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Air Belgium S.A. is a Belgian scheduled and charter airline headquartered in Mont-Saint-Guibert and based at Brussels Airport.[2]

This article is about the airline established in 2016. For the airline between 1979 and 2000, see Air Belgium (1979–2000).
Air Belgium S.A.
IATA ICAO Callsign
KF ABB AIR BELGIUM
Founded27 May 2016; 6 years ago (2016-05-27)
Commenced operations3 June 2018; 4 years ago (2018-06-03)
HubsBrussels Airport
Secondary hubs
Fleet size10
Destinations9
HeadquartersMont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium[1]
Key peopleNiky Terzakis (CEO)
Revenue €35,000,000 (2020)
Employees278 (2019)
Websiteairbelgium.com

History



Foundation and early years


In the summer of 2016, the company was started with CEO Niky Terzakis, who worked previously for ASL Airlines Belgium, formerly TNT Airways.[3][4][5] 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.[2]

The first flight from Brussels to Hong Kong was planned to take off in October 2017,[3] however this was postponed as the airline lacked an air operator's certificate (AOC).[6] 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.[2][7]

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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]

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.

On 21 September 2018, the airline announced that scheduled operations between Charleroi and Hong Kong would be suspended during winter,[11][12] and the airline would instead focus on charter operations. The route should have restarted at the end of March 2019,[11] 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.[13]

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.[14]


Developments since 2020


On 30 January 2021, Air Belgium announced that cargo flights will start with four Airbus A330-200F based in Liège Airport, on behalf of French shipping giant CMA CGM, which purchased the airframes and contracting with Air Belgium to fly them.[15] 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.[16]

In November 2022, Air Belgium announced the need of a recapitalization to avoid bankruptcy after accumulating severe losses.[17] The airline subsequently also announced to cut and suspend several passenger routes.[18]


Destinations


As of September 2022, Air Belgium operates or has previously operated scheduled passenger flights to the following destinations:[19]

Country / Territory City Airport Start date End date Notes Refs
BelgiumBrusselsBrussels Airport15 October 2021PresentHub[20][21]
CharleroiBrussels South Charleroi Airport3 June 2018PresentSecondary Hub[22]
BonaireKralendijkBonaire International Airport4 November 2022Presentsuspended[23][24]
CuraçaoWillemstadCuraçao International Airport3 July 2021Presentsuspended[23][25]
Dominican RepublicPunta CanaPunta Cana International Airport15 December 2021Presentsuspended[23][26]
GuadeloupePointe-à-PitrePointe-à-Pitre International Airport6 December 2019Present[14]
Hong KongHong KongHong Kong International Airport3 June 20181 October 2018Terminated[22][27][28][13]
MartiniqueFort-de-FranceMartinique Aimé Césaire International Airport6 December 2019Present[14]
MauritiusPort LouisSir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport15 October 2021Present[20][21]
South AfricaCape TownCape Town International Airport14 September 2022Present[29]
JohannesburgO. R. Tambo International Airport14 September 2022Present[29]

Fleet


An Air Belgium Airbus A330-200F operated for CMA CGM Air Cargo
An Air Belgium Airbus A330-200F operated for CMA CGM Air Cargo
A former Air Belgium Airbus A340-300 which was the airline's first type and has been retired in 2022.
A former Air Belgium Airbus A340-300 which was the airline's first type and has been retired in 2022.

Current fleet


As of October 2022, Air Belgium operates the following aircraft:[30][31][32]

Air Belgium fleet
Aircraft In
service		 Orders Passengers Notes
B P E Total
Airbus A330-200 1 1[33] 22 – 240 262
Airbus A330-900 2 — 30 21 235 286
Air Belgium Cargo fleet
Airbus A330-200F 4 — Cargo operated for CMA CGM Air Cargo
Airbus A330-200/P2F 1 — Cargo operated for Hongyuan Group
Boeing 747-8F 2 — Cargo operated for Hongyuan Group
Total 10 1

Former fleet


The airline previously operated the following aircraft:

Air Belgium retired fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A340-300 4 2018 2022[34] Replaced by Airbus A330-900

See also



References


  1. "Contact Us - Air Belgium". airbelgium.com.
  2. "Air Belgium to launch operations from Brussels South Charleroi Airport in March 2018". Aviation24.be. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  3. "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.
  4. "Air Belgium is one step closer to its launch: now hiring cabin and cockpit crew". Aviation24.be. 5 December 2016.
  5. "Air Belgium". Airliner World (October 2016): 7.
  6. "Two investment companies have taken a 25 percent share in Air Belgium - Aviation24.be". 28 October 2017.
  7. "Air Belgium selects Brussels South Charleroi Airport". Aviation24.be. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  8. "Air Belgium secures AOC, preps for launch". ch-aviation.com. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  9. dhnet.be - On connaît la date du vol inaugural de la compagnie Air Belgium (French) 2 April 2018
  10. aviation24.be - Air Belgium reschedules first flight from Brussels South Charleroi to Hong Kong to 3 June 2018 25 April 2018
  11. Belga (21 September 2018). "Air Belgium suspend pour l'hiver sa liaison vers Hong Kong" (in French). RTBF.
  12. "Media Statement Air Belgium (English)". AirBelgium.com. 21 September 2018.
  13. "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.
  14. "Air Belgium launches flights from Brussels South Charleroi to French Antilles, mulls more destinations". www.aviation24.be. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  15. "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.
  16. "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.
  17. aviation24.be - By the end of this year, Air Belgium needs at least €10 million to recapitalise 8 November 2022
  18. rci.fm - Air Belgium réduit la voilure vers la Caraïbe (French) 9 November 2022
  19. "Flight Schedule". Air Belgium. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  20. Liu, Jim (16 October 2020). "Air Belgium revises NW20 operations as of 16OCT20". Routesonline. Informa Markets. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  21. "Air Belgium launches new route from Brussels to Mauritius". anna.aero. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  22. 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.
  23. rci.fm - Air Belgium réduit la voilure vers la Caraïbe (French) 9 November 2022
  24. Deen, Tanya (15 March 2022). "Air Belgium to Fly to Bonaire Starting November 2022". InfoBonaire. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  25. "Air Belgium starts regular flights between Belgium and Martinique to Curaçao". Air Belgium (Press release). Curaçao Chronicle. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  26. @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.
  27. McWhirter, Alex (22 September 2018). "Air Belgium to suspend Brussels-Hong Kong". Business Traveller. Panacea Media Limited. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  28. Nowack, Timo (14 March 2019). "Air Belgium sagt den Neustart ab" [Air Belgium cancels the restart]. aeroTELEGRAPH (in German).
  29. "Air Belgium To Begin Flights To Johannesburg And Cape Town From September". Aviation Ghana. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  30. "Seat Map | On Board".
  31. "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World: 5. October 2019.
  32. "Air Belgium Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  33. "Air Belgium takes first A330-200". Ch-Aviation. 10 October 2022.
  34. aerotelegraph.com (German) 29 March 2022


Media related to Air Belgium at Wikimedia Commons


На других языках

[de] Air Belgium (2016)

Air Belgium ist eine belgische Fluggesellschaft mit Sitz in Mont-Saint-Guibert und operativer Basis auf dem Flughafen Brüssel-Charleroi.
- [en] Air Belgium (2016)

[fr] Air Belgium (depuis 2016)

Air Belgium (code AITA : KF; code OACI : ABB) est une compagnie aérienne belge fondée le 27 mai 2016. Elle s'occupe principalement du transport long-courrier de passagers et du fret.

[it] Air Belgium

Air Belgium è una compagnia aerea belga con sede a Mont-Saint-Guibert e basata all'aeroporto di Charleroi-Bruxelles Sud.[1]

[ru] Air Belgium

Air Belgium — бельгийская авиакомпания, базирующаяся в аэропорту Брюссель-Шарлеруа[1]. Штаб-квартира расположена в Мон-Сен-Гибер[2].


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