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DALLAS — Brussels Airlines (SN) expects three A320neos to join its fleet in 2023. The airline also announced that the board of directors had approved two more for 2024.
The Belgian carrier is also preparing for another successful summer season with new destinations around Europe and additional frequencies. SN expects its European operations to grow by 10% next summer, creating over 200 new jobs.
The airline is renewing its fleet to align with its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. By 2030, the carrier aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by half compared to 2019. SN claims that the most powerful measure of CO2 reduction and noise emissions is fleet renewal.
SN will replace its A319s with the incoming A320neos. The carrier says fuel use per flight will decrease by 11%, and fuel consumption per seat will drop by 30% due to the higher seating capacity. The A320neo aircraft use 15 to 20% less fuel than the A320ceo and produce 50% less noise.
Peter Gerber, CEO at Brussels Airlines, said: "In addition to fleet renewal, intermodality and alternative fuels are important pillars to achieve our climate ambitions. Connecting Brussels Airport to the high-speed train network is essential to reduce short flights. That is not the case today. In addition, most of the emissions come from long-haul flights, for which there is no suitable alternative today. That's why we, together with the whole sector, must invest more in alternatives to fossil fuels."
The CEO added, At Brussels Airlines we aspire to have the first flight with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in 2023. However, in order to use this more climate-friendly SAF on a large scale, major investments will have to be made in production facilities. Investments that we as a sector cannot bear alone."
European Growth
SN plans to grow its European sector by 10% next summer with the help of four additional aircraft. This addition of aircraft will add 200 jobs within the company. Two A320s will permanently join the carrier's fleet and be deployed throughout the medium-haul network.
In addition to the A320s, SN will wet-lease two CRJ aircraft for the summer season from CityJet. The carrier plans to operate these smaller aircraft to secondary markets such as Bordeaux (BOD) and Billund (BLL).
The new jobs will mainly be for flying staff, some of whom have already started training with the carrier. Over the next few months, SN plans to hire 20 pilots and 90 cabin crew in order for the crews to be trained by next summer. The carrier also plans to hire 30 technicians, 50 airport employees, and 40 commercial and support positions, bringing the total number of vacancies to 230.
Over the course of 2022, SN has already hired more than 300 new employees. These hires were both to ensure growth last summer and stable operations in the current winter season.
Featured Image: Brussels Airlines A319. Fabrizio Spicuglia/Airways
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