Tag Archives: Brussels

Qatar Airways is coming to Durban, South Africa

Qatar Airways (Doha) has announced a major expansion in South Africa with the launch of a new destination Durban while simultaneously increasing its weekly frequencies to Johannesburg. The airline will also increase its weekly frequency to Cape Town going up from five flights a week to a daily service.

Effective from December 17, 2015, the airline will launch four new weekly flights to Durban via Johannesburg bringing the total frequency to Johannesburg up from 10 weekly flights to a double-daily service.

From October 1, 2015, Qatar Airways will be operating daily flights to Cape Town ahead of the busy 2015/16 winter travel season, an increase from five weekly flights this winter.

Durban will be Qatar Airways’ third route to South Africa following Johannesburg and Cape Town, both of which started in January 2005. All three routes will be operated with its 254-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Qatar Airways aircraft slide show:

Brussels Airlines to add Bordeaux and Zagreb

Brussels Airlines (Brussels) will launch a new service to Bordeaux on March 29, 2015. Bordeaux is the twelfth destination of Brussels Airlines in France.

Brussels Airlines will fly to Bordeaux four times a week during the entire summer season which starts at the end of March and lasts till the end of October. All flights are operated with Airbus A319 aircraft and the flight time is 1 hour 35 minutes.

Brussels Airlines has also announced flights to a second Croatian destination: Zagreb. On October 24, 2014 Brussels Airlines already announced six new European destinations for the 2015 summer season: Dubrovnik, Calvi, Lourdes, Olbia, Billund and St. Petersburg.

Starting on September 20, 2015, Brussels Airlines will operate six flights per week between Brussels and Zagreb, in the afternoon. Zagreb is the 18th European capital that Brussels Airlines connects to Brussels, and the third capital in Eastern Europe, next to Warsaw and Riga.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-112 OO-SSK (msn 1336) prepares to touch down in malaga, Spain.

Brussels Airlines aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-1/Airlines-Europe-1/Brussels-Airlines

Czech Airlines to add seven new destinations next summer after years of cutbacks

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) has announced it will add seven destinations for the 2015 summer season.

In stages, Czech Airlines will launch operations on its regular scheduled connections to Oslo (OSL), Billund (BLL), Cork (ORK), Bilbao (BIO) and Bologna (BLQ). The carrier also plans to launch two new connections with Russia – flying to Kaliningrad (KGD) and Kazan (KZN). Additionally, Czech Airlines will launch a connection between Billund and Oslo, and Copenhagen and Stockholm.

The airline continued;

“After a year of cutbacks, we plan to expand the existing Czech Airlines’ network starting the 2015 summer season. We feel that there is a significant business potential in our new destinations which we would like to use fully. At the same time, we would like to capitalize on Czech Airlines great reputation in the Russian market and, effective April 2015, service a total of nine destinations in Russia,” said Jozef Sinčák, Chairman of Czech Airlines Board of Directors, and added: “We have set the new destinations timetables in a way to best use the market potential and at the same time appeal to both local and transfer passengers as the connections were designed with the customers’ priorities in mind. We will operate all new destinations using the existing free capacity of Czech Airlines and thus improve the fleet use.”

New Czech Airlines’ Routes in North Europe

Czech Airlines will launch operations on its Prague – Oslo route on March 30, 2015. At the beginning of the summer season, the carrier will service the route twice weekly. Effective May 30, 2015, two more return connections will be added on this route, which will then be operated with four weekly frequencies until the end of the summer season. Czech Airlines will use Airbus A319 aircraft exclusively to service the route. The new Oslo service was designed for local – i.e. point-to-point passengers from the Czech Republic and Norway and also for transfer passengers travelling from Norway to Mediterranean cities – destinations offered by Czech Airlines for the second year during the summer season on a code-share basis with Travel Service. For now, Czech Airlines plans to operate the Oslo connection on a seasonal basis.

New Czech Airlines’ flights to Billund, Denmark are scheduled to first take off on March 29, 2015. The route will be operated by the carrier four times a week, year round, by ATR 42 aircraft with the option of using a larger ATR 72 aircraft if necessary. Business travellers and tourists from both countries – i.e. the Czech Republic and Denmark, form the target group of this new flight.

On work days, i.e. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, these Czech Airlines’ flights will continue from Billund to Oslo. The carrier wants to apply its successful model of the Prague – Bratislava – Košice and Prague – Hamburg – Gothenburg routes.

Czech Airlines’ News in West and South Europe

A new Cork connection will be serviced from May 14, 2015 until the end of the summer season with two return flights a week. The timetable was tailored to the priorities of the main target group, i.e. tourists from the South-West part of Ireland travelling to Prague for a long weekend, complemented by Czech tourists headed to explore the South of Ireland.

Czech Airlines will service its new connection to Bilbao during the main operational season, i.e. between June 1 and September 30, 2015, offering two return frequencies a week. The Bilbao connection, just as the other new connections, was designed predominantly for tourists. Czech Airlines will service both the Cork and the Bilbao route by Airbus A319 aircraft. Both connections will be operated on a seasonal basis, i.e. with services break during the winter seasons.

Czech Airlines will be returning to the Prague – Bologna route after a four-year pause. The carrier will operate it year round four times a week with ATR 72 aircraft from March 29, 2015. This connection was designed for business travellers and tourists alike.

Czech Airlines’ Plans in Russian Market during 2015 Summer Season

Despite this year’s year-on-year drop in passenger demand for travels between Russia and the Czech Republic, Russian market has been of great significance for Czech Airlines with high potential for further development thanks to the option of launching operations to new destinations located there. That is why Czech Airlines plans to launch two new connections within the market at the beginning of the 2015 summer season – to Kaliningrad and to Kazan.

Connections between Prague and Kazan will be operated by Czech Airlines twice weekly, using Airbus A319 aircraft. The timetable for the new Prague – Kaliningrad route is designed in the same way as the Prague – Kazan connection, using the same attractive combination of weekdays of operations for weekend and mid-week stays in Prague. Czech Airlines will operate the service using ATR 72 turbo propeller aircraft. Both connections will be operated year round.

Effective 2015 summer season, Czech Airlines will service a total of nine destinations and operate eleven regular scheduled connections between the Czech Republic and Russia. Alongside the mentioned Kazan and Kaliningrad services, there will be Czech Airlines’ services from Prague to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Rostov upon Done, Ufa and Perm, alongside two connections from Karlovy Vary to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Copyright Photo: Karl Cornil/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-112 OK-OER (msn 3892) with the special Instaforex markings departs from Brussels.

Czech Airlines aircraft slide show:

American Airlines shifts the Edinburgh-Philadelphia route to New York JFK

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) is planning to shift US Airways‘ Edinburgh-Philadelphia route next summer to an Edinburgh-New York (JFK) routing according to the Scotsman city American sources. AA will operate the seasonal flight between May and September.

Copyright Photo: Karl Cornil/AirlinersGallery.com. US Airways’ Boeing 757-23N N203UW (msn 30548) in American colors departs from Brussels.

American Airlines (current livery):

American Airlines-US Airways:

Blue Air to add the Bucharest-Milan Linate route

Blue Air (Blue Air Transport Aerian S.A.) (Bucharest) will add the Bucharest-Milan (Linate) route on December 18.

According to the airline, the flights will be operated six times a week, until the end of the 2014-2015 winter season.

Blue Air aircraft slide show:

Adria Airways to add new routes to Berlin, Brussels, Paris and Stockholm

Adria Airways (Ljubljana) plans to introduce two new routes from Ljubljana – to Stockholm and Berlin – and two new routes from Tirana – to Brussels and Paris.

Adria will fly twice a week to the Swedish capital, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first flight to Stockholm is scheduled for April 23, 2015. The first flight to Berlin, where Adria will fly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, will be on April 24, 2015.

During the summer season Adria will again operate two flights a week to London, beginning on May 16, 2015, and to Manchester, from May 30, 2015 onwards.

Flights between Tirana and Brussels and Tirana and Paris will begin on March 31, 2015. Adria will connect Tirana to the Belgian and French capitals twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Bombardier CRJ900 (CL-600-2D24) S5-AAU (msn 15283) taxies at Brussels.

Adria Airways aircraft slide show:

Brussels Airlines to serve six new destinations next summer

Brussels Airlines (Brussels) next summer season is adding six new destinations; Billund (starting on March 29), Calvi (May 30), Dubrovnik (April 25), Lourdes (May 11), Olbia (May 27) and St. Petersburg (March 30).

The airline issued this statement:

Brussels Airlines expands its network for summer 2015, adding no less than six new destinations: St. Petersburg, Dubrovnik, Calvi, Lourdes, Olbia and Billund.

The flight frequencies of Tel Aviv and Malta will be increased.

New Destinations

As from March 29, Brussels Airlines starts flights to Billund, in the Danish Jutland region. The airline will operate two daily flights, with a schedule that is convenient to both business travelers and tourists, and which allows connections to other destinations in Europe, Africa and the States.

Brussels Airlines also reinforces its Southern European flight offer, by adding Dubrovnik to its network, the gateway to the magnificent Croatian coast and islands. Dubrovnik will be served twice a week. Weekly flights to Calvi (Corsica) and Olbia (Sardinia) will also be added to the summer timetable.

The airport of Lourdes will be served twice per week (Monday and Friday) between May 11 and September 25. With its Lourdes service, Brussels Airlines offers an alternative travel solution to the thousands of pilgrims visiting the French town.

Brussels Airlines adds St Petersburg to its network, a cultural top destination which wasn’t connected to a Belgian airport yet. The city of the Tsars, known for its Hermitage museum, is served three times per week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday).

More flights to existing destinations

The flight offer to Malta, which was launched successfully last summer, returns in 2015 with more flight frequencies. Because of the large demand, Brussels Airlines will set course for Malta twice per week (Thursday and Sunday) between April and October.

More flights are also added between Brussels Airport and Tel Aviv. Starting next summer season, the destination will be served twice daily (morning and afternoon/night flight).

Seville, the capital of Andalucía, will be operated four instead of three times per week and Faro, the gateway to the Algarve, will be served six instead of five times per week.

Brussels Airlines continues its flights to other popular summer destinations next summer, including Nice, Malaga, Barcelona, Florence, Alicante, Marrakech, Agadir, Athens, Naples, Porto, Palermo, Catania, Venice or one of the many other European destinations.

One of the best airline TV commercials (SN Brussels Airlines):

Brussels Airlines Aircraft Slide Show:

Swiss to reinvent itself as the “Next-Generation Airline of Switzerland” with 22 new European routes and a new cabin design

Swiss International Air Lines (Zurich) is reinventing its European network with 22 new routes from Zurich for the next summer season and a new cabin look. The new strategy is called the “Next-Generation Airline of Switzerland”. The airline issued this statement:

Swiss (styled as “SWISS”) will be investing billions of Swiss francs in advanced aircraft, attractive destinations and further product enhancements over the next few years as part of its “Next-Generation Airline of Switzerland” strategy. The airline will be adding 22 new European destinations to its Zurich network with the start of the 2015 summer schedules, and will also be commencing a new Geneva-Lugano service. On board, meanwhile, the carrier will introduce a new-look cabin on its European Airbus fleet from the end of November onwards, along with fresh new Swiss products for its inflight foodservice in the Swiss Economy cabin.

Swiss, The Airline of Switzerland, will be investing several billion Swiss francs in its aircraft fleet and in making its products and services even more appealing to its guests. In doing so, it will also be putting an even firmer focus on the Swiss population’s air travel needs, and on keeping Switzerland even better connected with the world.

New European destinations from Zurich and Geneva

From the start of the 2015 summer schedules, Swiss will be supplementing its traditional hub concept with a new point-to-point system and expanding its Zurich-based European network through the addition of 22 new destinations. Sixteen of the new points – Naples, Bari, Bilbao, Porto, Toulouse, Leipzig, Dresden, Graz, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Riga, Krakow, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Sofia and Zagreb – will be provided with year-round service, while six of them – Palermo, Brindisi, Malta, Thessaloniki, Izmir and Santiago de Compostela – will be served in the summer months. Parallel to this, Swiss will also be expanding its range of services from and to Geneva, with the addition of 16 weekly Geneva-Lugano flights. The innovations will give Swiss a highly attractive timetable with more nonstop connections than ever, to meet the needs of the Swiss people, the Swiss economy and the Swiss tourist sector.

Refurbishment of the European Airbus fleet

Swiss will also be introducing extensive innovations for its European aircraft fleet. Work will begin this November on a number of enhancements to its Airbus A320s and A321s that will also increase their seating capacity. By adopting a new type of seat which offers more legroom than at present, the new configurations will offer passengers the same comfort levels as today, and even more comfort in the Business Class section. At the same time, capacity will be increased by 12 seats on the A320 and by 19 seats on the A321. The new cabin interiors (including the seat covers) will also be modified to the style already seen in the Swiss Lounges and on the long-haul fleet. The first A320-family aircraft with the new-style cabin will be back in service towards the end of November.

New Swiss Economy foodservice on European flights

The refurbishment of the European Airbus fleet will also see the adoption of a new foodservice concept for the Swiss Economy cabin. Under the new approach, all the products will be sourced fresh daily from local Swiss producers. And these will include – depending on the flight’s length – warm quiches, fresh bakery items or (on longer flights) fresh salads and warm desserts. The meals will also be served in an attractive new packaging. As a result of these innovations, Swiss will now offer quality Swiss products in Swiss Economy on all European flights.

Billions of investment in one of the most advanced aircraft fleets

Swiss is continuously investing in its aircraft fleet. On the short- and medium-haul front the airline will be taking delivery of 30 new Bombardier CS100s from next year onwards to replace the present Avro (BAe) RJ100 fleet. The Airbus fleet will be further expanded with the arrival of a new Airbus A321ceo in 2016. And between 2019 and 2022 Swiss will add ten state-of-the-art new Airbus A320neos and five Airbus A321neos to its fleet to replace ten of its older A320s and five A321s. Swiss also holds ten further options on A320neo-family aircraft. And on the long-haul front, six Boeing 777-300 ERs will join the Swiss fleet from 2016 onwards. All in all, the new aircraft represent a total investment of some CHF 5 billion.

Swiss:

EgyptAir to end Manchester service on October 25

EgyptAir (Cairo) will end Cairo-Manchester service on October 25 per Airline Route. The route is operated five days a week.

The route, served by Boeing 737-800s, started on June 1, 2013.

EgyptAir:

Brussels Airlines to retire the last BAe RJ85 tomorrow

Brussels Airlines (Brussels) is planning to phase out its last BAe (Avro) RJ85 tomorrow (September 19). The last flight is scheduled to be a roundtrip flight from Brussels to Stockholm (Bromma) and return. The last flight will be flown with the pictured OO-DJP (msn E2287). After the retirement, Brussels will continue to operate 12 BAe (Avro) RJ100s.

In other news, the company is now using a new tagline:

“The new tagline ‘We Go The Extra Smile’ expresses this mission and the airline no longer speaks about passengers, but calls them ‘guests’ instead.”

The airline appears to also be heading towards a new livery with this short statement:

“Brussels Airlines has teamed up with marketing agency TBWA, who have worked out a fresh new style for the airline, with new colors which will be used in all future campaigns.”

Meanwhile the airline is reporting an increase in traffic in August and released this statement:

“Brussels Airlines registered a very strong passenger growth of 19.1% during the month of August. In total, the airline welcomed over 100,000 passengers more compared to the same month last year. The seat load factor rose by 4.4 percentage points to 81.5%.
A total of 622,845 passengers opted for a European or intercontinental Brussels Airlines flight last month. That’s 100,055 more passengers than in August 2013. The strong growth is due to the expansion of the flight offer to Mediterranean summer destinations, the highly competitive ticket fares and the increase in the number of connecting passengers (intra-European and European-intercontinental). With this increase, Brussels Airlines follows the general growth trend registered by Brussels Airport.

Out of the 622,845 passengers, 520,422 flew to short or medium-haul destinations and 102,423 boarded a flight to or from the US or Africa.

The growth trend, which Brussels Airlnes has continuously registered since the beginning of the year, has also led to a higher overall seat load factor. The passenger load factor grew by 4.4 percentage points to 81.5%, a record in the history of the airline.

In addition to its scheduled flight activity, Brussels Airlines operated many holiday flights for tour operators, meeting and incentive agencies and sports clubs. The most important event last month was without a doubt Red Devils flight ‘SN2014’.”

Top Copyright Photo: Karl Cornil/AirlinersGallery.com. OO-DJP arrives back at the Brussels base.

Brussels Airlines: