Air Belgium

Last updated

Air Belgium S.A.
Air Belgium Logo (2016).svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
KFABBAIR BELGIUM
Founded27 May 2016;8 years ago (2016-05-27)
Commenced operations3 June 2018;6 years ago (2018-06-03)
Hubs Brussels Airport
Fleet size5
Headquarters Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium [1]
Key people Niky Terzakis (CEO) [2]
Revenue Increase2.svg €140,547,477 (2021) [3]
Profit Decrease2.svg– €11,988,500 (2021) [3]
Employees345 (2021) [3]
Website airbelgium.com

Air Belgium S.A. is a Belgian charter and cargo airline headquartered in Mont-Saint-Guibert and based at Brussels Airport. [4] Founded in 2016, it initially launched as a scheduled passenger airline on 3 June 2018, before transitioning to charter and cargo operations on 3 October 2023.

Contents

History

Foundation and early years

A former Air Belgium Airbus A340-300 which was the airline's first type and was retired in 2022. Oo-abb (40727793945).jpg
A former Air Belgium Airbus A340-300 which was the airline's first type and was retired in 2022.

In the summer of 2016, the company was started with CEO Niky Terzakis, who worked previously for ASL Airlines Belgium, formerly TNT Airways. [5] [6] [7] The intention was to link Belgium to destinations in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Wuhan, Zhengzhou and Taiyuan from its base at Brussels South Charleroi Airport. [4]

The first flight from Brussels to Hong Kong was planned to take off in October 2017, [5] however this was postponed as the airline lacked an air operator's certificate (AOC). [8] In December 2017, Air Belgium announced that the first flight should now take place in March 2018 from Brussels South Charleroi Airport instead of Brussels Airport due to lower airport taxes and easy accessibility; it was also announced that, for business class and premium passengers, the airline would operate from a new dedicated terminal which would be built at the executive terminal, while economy passengers would use the regular terminal. [4] [9]

On 14 March 2018, it was announced that the airline had received its AOC from the Belgian civil aviation authority and planned to begin operating scheduled flights from mid-April. [10] On 29 March 2018, the airline flew its first revenue service by operating its Airbus A340-300 in Air Belgium livery on behalf of Surinam Airways from Amsterdam to Paramaribo. [11] On 25 April 2018, the airline announced a delay to its own inaugural flight (to Hong Kong) from 30 April to 3 June 2018 due to not having the rights to operate in Russian airspace. [12]

Since the commencement of the service for the first destination, it started operating a scheduled service between Charleroi and Hong Kong. Moreover, the other aircraft of the fleet was provided to Air France for a daily service between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Libreville during the 2018 summer season.[ citation needed ]

On 21 September 2018, the airline announced that scheduled operations between Charleroi and Hong Kong would be suspended during winter, [13] [14] and the airline would instead focus on charter operations. The route should have restarted at the end of March 2019, [13] but two weeks before the planned date Air Belgium instead announced that they would be terminating the route and working towards starting new services to mainland China in mid-2019, and the Americas in late 2019 or early 2020. [15]

On 16 July 2019, the airline announced plans for flights to Fort de France and Pointe-à-Pitre by December 2019, with further plans to fly to Kinshasa and Miami. [16]

Developments since 2020

A former Air Belgium Airbus A330-200F operated for CMA CGM Air Cargo. OO-CMA (30 Nov 2021).jpg
A former Air Belgium Airbus A330-200F operated for CMA CGM Air Cargo.

On 30 January 2021, Air Belgium announced that cargo flights would start with four Airbus A330-200F based in Liège Airport, on behalf of French shipping company CMA CGM, which purchased the airframes and contracted with Air Belgium to fly them. [17] These four planes are progressively re-matriculated in France during the 2022-2023 winter. [18] On 1 July 2021, Air Belgium announced it would add two Airbus A330-900s to its fleet and operate services between Brussels Airport and Mauritius from 15 October 2021. [19]

In November 2022, Air Belgium announced the need of a recapitalisation to avoid bankruptcy after accumulating severe losses. [20] The airline already received €19 million during the same year from its Chinese minority owners which have been already used up as the airline's primary charter business did not fully recover in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. [2] The airline subsequently also announced it would cut and suspend several passenger routes. [21] [2] In January 2023, Air Belgium announced that sufficient funding has been secured from private investors to keep operations running while there was no further financial support from the state. [22]

In September 2023, Air Belgium announced that all scheduled passenger flights would end on 3 October 2023, and their fleet would be operated for other airlines on an ACMI basis as part of the termination of passenger services. [23]

In January 2024, it has been reported that Air Belgium significantly downsized its workforce and plans to phase out both of their barely two year old Airbus A330-900 due to ongoing engine issues. [24]

On 19 September 2024, it was reported Air Belgium had filed for judicial reorganization, with plans to end its passenger flight operations by October 3. Air Belgium's cargo and ACMI businesses will continue to operate, and all flights scheduled after October 3 will be refunded to customers. [25]

Destinations

As of 3 October 2023, Air Belgium operated scheduled passenger flights to the following destinations, [26] after which the airline's scheduled operations ended. [27] The following table does not include destinations operated to by the airline's charter or cargo services.

Country / TerritoryCityAirportStart dateEnd dateNotesRefs
Belgium Brussels Brussels Airport 15 October 2021— Hub [28] [29]
Charleroi Brussels South Charleroi Airport 3 June 2018November 2022Terminated [30]
Bonaire Kralendijk Bonaire International Airport 4 November 2022November 2022Terminated [31] [32]
Curaçao Willemstad Curaçao International Airport 3 July 2021November 2022Terminated [33] [32]
Dominican Republic Punta Cana Punta Cana International Airport 15 December 2021November 2022Terminated [34] [32]
Guadeloupe Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport 6 December 2019November 2022Terminated [16]
Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong International Airport 3 June 20181 October 2018Terminated [30] [35] [36] [15]
Martinique Fort-de-France Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport 6 December 2019November 2022Terminated [16]
Mauritius Port Louis Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport 15 October 20213 October 2023Terminated [28] [29] [37]
South Africa Cape Town Cape Town International Airport 14 September 20223 October 2023Terminated [38] [37]
Johannesburg O. R. Tambo International Airport 14 September 20223 October 2023Terminated [38] [37]

Fleet

Current fleet

As of August 2024, Air Belgium operates the following aircraft: [39] [40]

Air Belgium fleet
AircraftIn
service		OrdersPassengersNotes
BPETotal
Airbus A330-900 1—3021235286To be phased-out. [41]
Air Belgium Cargo fleet
Airbus A330-200/P2F 2—CargoOperated for Hongyuan Group [42]
Boeing 747-8F 2—Cargo
Boeing 777-300ER/SF —11 [43] Cargo
Total511

Former fleet

The airline previously operated the following aircraft: [40]

Air Belgium retired fleet
AircraftTotalIntroducedRetiredNotes
Airbus A330-200 220222024
Airbus A330-200F 420212023Operated for CMA CGM Air Cargo [44]
Airbus A340-300 420182022Replaced by Airbus A330-900 [45]

See also

Related Research Articles

China Airlines is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It is one of Taiwan's two major airlines, along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly – including 91 pure cargo flights – to 102 cities across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. Carrying nearly 20 million passengers and 5700 tons of cargo in 2017, the carrier was the 33rd largest airline in the world in terms of revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) and 10th largest in terms of freight revenue ton kilometers (FRTK).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airbus A310</span> Short-fuselage derivative of the Airbus A300 airliner

The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wide-body. On 7 July 1978, the A310 was launched with orders from Swissair and Lufthansa. On 3 April 1982, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, and the A310 received its type certificate on 11 March 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airbus A330</span> Wide-body twin-engine jet airliner

The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus began developing larger A300 derivatives in the mid-1970s, giving rise to the A330 twinjet as well as the A340 quadjet, and launched both designs along with their first orders in June 1987. The A330-300, the first variant, took its maiden flight in November 1992 and entered service with Air Inter in January 1994. The slightly shorter A330-200 variant followed in 1998 with Canada 3000 as the launch operator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brussels Airport</span> International airport serving Brussels, Belgium

Brussels Airport — also informally called Brussels-National Airport or Brussels-Zaventem Airport — is an international airport in the municipality of Zaventem in Flemish Brabant, 6.5 nautical miles northeast of Brussels, Belgium. In 2019, more than 26 million passengers arrived or departed at Brussels Airport, making it the 26th busiest airport in Europe. It is home to around 260 companies, together directly employing 20,000 people and serves as the home base for Brussels Airlines and TUI fly Belgium. BRU covers 1,245 hectares and contains three runways.

Condor Flugdienst GmbH, is a German airline based in Neu Isenburg, Hesse, Germany. It was established in 1955 with Frankfurt Airport as its main base. Condor offers scheduled flights and operates, from Germany, medium-haul flights to the Mediterranean Basin and the Canary Islands as well as long-haul flights to destinations in Africa, Asia, North America, South America and the Caribbean. Whereas medium-haul flights are operated from many German airports and Zurich, long-haul flights usually depart from Frankfurt, with a few rotations operated from Düsseldorf and Munich. Condor also operates air charters.

Cebu Air, Inc., operating as Cebu Pacific, is a Philippine low-cost airline based at Pasay in Metro Manila. Founded in 1988, it is Asia's first low-cost airline and the Philippines' largest leading airline. It offers scheduled flights to both domestic and international destinations. The airline operates flights from five bases in Cebu, Clark, Davao, Iloilo, and its largest base in Manila.

EVA Airways Corporation is a Taiwanese international airline headquartered in Taoyuan City. It is one of the two largest airlines in Taiwan along with state-owned China Airlines. The privately owned airline operates passenger and dedicated cargo services to over 40 international destinations in Asia, Australia, Europe & North America. Its network fully consists of international routes, with no domestic routes. It is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax, and is the second largest airline based in Taiwan after China Airlines. EVA Air is headquartered at Taoyuan International Airport in Luzhu, Taoyuan City. The company slogan is "Sharing the World, Flying Together".

Air Hong Kong is an all-cargo airline based in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, with its main hub at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline operates an express freight network to 13 destinations in nine countries, including China, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. It has a fleet of Airbus A300-600F General Freighters, which the airline was the launch customer of this new variant. Its head office is located on the fourth floor of the South Tower of Cathay Pacific City.

China Eastern Airlines is a major airline in China, headquartered in Changning, Shanghai. It is one of the three major airlines in the country, along with Air China and China Southern Airlines.

Hong Kong Airlines Limited (HKA), operating as Hong Kong Airlines, is an airline based in Hong Kong, with its headquarters in the Tung Chung district and its main hub at Hong Kong International Airport. It was established in 2006 as a member of the HNA Group and flies to 25 destinations across Asia–Pacific. The company slogan was changed from Fresh + very Hong Kong to Where Hong Kong Begins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brussels South Charleroi Airport</span> International airport serving Charleroi, Belgium

Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA), also informally called Brussels-Charleroi Airport or Charleroi Airport, is an international airport located in Gosselies, a part of the city of Charleroi, Belgium. The airport is 4 nautical miles north of Charleroi and 46 km south of central Brussels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VLM Airlines</span> Former Belgian regional airline

VLM Airlines, short for Vlaamse Luchttransport Maatschappij – "Flemish Air Transport Company", was a Belgian airline offering scheduled, charter and ACMI services. It was headquartered at Antwerp International Airport in Deurne. It ceased operations on 31 August 2018. It is not to be confused with its Belgian sister airline VLM Airlines Brussels, which operated leisure charters and ceased operations in December 2018. A new airline known as Air Antwerp which was owned by CityJet (75%) and KLM (25%) launched operations on 9 September 2019 and consisted of ex-employees and fleet of VLM Airlines until its closure in 2021.

MNG Airlines is a Turkish cargo airline headquartered in Istanbul based at Istanbul Airport.

Wamos Air, formerly named Pullmantur Air, is a Spanish charter airline headquartered in Madrid. It mostly operates leisure charter flights from its main base at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport and also operates aircraft for other entities.

Express.Net Airlines was a cargo airline based in Naples, Florida, United States. It operated all-cargo charter and ACMI services in the United States and to Canada, Mexico, South America and the Far East. Its main base was Naples Municipal Airport.

Hi Fly is a Portuguese charter airline headquartered in Lisbon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antwerp International Airport</span> International airport serving Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp International Airport, commonly known simply as Antwerp Airport, is a small international airport located 2.9 nautical miles south of Antwerp, Belgium. The airport is used for some scheduled and charter flights, as well as business and general aviation, and served 239,517 passengers in 2022.

Brussels Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Belgium, based and headquartered at Brussels Airport. It operates to over 100 destinations in Europe, North America and Africa and also offers charter services, maintenance and crew training. It is a member of the Star Alliance as well as the International Air Transport Association. The airline's IATA code SN is inherited from its predecessors, Sabena and SN Brussels Airlines. Brussels Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group. The company slogan is ′You’re in good company′.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liège Airport</span> Cargo airport serving Liège, Belgium

Liege Airport — previously called Liege-Bierset Airport – is an international airport located in Grâce-Hollogne, 5 nautical miles west of the city of Liège, Belgium. The airport mainly focuses on air freight. At the end of 2021, freight traffic reached 1,412,498 tonnes (+26%). Liege Airport is now the 5th biggest cargo airport in Europe and the 22nd biggest in the world.

Beijing Capital Airlines, commonly known as Capital Airlines, is a Chinese low-cost airline based at Beijing Daxing International Airport. It is a subsidiary of Hainan Airlines.

References

  1. ↑ "Contact Us - Air Belgium". airbelgium.com.
  2. 1 2 3 brusselstimes.com - Charter airline Air Belgium needs €10 million to stay afloat 10 November 2022
  3. 1 2 3 "Air Belgium Central Balance Sheet Office". nbb.be. National Bank of Belgium. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "Air Belgium to launch operations from Brussels South Charleroi Airport in March 2018". Aviation24.be. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Air Belgium will start flying from Brussels Airport from October 2017 and unveils travel classes: economy, premium class and business class". Aviation24.be. 31 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Air Belgium is one step closer to its launch: now hiring cabin and cockpit crew". Aviation24.be. 5 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Air Belgium". Airliner World (October 2016): 7.
  8. ↑ "Two investment companies have taken a 25 percent share in Air Belgium - Aviation24.be". 28 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "Air Belgium selects Brussels South Charleroi Airport". Aviation24.be. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Air Belgium secures AOC, preps for launch". ch-aviation.com. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  11. ↑ dhnet.be - On connaît la date du vol inaugural de la compagnie Air Belgium (French) 2 April 2018
  12. ↑ aviation24.be - Air Belgium reschedules first flight from Brussels South Charleroi to Hong Kong to 3 June 2018 25 April 2018
  13. 1 2 Belga (21 September 2018). "Air Belgium suspend pour l'hiver sa liaison vers Hong Kong" (in French). RTBF.
  14. ↑ "Media Statement Air Belgium (English)". AirBelgium.com. 21 September 2018.
  15. 1 2 "Air Belgium renounces to resume its Hong Kong service, but remains committed to its development plans". Air Belgium (Press release). 14 March 2019. Archived from the original on 19 September 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  16. 1 2 3 "Air Belgium launches flights from Brussels South Charleroi to French Antilles, mulls more destinations". www.aviation24.be. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  17. ↑ "UPDATE: Air Belgium to launch full-cargo flights with four Airbus A330-200F planes based at Liège Airport". Aviation24.be. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  18. ↑ "CMA CGM Air Cargo Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "Air Belgium modernises its fleet, inducts 2 new A330-900; will fly from Brussels to Mauritius". AVIATION A2Z. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  20. ↑ aviation24.be - By the end of this year, Air Belgium needs at least €10 million to recapitalise 8 November 2022
  21. ↑ rci.fm - Air Belgium réduit la voilure vers la Caraïbe (French) 9 November 2022
  22. ↑ aerotelegraph.com (German) 3 January 2023
  23. ↑ aerotime.aero - Air Belgium ceases passenger flights to focus on cargo and ACMI 19 September 2019
  24. ↑ aerotelegraph.com (German) 24 February 2024
  25. ↑ Birns, Hilka (19 September 2024). "Air Belgium files for bankruptcy protection, axes pax ops". CH-Aviation. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  26. ↑ "Flight Schedule". Air Belgium. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  27. ↑ "Air Belgium is cancelling all scheduled passenger flights to focus on ACMI and freight". 18 September 2023.
  28. 1 2 Liu, Jim (16 October 2020). "Air Belgium revises NW20 operations as of 16OCT20". Routesonline. Informa Markets. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  29. 1 2 "Air Belgium launches new route from Brussels to Mauritius". anna.aero. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  30. 1 2 Orban, André (25 April 2018). "Air Belgium reschedules first flight from Brussels South Charleroi to Hong Kong to 3 June 2018". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  31. ↑ Deen, Tanya (15 March 2022). "Air Belgium to Fly to Bonaire Starting November 2022". InfoBonaire. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  32. 1 2 3 rci.fm - Air Belgium réduit la voilure vers la Caraïbe (French) 9 November 2022
  33. ↑ "Air Belgium starts regular flights between Belgium and Martinique to Curaçao". Air Belgium (Press release). Curaçao Chronicle. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  34. ↑ @AirBelgiumFans (24 September 2021). "@Airbelgium to start flights to Punta Cana from Brussels and moves Curaçao from Charleroi to Brussels !" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 September 2021– via Twitter.
  35. ↑ McWhirter, Alex (22 September 2018). "Air Belgium to suspend Brussels-Hong Kong". Business Traveller. Panacea Media Limited. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  36. ↑ Nowack, Timo (14 March 2019). "Air Belgium sagt den Neustart ab" [Air Belgium cancels the restart]. aeroTELEGRAPH (in German).
  37. 1 2 3 "Air Belgium discontinues scheduled passenger service in early-Oct 2023". anna.aero. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  38. 1 2 "Air Belgium To Begin Flights To Johannesburg And Cape Town From September". Aviation Ghana. Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  39. ↑ "Seat Map | On Board".
  40. 1 2 "Air Belgium Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  41. ↑ aerotelegraph.com - "Air Belgium forced to phase-out both Airbus A330neo" (German) 24 January 2024
  42. ↑ "Hongyuan Group- Planespotters.net". 22 December 2023.
  43. ↑ "China's Hongyuan Group orders 11+9 B777-300(SF)(ER)s". ch-aviation. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  44. ↑ "Air Belgium retires last A330-200F". ch-aviation.com. 21 November 2023.
  45. ↑ aerotelegraph.com (German) 29 March 2022

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Air Belgium at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.