, Brussels Airlines was the only airline that maintained intercontinental flights with the affected countries. This is something that has not been forgotten in Africa. Our business and private customers know that they can rely on us, even when the situation is difficult. We flew to our African destinations with the same reliability during political unrest or other difficult situations.
‘Crisis years 2020 – 2021’
Of course with reduced capacity utilisation, but we wanted to show that we can be relied on! Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have growing populations and growing economies. For us, it is clear that there will be more demand from and to Africa in the coming years. That is why we are continuing to expand our capacities on this huge continent.
3)
Oliver Gaebe:
‘Sustainability is a key issue in aviation. How does Brussels Airlines intend to reduce its ecological footprint and what specific initiatives are being implemented to achieve the international environmental targets by 2030?’
Nico Cardone:
‘Our sustainability targets are clear and ambitious: Brussels Airlines aims to emit 50% less CO2 by 2030 compared to 2019 and plans to be carbon neutral by 2050.’
‘SN strategy until 2050’
‘The airline is participating in the Stargate project led by Brussels Airport and is thus part of the test field for sustainable aviation at its home base in Brussels. In addition, the airline signed the circular economy agreement of the Antwerp Management School in 2021.
Our airline was the first to route Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) through the CEPS pipeline to Brussels Airport, since the beginning of 2023. By the end of 2024, Brussels Airlines will put five state-of-the-art and fuel-efficient Airbus A320neo aircraft into service, which will enable the airline to significantly reduce its CO2 and noise emissions on its medium-haul network’.
‘More innovation and the latest technology’
‘In recent years, we have entered into many partnerships for the acquisition of SAF, for example with Union Saint-Gilloise, Sunweb and Tomorrowland. As sustainability is a very important challenge for the entire aviation industry, we are also working very closely with all other airlines in the Lufthansa Group. We believe that it is important to be transparent about our sustainability efforts, which is why we publish a very detailed sustainability report every year.’
4)
Oliver Gaebe:
‘How does the company plan to further develop its fleet and technology to meet customer demands, operational efficiency and safety compliance?’
Nico Cardone:
‘We are in the middle of a comprehensive fleet renewal programme on short and medium-haul routes. We have already added 5 new Airbus A320neo aircraft to our fleet, with more to follow. On long-haul routes, our Airbus A330s are not yet ready for retirement, but here too we are currently examining options for renewing our fleet.
In anticipation of this A330 fleet renewal, we will equip our A330 aircraft with brand new cabins. Our aircraft are getting better and better equipped to improve comfort for all our passengers. We are also looking into whether we can install Wi-Fi when we introduce the new cabins.
‘Safety has priority’
Nico Cardone:
We have always maintained the highest standards and will continue to do so. That’s why we have an excellent maintenance and service crew, with the best technicians in the LH Group.’
5)
Oliver Gaebe:
‘What role does employee training and development play in your long-term planning at Brussels Airlines? How do you ensure that employee training keeps pace with the requirements of the aviation industry? Do you also create staff in Africa?’
Nico Cardone:
‘Education and permanent training are very important. Whether it’s safety training or service. We recently opened a modernised training centre in Brussels together with Lufthansa Aviation-Training. This training unit has a state-of-the-art mock-up where we can simulate all kinds of emergencies in a real aircraft cabin. We also have virtual reality training rooms and many more innovative and useful features.
‘Regular training sessions’
‘Safety training doesn’t just take place once a year as part of a refresher course, but we have prioritised the topic of safety and service throughout the year. In this way, we remind our dedicated staff of our procedures, but also share good examples or suggestions on how we can improve even further. Staff dialogue is important for us to be able to implement even the smallest optimisation measures.’
‘Commitment to Africa is being expanded’
‘The African continent is about 30.37 million square kilometres in size, making it the second largest continent in the world after Asia. Africa accounts for around 20% of the Earth’s total land area. The continent comprises 54 countries and stretches over a length of around 8,000 kilometres from north to south and 7,400 kilometres from west to east.
Africa is not only geographically huge, but also significant in terms of its population, with over 1.6 billion people and great cultural and natural diversity. The purchasing power of some regions of Africa is growing dynamically and the demand for travel is also increasing.’
‘Our staff strength’
‘Brussels Airlines as a whole has over 3,500 employees. A good proportion have African roots. Of these, we currently employ around 200 people in sub-Saharan Africa. As we plan to further expand the continent, we will also need more motivated colleagues in Africa…’
Oliver Gaebe
Thank you very much for the interview.
