Belgian flag carrier Brussels Airlines plans to repay the loan it was given to see it through the pandemic by the end of the year. Despite industrial action the airline performed well last summer. The loan was supposed to be repaid in 2026. Next year the carrier will put four extra aircraft into service for short and medium haul flights and recruit extra staff, especially in Europe.
2020 and 2021 were difficult years for Brussels Airlines, a subsidiary of Germany’s Lufthansa. The pandemic kept its fleet on the tarmac for too long. An existing savings plan, “reboot”, was revised and transformed into “reboot plus”. A thousand employees had to leave the company and the fleet of aircraft was scaled down. A government loan worth 290 million euros was supposed to see the carrier through the pandemic.
In return for the government support the Belgian government was able to appoint two representatives to the Brussels Airlines board. It remains unclear whether they will be able to stay.
The pandemic still cast a shadow over operations at the beginning of the year. During the first six months of the year the carrier piled up losses worth 89 million euros, but the summer was particularly profitable for the company. It posted operational profits worth 51 million euros in July, August and September. It was the company’s strongest quarter ever.
Brussels Airlines is convinced it can remain in profit, but due to poor results at the start of 2022 it won’t yet be in profit this year.
Brussels Airlines staff struck for three days in June. The company’s management says it is now looking forward to “positive cooperation” with social partners.