Brussels Airlines closes its first semester of 2022 at -89 million euro, an improvement of 38% compared to the previous year. The first months of the year were still impacted by the consequences of Omicron, while June was marked by four days of flight disruptions due to strike actions. Inflation and high fuel costs continue to influence the airline’s results, but thanks to its restructuring, the airline is set up with a competitive cost position to face the future.

In the first half of this year, Brussels Airlines welcomed 2.73 million passengers on board its flights. This is three times higher than the same period last year, when the covid pandemic and subsequent travel bans plummeted air travel demand.

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​Brussels Airlines increased its revenue by EUR 314 million or 228% year-on-year to EUR 452 million in the first half year of 2022 (previous year: EUR 138 million), thanks to expanded flight operations and higher yields. The revenues in the first semester of 2022 were still impacted by slow demand at the beginning of the year due to the Omicron wave. Later in June, the airline faced four days of flight plan disruptions due to a national manifestation and social actions. If not taking into account the strike days, June was an EBIT-positive month, in line with the estimations of Brussels Airlines’ restructuring plan.
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​Operating expenses went up by a total of EUR 282 million or 97% to EUR 572 million (previous year: EUR 290 million), due to higher volume and steep increases of costs.

“Not only the strike cut deep into our results, but also the automatic indexation in Belgium has driven up our labor cost by 6% this year alone, by 8% if we consider November’s indexation. The still very high fuel price and more general inflation, combined with the strong position of the dollar make that our costs have risen substantially. The strike impact on our financials shows how crucial social peace is for our company and we are moving in the right direction on this front, creating a renewed partnership with our unions. We continue to work on improvements for the long run in order to make sure we create growth and perspective for Brussels Airlines, while safeguarding our employees’ work-life balance.”
​Nina Oewerdieck, Chief Financial Officer at Brussels Airlines

As a result, the Adjusted EBIT in the reporting period amounted to EUR -89 million (previous year: EUR -143 million), an improvement of 38% compared to the first semester of 2021.

We see a big improvement of our result compared to last year and we will continue to see improvements as we have reached a very competitive cost position thanks to our restructuring program and our positive yield development. Also operationally we are performing quite well given the very challenging circumstances in the aviation sector across Europe due to the very fast recovery of the market demand. This is thanks to the efforts of all our employees as well as all our partners.”
​Nina Oewerdieck, Chief Financial Officer at Brussels Airlines

Africa remains a stronghold
​Brussels Airlines’ African sector continues to perform well, as it has throughout the Covid pandemic. In summer, the offer exceeds 2019 levels, thanks to an expansion of its Africa capacity. With the addition of a 9^th long haul aircraft, Brussels Airlines reinforced its position in West Africa with the opening of Ouagadougou and Conakry. The first results are looking very positive.
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​Outlook
​The fourth quarter is still a question mark, as the development of Covid is still unknown.
​Given the unforeseen high costs, the planned breakeven for the full year is not within reach anymore. For the remainder of the year, Brussels Airlines’ target is to reach a breakeven in the second semester.

“Thanks to Reboot Plus we are now properly restructured to reach for our targets. We have succeeded in bringing our company to a very competitive cost position. Combined with the successful increase of our yields, we are set up for a sustainable future. External cost factors may still influence results, though.”
​Nina Oewerdieck, Chief Financial Officer at Brussels Airlines

Employees
​In the first semester, Brussels Airlines clearly turned a page, moving from the restructuring to growth with a successful hiring campaign, showing that the airline remains an attractive employer on the market. Brussels Airlines now employs more than 3,200 people again (+6% year on year in June). 65 positions are currently still open in different departments of the company.
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​Since 1 July 2022, Tilman Reinshagen, has joined the Brussels Airlines Executive Board as Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Brussels Airlines aircraftb photo gallery:

Brussels Airlines has issued this new safety video:

Brussels Airlines launched an eye-catching video to draw the attention of her passengers to the important safety instructions of a flight. Fully in line with her long tradition of putting the very best of Belgium on the world map, the national airline took the iconic Belgian band Hooverphonic under her wing. The group wrote a catchy song based on the exact lyrics of the instructions. The result is a unique clip, in which the song is mixed with surrealistic images including an artistic homage to Magritte, another example of Belgian excellence. From August 1, the video will be rolled out on all of the airline’s long-haul aircraft.

For years now Brussels Airlines has been a flying ambassador for Belgium, offering a selection of Belgian beers, wines and chocolates on board. As from today, Belgian music is also part of that selection.

Belgian pride Hooverphonic creates unique song for Brussels Airlines
​In order to keep drawing the attention of its passengers to the crucial safety instructions on board, Brussels Airlines has for many years now created creative videos instead of the classic safety videos. Until recently, the safety instructions were presented with a humorous animated film. Earlier the Red Devils also gave the instructions. Today Brussels Airlines launches a brand new safety video which will be shown on her long-haul flights as from 1 August.

Fully in line with her long tradition of putting the very best of Belgium on the world map, the national airline took the iconic Belgian band Hooverphonic under her wing.
​The result is a four-minute clip with a catchy song supported by a visual gem with subtle references to other Belgian artists such as Magritte. The video was directed by Jan Boon and the technical part was handled by virtual reality production house Studio Regie in Merelbeke.

“The safety instructions we give on board at departure are essential. Safety is our priority but that is not a synonym for bland at Brussels Airlines. For years we have tried to attract the attention of our passengers with humour and creativity. The result of the unique collaboration with Hooverphonic is the perfect example of this. We are very happy that our Belgian pride has taken up the challenge and pulled out all the stops to create a surprising song and clip that will be going around the world from today.”
​Michel Moriaux, Head of Marketing, Brussels Airlines

Hooverphonic reveals the new song to passengers at Brussels Airport
​On 1 August Hooverphonic surprised departing passengers at Brussels Airport with a short and intimate set at one of the gates. During that set, they performed, apart from two of their own songs, the song they created for the Brussels Airlines safety video.

“When Brussels Airlines asked Hooverphonic to write a song with the text of the safety instructions, I really thought it would be impossible. But at the same time, I love that kind of challenge and we went for it. I’m glad I persevered. After a few tries, we are now ready for take-off!”
​Alex Callier, Hooverphonic

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcDDxty3zdA&w=560&h=315%5D

In other news, Brussels Airlines introduced a Green Fare for passengers flying from Denmark, Sweden and Norway from August, which includes full offsetting of CO2 emissions using sustainable fuel and investment in climate protection projects. The offer comes now that the willingness for passengers to neutralize their flight has risen significantly. Since the options for CO2-neutral flying were integrated into the booking process on brusselsairlines.com, usage among customers has increased sixfold.

Brussels Airlines, together with the other airlines of the Lufthansa Group, introduce a new Green Fare for its guests booking from Denmark, Sweden and Norway on a trial basis from August 2, 2022. As a contribution to a sustainable way of flying, the Green Fare includes a full offset of the flight’s CO2 emissions in the price of the flight. This is achieved by a combination of 20 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and 80 percent through investments in long-term climate protection projects. As an incentive, the Green fare also includes additional status miles and free rebooking options.

The Green Fare is now displayed alongside the familiar fares (Light, Classic, Flex) as an additional fare option in the online booking screen directly after the flight selection. The new offer is available in both Economy Class and Business Class for flights within Europe. In addition, starting in September, B2B travel partners in Scandinavia will also be able to take advantage of this new option. The test phase will last approximately six months.

Increasing success of sustainable options
​At the end of May, Brussels Airlines had already improved its sustainable offer, by integrating the options for CO2-neutral flying directly into the flight booking, simplifying the process for its customers to buy sustainable fuel, invest in climate projects managed by myclimate or opt for a combination of both.

Since the introduction, the use of the offers for CO2-neutral flying has increased rapidly. Whereas the usage figures of these bookings via brusselsairlines.com were previously just under one percent, they have now sixfolded.

“Brussels Airlines and the Lufthansa Group have set itself ambitious climate targets and plan to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Next to fleet modernization and more sustainable processes, innovative offers such as the new Green Fares are an important step toward that goal. The integration of sustainable options in the booking process already significantly increased the customer’s willingness ​ to invest in sustainable flying, motivating us to invest further in sustainable offerings.”
​ – Peter Gerber, CEO Brussels Airlines

Together with the Lufthansa Group, Brussels Airlines is continuously implementing a wide range of innovative measures to achieve its ambitious goal of halving net carbon emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 and flying CO2-neutral by 2050. To this end, the company is relying in particular on accelerated fleet modernization, the continuous optimization of flight operations, the use of sustainable aviation fuels, and innovative offers to make a flight CO2-neutral.

Brussels Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Brussels Airlines made this announcement:

After a two-year hiatus, Brussels Airlines is finally back to bringing nearly 25,000 festivalgoers of more than 130 nationalities to Tomorrowland in Boom. As of  July 13, 2022, more than 175 flights will depart from 69 different airports to Brussels Airport, where passengers will already feel the rhythm of the festival thanks to DJ sets amongst others.

For the 16^th edition of the world’s best music festival, 600,000 festivalgoers from more than 200 different countries will unite in Boom for three weekends of Tomorrowland, this year in the theme “The Reflection of Love.” More than 700 artists are programmed across 14 stages. ​

Brussels Airlines brings the world to Belgium and Boom

Brussels Airlines sold nearly 13,000 flight packages to music fans flying out of 69 different airports to Belgium for the festival, accounting for nearly 25,000 Tomorrowland passengers travelling to and from Brussels on more than 350 Brussels Airlines flights. Ten flights will be transformed into exclusive #TMLpartyflights with a live DJ set at an altitude of ten kilometres. The very first party flight brought the first festivalgoers from Oslo to Brussels yesterday evening, 13 July, in the company of the British DJ duo Goodboys. To immediately get into the mood, festivalgoers in Oslo were treated to the first of eight gate parties.

For the fourth time, Amare is bringing music lovers from around the world to Tomorrowland. Amare is one of Brussels Airlines’ five Belgian Icons, an Airbus A320 dedicated to Tomorrowland. The aircraft is painted on the outside with a gigantic eagle, and also brings the Tomorrowland atmosphere inside thanks to mood lighting and a Bose music system.

In total, 46,000 Global Journey packages were sold to festivalgoers of 133 nationalities. The five most common nationalities are American (almost 12%), German (10.5%), Spanish (over 7%), French and British (both just over 6%). Noteworthy is that 2% of the travellers are of Belgian nationality.

Brussels Airport to the rhythm of Tomorrowland

The unique Tomorrowland atmosphere continues upon arrival at and departure from Brussels Airport. Since mid-June a beautiful Tomorrowland globe was set up on the curb (the area between the departure hall and the car park), which lights up and spins at night.

On July 18 and 25 and August 1, DJs will be performing in the airport between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. (at Beers & Cheers, Pier A). In addition to the live music, passengers can find the clothing line by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike in the Fashion Boutique while cosmetics by Anouk Matton will be for sale in the Aelia Duty Free shop (Pier A).

Nearly three hundred Brussels Airlines’ volunteers ensure the ultimate Tomorrowland experience

As every year, Brussels Airlines is inviting everyone to take a free ride on the Ferris wheel on the festival grounds, with a stunning view of the fairy-tale landscape of Tomorrowland and beyond.

The airline’s employees will also be present at the service desk at the festival site, so that passengers can make adjustments to their flight or get the right information about their trip right away and at the festival.

In order to offer its passengers a carefree return journey after a fantastic Tomorrowland experience, Brussels Airlines has once again set up a mobile bag drop-off at the DreamVille campsite. Partygoers travelling back by plane can already check in their luggage at the campsite and therefore do not have to carry their suitcases and tents to the airport themselves.

More details are available in the infographic below.

Brussels Airlines is facing a strike from its pilots and cabin crews on June 23 through June 25.

This coincides with the European Union summit in Brussels.

The unions are upset at the high work pressure.

Brussels Airlines issued this statement:

Towards and about our passengers:

“Our first priority right now are our passengers. We sincerely regret the impact these actions have on our customers. At the moment we do not yet know how many flights will be impacted by the social action and how many will be operated as planned. We are doing everything possible to revise our flights schedule as soon as we have a view on the participation rate of our crews in the strike actions. We will inform all passengers travelling on 23, 24 and 25 June about the status of their flight and if needed, alternative travel options. We ask our passengers for their patience and to not call our service centres at this moment as they can’t provide any further information yet. Passengers can check on our website if their contact details are included in their booking (Manage My Booking) and add them if not yet done. Passengers who have booked via a tour operator or (online) travel agency need to contact their respective agency.”

​​About the social discussions:

“We regret that the talks with our social partners have not led to an agreement for our cockpit and cabin crew departments.

In the past weeks and months we have taken a series of initiatives to relieve the work pressure for our operational departments in this exceptional summer. Amongst others, we have taken out 148 flights to ease the operations. We recruited 225 additional cabin crew members and we have adapted flight duties as a response to the requests from our staff about the heavy workload.

As we were loss making in 2020, in 2021 and still as well in Quarter 1, 2022, our financial situation does not allow us to reverse or reopen the current CLAs, which were signed as part of our agreement with the Belgian Government by all our social partners in 2020 to guarantee a future for our company.

We have succeeded fairly well in fulfilling our staffing needs, customers are eager to fly with us again to their holiday destinations after two years of isolation, booking numbers are rising at high speed,… all good reasons to be optimistic for our future. After our turnaround program Reboot Plus and two years of fighting the worst crisis in our history, we are now scrambling to keep up with the fast recovery of our industry.
​Recovery, in the sense that demand is coming back at an unseen speed for the summer, but not a recovery of the heavy losses we have suffered. In aviation it is imperative that we take the opportunity of the summer months to make a profit. Furthermore, we are battling significantly increased costs, mainly but not only, due to the fuel price. A three-day strike will have a very large impact on our company’s bottom line and would force us to review the growth we had planned.”

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​Additional info:

At this time 525 flights are planned for June 23, 24 and 25. We do not yet know how many of those will be cancelled as this depends on the participation rate of our crews in the strike action. We will keep you posted on further developments.

Brussels Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Brussels Airlines made this announcement:

After two years of absence in the markets, Brussels Airlines returns to Conakry and Ouagadougou. Both destinations welcome a first flight today (June 11) out of Brussels.

From now on, Brussels Airlines will connect Brussels with both capitals three times a week.

In Conakry, the Brussels Airlines crew and passengers will be welcomed by the Belgian ambassador in Guinee, Guy Hambrouck, and by the local Brussels Airlines team of country manager Khadiatou Bah.

About the destinations and the schedules

Burkina Faso, “Country of Honest People” is located in West Africa, in the Sahel area, with a total population of 20 million. The capital Ouagadougou, often referred to as “Ouaga”, counts 3 million inhabitants. Burkina Faso is renowned internationally and in Africa for its cultural life.

Conakry is located at the coast of Guinea in West-Africa. It has a population of 3,5 million while the country counts a total of about 13 million inhabitants.

Brussels Airlines started flying to Conakry for the first time in 2002, the same year the airline was born.

Flights between Brussels and Ouagadougou and Brussels and Conakry will be operated on an Airbus A330. The early arrival in Brussels offers connection options to the entire Brussels Airlines network in Europe and the US.

Brussels Airlines is the home carrier of Belgium and one of the four network airlines of the Lufthansa Group. It connects the European capital from Brussels Airport with over 85 destinations, 17 of which are in Sub Saharan Africa. The company employs 3,100 people and operates 41 aircraft.

In other news, the company is facing an “indefinite strike” threat by its pilots. On Friday, June 10, the unions representing the pilots filed an “indefinite strike notice”.

Brussels Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Brussels Airlines made this announcement:

As part of its new brand identity, Brussels Airlines is creating a new uniform for its cabin crew, pilots and airport staff. The Belgian airline is partnering with the Fashion Department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, where second year student Gabrielle Szwarcenberg emerged as the winner among five students who each drew three signature items in a competition to become the designer of the complete Brussels Airlines uniform. With this collaboration, Brussels Airlines wants to show even more of its Belgian DNA and promote the Belgian fashion scene worldwide.

Belgian cooperation

As of summer 2023, Brussels Airlines’ cabin crew, pilots and airport staff will wear a new uniform. To design the uniform, the airline partnered with the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. After surveying the staff about their needs and preferences, five promising students from the academy were selected and briefed to convey the new brand identity in the design of a new uniform.

“The Fashion Department of theRoyal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp is internationally renowned in the fashion world. The academy exudes quality and Belgitude, making it the ideal match for Brussels Airlines. With this collaboration, we want to support emerging talent and offer the Belgian fashion scene a worldwide stage”
​Michel Moriaux, Head of Marketing at Brussels Airlines

“Although the Antwerp fashion department is primarily focused on artistic and experimental subjects and we are overloaded with requests for collaborations year after year, we were instantly inclined to say yes to the partnership with Brussels Airlines because it is a Belgian icon. It gave the students the opportunity to discover another side of the fashion spectrum and to translate this into a concrete project. We are very proud of our promising student Gabrielle Szwarcenberg.”
​Katarina Van Den Bossche, Fashion Design teacher 2^nd year & coordinator of the Antwerp Fashion Department SHOW

Comfortable, modern and classy

With its new branding, launched in November last year, Brussels Airlines got a fresher look and logo, highlighting the diversity and Belgian character of the airline. Now the staff of Brussels Airlines will get to wear a uniform that emphasizes the same values.

“We listened carefully to our uniform-wearing colleagues about what they want and expect from their uniform. Their comfort is very high on the list of priorities in this process, but sustainability and inclusiveness also play an important role. We want everyone to feel good in their uniform and to be able to be themselves. We are impressed with what we have seen from Gabrielle Szwarcenberg and look forward to develop the uniform with her.”
​Barbara Fleury, Uniform Coordinator at Brussels Airlines

“The fact that I was selected out of the insanely talented creatives in the Antwerp Fashion Department is already an honour, but to have been chosen the winner is mind-blowing to me. I am so thrilled to get the opportunity to completely redesign the airline aesthetic with a fresh new design perspective; and especially for such an iconic Belgian company as Brussels Airlines.”
​Gabrielle Szwarcenberg, second year student at the Fashion Department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp

In the coming months, Brussels Airlines and Gabrielle Szwarcenberg will design all the pieces of the uniform and choose a supplier to produce them. The new uniform will be presented in spring 2023.

In other news, the unions representing the pilots are threatening a strike in either late June or early July.

Brussels Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Brussels Airlines issued this financial report:

Brussels Airlines closes its first quarter at EUR -62 million, an improvement of 11% compared to the previous year. Traditionally the lowest performing period of the year in the aviation industry, the first quarter was still impacted by the consequences of the Covid pandemic.

Brussels Airlines’ revenue increased by EUR 102 million or 185% year-on-year to EUR 157 million in the first quarter of 2022 (previous year: EUR 55 million), thanks to a 160% increase in production (Available Seat-Kilometres). The first quarter of 2021 was highly impacted by the non-essential travel ban, which was put into place by the Belgian government, whereas the beginning of 2022 was suffering from rising COVID infection numbers caused by the Omicron variant.

Operating expenses went up by a total of EUR 97 million or 75% to EUR 227 million (previous year: EUR 130 million), principally due to higher volume and price-related increase of fuel expenses, as well as higher volume related fees and charges. The Adjusted EBIT in the reporting period amounted to EUR –62 million (previous year: EUR –70 million).

“In the first quarter we still felt the impact of the pandemic, although we were able to increase our offer by 160%. The direct impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war remained very limited for us so far, as Brussels Airlines did not have any planned operations to or over the affected region. What we do feel is the fuel price increase, although for now we are still well protected for a large part thanks to our hedging policies. We are now looking ahead to a high-demand summer as people return to travelling after the pandemic.”
​- Nina Oewerdieck, Chief Financial Officer at Brussels Airlines

This year, Brussels Airlines plans to bring back its capacity to 80% of 2019 levels, thanks to the addition of two medium haul aircraft and one additional long haul aircraft, to reinforce its position in West Africa and to further strengthen its hub in Brussels. Demand is expected to be very high as the pandemic restrictions dissipate around the world.

As of July 1, 2022, Tilman Reinshagen, currently Vice President Ground Operations Hub Airlines Frankfurt, will become a member of the Brussels Airlines Executive Board as Chief Operating Officer (COO); his appointment is still subject to the approval of the SN Airholding Board of Directors; he succeeds Edi Wolfensberger, who took over the position of COO at Eurowings as of 1 April 2022.

Brussels Airlines aircraft photo gallery: