Brussels Airlines, which achieved a record profit of 53 million euros last year, wants to increase its results even more strongly this year. But that won’t happen by increasing the number of flights. The company’s flights have currently shrunk by more than 10 percent compared to last year, but a tenth A330 should provide relief from June.
Although the record profit of 53 million for the year 2023 was an unprecedented result for Brussels Airlines, the figures were well below expectations and also far from the goal of making the airline structurally and sustainably profitable. This year must therefore be even better financially for the company, but that will not be an easy task with a currently shrunken supply in both capacity and destinations.
Last April, the first full month of the summer season, the company operated 10.5 percent fewer flights than the year before. This is mainly because last year the company rented two aircraft (CRJ900/1000s) from the Irish CityJet, which flew to destinations such as Bordeaux, Billund and Copenhagen, but were also occasionally used on other routes. Because these are relatively small aircraft, and because an A319 has been replaced by an A320, the total capacity offered has shrunk by less than a percent.
In the first quarter of this year, turnover (+3%) increased slightly compared to last year, but costs also increased (+2%). Revenue per passenger also increased by a few percentage points, but to see a significant improvement in the annual figures for 2024, that figure must increase further.
In June last year, the company’s fleet consisted of 43 aircraft (of which 16 A319s, 18 A320s and 9 A330s). This year, one additional aircraft will join the fleet in June: the tenth A330. The A319/A320 fleet remains exactly the same size, but slightly increased seat capacity as 1 A319 (141 seats) and 2 A320s were replaced by 3 A320neos (180 seats). As a result, capacity is currently only declining very slightly, but the tenth A330, which will mainly be used on the new Nairobi route from June, should hopefully bring that figure back above the capacity offered last summer. Otherwise it will be difficult to significantly exceed last year’s profit figures and we will have to talk about a few percent.
During the summer, Brussels Airlines will receive two more A320neos from Toulouse, but an exact delivery date has not yet been definitively announced. In principle, these aircraft serve to replace older aircraft in the fleet.
