Brussels Airlines Airbus A319 at Marseille
Taken by @younes_spotter on IG
Yesterday, Brussels Airlines announced that they are going to need to reduce their workforce and fleet to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Brussels Airlines' CEO, Dieter Vranckx, stated on the news that: "This unprecedented crisis has worsened our financial situation obliging us to take substantial and indispensable measures. The restructuring is urgently needed in order to survive the current crisis and to become structurally competitive in the future."
Lufthansa Group airlines have been suffering catastrophically with this pandemic. Brussels Airlines have had all their operations suspended since late March. Lufthansa's CEO, Carsten Spohr, stated last week that the airline had been set back 65 years in the space of 65 days!
Due to this current struggle, they decided to put a few new measures in place to deal with the crisis. They stated that their survival plan is designed to make sure that the airline will get through this pandemic. Since they have recognised that they have significantly dropped in demand, they have decided to prepare to reduce the size of the airline.
Let's begin with the mandatory costs. Due to maintenance and aircraft leasing, the airline is paying €1 million per day. They also have to refund booking for their cancelled flights since March. However, they haven't been getting any money from operations since March.
The Belgian carrier began by optimising their existing network. They removed routes which were simply unprofitable or were underperforming. This has allowed the airline to reduce their fleet by 30%, according to Brussels Airlines, as fewer aircraft are now needed. Their fleet of 52 consists of 4 Airbus A330-200s, 6 Airbus A330-300s, 16 Airbus A320s and 22 Airbus A319s according to their website.
As a result of this substantial reduction of aircraft, fewer staff members will be needed. Approximately 25% of the workforce will no longer be needed. Brussels Airlines said that they wish to keep job cuts to a minimum and they believe they can successfully safeguard the remaining 75% of jobs.
The airline has now requested support from their shareholder Lufthansa along with the Belgian government. With these new measures in place, they believe that they will secure its future in the long run. I believe that this would be crucial as it is the biggest airline in Belgium. It has been the nation's flag carrier since the 7th of November 2006, beginning operations on the 25th of march 2007. This was followed due to the collapse of their previous flag carrier, Sabena, on the 7th of November 2001. Sabena filed for bankruptcy one month prior and operated its last flight from Abidjan, Ivory Coast to Brussels via Cotonou, Benin. The Airbus A340-300 registered OO-SCZ operating flight 690 marked the last flight for the Belgian airline. Sabena was Belgium's national airline since 1923. It would be a pity for the country to see their second attempt at a flag carrier fail in this current climate.
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