In the future, the Belgian Lufthansa subsidiary will only take off with 38 instead of 54 aircraft. In addition, every fourth job at Brussels Airlines is lost.
All Brussels Airlines planes have been on the ground since 21 March. “We started the year 2020 with positive results in terms of passenger numbers and revenue,” comments boss Dieter Vranckx. But the coronavirus pandemic hits his airline “extremely hard”.
That is why Vranckx and his team have to make tough cuts. The plan is to “ensure the survival of the company,” according to a statement on Tuesday (May 12). At the core are not only requests for help from the parent company Lufthansa and the Belgian government, but also a noticeable downsizing of Brussels Airlines.
Significantly smaller fleet
The airline is therefore planning to abandon routes that are little or not profitable. It does not yet reveal which routes it is about. The fleet will also shrink by around 30 percent – from 54 to 38 aircraft.
Brussels Airlines did not give any details about this either, except that the fleet should be standardized. The Belgians currently operate three long-haul Airbus A330-200s, which are on average 21 years old, and 13 A330-300s, which are 11 years old on average, on the long-haul route. They operate 22 Airbus A319s (16 years) and 16 A320s (16 years) on short and medium-haul routes.
Every fourth job is lost
Overall, the airline and thus the number of jobs will shrink by 25 percent. Brussels Airlines announced that it would try together with the social partners to keep the number of layoffs as small as possible. “The company is confident that it can secure 75 percent of its jobs with its turnaround plan.” It also believes that it can grow profitably again as soon as demand normalizes. That is expected in 2023.
The remaining employees are facing changes in payment. The remuneration structure for employees will be simplified, says Brussels, “with the aim of remaining an attractive employer and at the same time controlling future cost developments”.
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