Tag Archives: msn 844

Air Belgium operates its last Airbus A340-300 revenue flight

Air Belgium (2nd) has retired its last Airbus A340-300 revenue flight.

Flight KF 5961 from Fort-de-France and Pointe-à-Pitre, arrived at Brussels South Charleroi Airport on March 26 with OO-ABB according to Aviation24.be and FlightAware.

According to FlightAware:

The ex-Finnair Airbus A340-300 aircraft were the founding aircraft for the airline.

The company replaced its aging A340s with new Airbus A330-900s (below).

Top Copyright Photo: Air Belgium (2nd) Airbus A340-313 OO-ABB (msn 844) YYZ (TMK Photography). Image: 947214.

Air Belgium aircraft slide show:

Air Belgium aircraft photo gallery:

Air Belgium drops its plans to resume the Hong Kong route, will fly to other cities in China and the Americas

Air Belgium (2nd) has made this new announcement:

A painful decision, but reasonable given the current market conditions

Air Belgium apologizes to its passengers currently holding a reservation. The company is contacting its Customers concerned and is immediately initiating the full refund process.

Niky Terzakis, CEO of Air Belgium: “The economical and operational conditions are not met to viably resume the service. It is a painful decision to make but a reasonable one when it comes to preserving our development capabilities and assure continued full employment.

China mainland still our priority along other projects to the Americas

Air Belgium is currently flying on behalf of legacy airlines with success. These activities are allowing the company to be acknowledged for its quality of services, reliability, agility and flexibility. Air Belgium employment level is also continuously increasing. In this regard, the company now has 248 full time equivalent employees, compared to 176 last October and continues to hire staff weekly. One should note that by the end of this month, Air Belgium will have carried more than 200,000 passengers.

As for further development of its own. Air Belgium is preparing to serve two destinations in mainland China from Brussels-Charleroi this summer. The company is also finalizing plans aiming at starting service to the Americas by next winter. In this respect, Air Belgium has obtained required approvals and access permits from the different American and Canadian authorities. Further communications regarding these developments and upcoming projects will follow in due time.

Top Copyright Photo: Air Belgium (2nd) Airbus A340-313 OO-ABB (msn 844) LHR (SPA). Image: 943610.

Air Belgium (2nd) aircraft slide show:

Air Belgium suspends scheduled flights to Hong Kong, will focus on ACMI

Air Belgium (2nd) has made this announcement:

Air Belgium confirms that it is to temporarily pause its flights from Charleroi Airport to Hong Kong during the coming winter period. The interruption will be effective from October 1, 2018 until March 30, 2019.

The reason for the pause is the fact that Air Belgium faced the non-respect of contractual terms by its major commercial partner regarding tariffs and load factor. Under these conditions, Air Belgium is unwilling to carry out the winter program as initially planned and to endanger its financial position. In good faith we’ve tried to find a solution for our partner’s defaulting situation to date.

The negotiations went on for several weeks. Because the new season was about to start, and due to the lost confidence in the partner, Air Belgium however did not want to risk having to operate from an even more complex situation.

During the pause Air Belgium will continue operating for other legacy airlines and focus on launching its air service to Mainland China, such as Zhengzhou. We are maintaining our development plans.

The pause will have no consequences on Air Belgium’s employment level. On the contrary, we continue our hiring efforts to meet the market demands and to realize our plans.

We also would like to make clear that our decision to operate scheduled air services from Brussels Charleroi airport is not questioned and will be maintained. Customers satisfaction and the convenience has been validated by massive positive feedback and our strategy to operate from Charleroi is to remain.

Needless to say that passengers holding reservations during the suspension period will be contacted individually and handled personally.

Top Copyright Photo: Air Belgium (2nd) Airbus A340-313 OO-ABB (msn 844) LHR (SPA). Image: 943610.

Air Belgium (2nd) aircraft slide show:

British Airways to extend its sub-contract flying with Air Belgium

British Airways contracted with Air Belgium to operate its flights between London (Heathrow) and Cairo between September 3-5, 2018 while its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine inspections continue.

The British carrier will again utilize Air Belgium to operate the daily London (Heathrow) – Abu Dhabi route from September 15 to October 4, 2018.

British Airways has made this announcement:

Like other airlines around the world, we continue to carry out detailed precautionary inspections on Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines on some of our Boeing 787-9 aircraft to ensure we meet all the relevant regulatory safety requirements.

To facilitate the additional engine inspections and any associated maintenance we have had to make some minor adjustments to our long haul flight schedules this summer.

To ensure we operate as many flights for customers as possible we have leased in additional long haul aircraft from Air Belgium.

Changing your flights

If your long haul flight this summer is due to be operated by Air Belgium on behalf of British Airways we recognise that you may not wish to travel as a result. If you wish to discuss the range of options available please contact us or your travel agent if you made your booking through them.

Continuing with your flights

If you wish to fly on the Air Belgium aircraft on the date and time you had originally planned please be aware that there may be some differences in the style and types of services on offer.

In particular Air Belgium offers two long haul cabins (business class and economy class) rather than the four long haul cabins offered by British Airways.

If you have been moved from your original cabin then you have a number of options available to you. Please contact us or your travel agent to discuss these further.

Differences to your journey

A number of other changes may be relevant to your journey and these are summarised in the table below.

Product and services	Customer information
Seat reservations	Customers who already have seats allocated will automatically be allocated a similar seat. Customers who have paid for their seat and find that their newly allocated seat is no longer suitable, will be entitled to a refund of their paid seating and will be able to choose an alternative paid for seat or a free seat at check-in.
Car seats	Car seats will be accepted on these flights for an infant or child who is between 6 and 36 months old, accompanied by an adult. The car seat should have a solid back and seat with internal restraint straps installed to securely hold the child.
Child Aviation Restraint System (CARES)	You may use your own ‘CARES’ child restraint belt on board these flights in conjunction with an aircraft seat. The child must be aged over 1 year and weigh between 10-20 kg (22-44 lbs) and is only suitable for Economy class seat without airbag seatbelts.
On-board child seat/carrycot	On-board carrycots will be provided and are subject to availability on board the aircraft on the day. They will be given to customers sitting in the carrycot positions on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note child seats will not be available.
Baggage allowance	Your baggage allowance will be honoured as per your original booking and customer eligibility.
Prepaid excess baggage	If there has been a change to your booking your prepaid excess baggage will be cancelled and refunded. You will need to repurchase any excess baggage in advance of travelling.
Firearms carried in the hold	The carriage of firearms carried in the hold is not available on these flights.
Lounge access	Lounge access will be honoured as per your original booking and customer eligibility.
Additional assistance	If you have requested assistance for these flights this remains unchanged with the exception of on-board therapeutic oxygen. The provision of on-board therapeutic oxygen is not available on these flights. Customers may bring their own therapeutic oxygen provisions providing they meet certain requirements and have obtained medical clearance in advance. Further details can be found on our medical conditions page.
Special meals	Special meals are available on these flights. Any special meal requests will be retained but there may be a variance in the style of meal for some customers.
Pre-ordered meals	Pre-ordered meals are available on these flights.
Purchased meals	Pre-purchased meals are available on these flights.
Wi-Fi on board	Wi-Fi on board will not be available on these flights.
High Life Shop	Duty free/tax free shopping (including our pre-order service) will not be available on these flights.
Avios and tier points	Avios and tier points will be credited to your Executive Club account as per your original booking.

Thank you for your support and understanding as we try to minimise the levels of disruption for customers which has arisen as a result of the issues with a number of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.

Top Copyright Photo: Air Belgium (2nd) Airbus A340-313 OO-ABB (msn 844) LHR (Wingnut). Image: 943497.

Air Belgium aircraft slide show:

Air Belgium delays the start of its Hong Kong route

Air Belgium (2nd) (Brussels-South Charleroi) has announced it will delay the start-up of its new scheduled route to Hong Kong from the previously announced date of April 30 until June 3. The new carrier blamed the delay on its efforts to secure overflight permission of its flights over Russia.

Air Belgium aircraft slide show: