Fresh from winning the inaugural outstanding contribution award at World Routes 2017, Brussels Airport’s head of aviation development Léon Verhallen opens up about his greatest achievements, the future of airline marketing and how the airport is recovering from a terrorist attack less than two years ago.
Irish regional carrier CityJet has secured a two-year wet-lease deal with Brussels Airlines to operate three Sukhoi SSJ100 Superjets for the Belgian flag carrier on routes from Brussels Airport from April 2017. The deal follows a formal tender from Brussels Airlines to support its network needs as it completes the retirement of its Avro RJ100 fleet from commercial operation.
Around a month after operations recommenced at Brussels Airport after the terrorist attacks of March 22, 2016, the number of passengers per flight has been rising faster than expected, so a new flight schedule has been drawn up to enable all passengers to leave in complete safety and comfort.
Star Alliance partners Brussels Airlines and United Airlines have moved quickly to partly fill the void left following Jet Airways’ decision to close its scissor hub at Brussels Airport from spring next year. The main gateway to the Belgian capital city is a key European gateway for the airline grouping and accounts for around 52 per cent of the departure capacity.
The new Brussels – Thessaloniki route will support the strong Greek diaspora in Belgium and southern Netherlands. Many Greeks who live in Belgium have their roots in Northern Greece and return to their birthplace each summer.
The new flying for Brussels Airlines is being made possible by the positioning of one of its Embraer ERJ-145s into the Belgian capital. This aircraft will enable it to offer an improved flight schedule on its existing East Midlands – Brussels route and enable UK business travellers to spend a full day in Brussels and return in the evening, without having to overnight in the city.
At the launch of its summer 2016 schedule, Brussels Airlines confirms new routes will be introduced from Brussels to Belfast City, Crete, Jerez, while new winter routes to Las Palmas in Gran Canaria and Tenerife will be continued into the summer.
Ghana is one of the fastest-growing African countries, both economically and in terms of tourism. It has a growing economy thanks to oil and cocoa, a growing touristic potential and a population that is known for its friendliness and hospitality. Its GDP continues to grow steadily, trade relations are booming and the number of foreign visitors and tourists increases year-on-year.
The five-times-weekly operation will commence from September 14, 2015, and will be good news for many EU officials and businessmen who commute between Bremen and the European capital via other European airports.
Although Belgium represents the 6th source market for Tenerife with 2.7 per cent of the total tourists travelling each year to the island, they also represent the 4th source market and account for 4.7 per cent of tourists staying in 5-Star hotels, according to visitor information.
