Belgian national carrier Brussels Airlines is to launch its first ever flights to the United States with a new daily link to New York JFK to be introduced from its Brussels Airport base from June 1, 2012. The route has been previously served by Brussels Airlines’ predecessor Sabena, while other independent Belgian carriers served the route following its demise.
An estimated 219,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in the past year with up to daily flights already being operated by American Airlines (with a codeshare partnership with British Airways, Etihad Airways and Iberia), Delta Air Lines (with a codeshare partnership with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines) and Jet Airways of India which uses Brussels as a regional hub for connections between cities in India and the US.
|
ESTIMATED TRAFFIC BETWEEN BRUSSELS AND NEW YORK JFK (bi-directional O&D traffic) |
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|
Rank |
Airline |
Estimated O&D Passengers |
% Demand |
|
1 |
American Airlines |
61,635 |
28.2 % |
|
2 |
Jet Airways |
51,216 |
23.4 % |
|
3 |
Delta Air Lines |
49,241 |
22.5 % |
|
4 |
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines |
20,669 |
9.5 % |
|
5 |
Iberia (via Madrid) |
7,347 |
3.4 % |
|
6 |
British Airways (via London) |
7,263 |
3.3 % |
|
7 |
Lufthansa (via Frankfurt) |
3,341 |
1.5 % |
|
8 |
Aer Lingus (via Dublin) |
3,293 |
1.5 % |
|
(Others) |
14,633 |
6.7 % |
|
|
TOTAL |
218,628 |
- |
|
“We are especially pleased that we will be able to serve New York, the main long-haul destination for the Belgian travel market, ourselves from next spring”, said Bernard Gustin, Chief Executive Officer, Brussels Airlines. “Not only are we investing in our own air connection to the States, but thanks to a completely new cabin we are also offering our passengers a state of the art product more than ever before.”
The new cabin interior of its Airbus A330-200s and A330-300 is what the airline hopes will set it apart from its rivals and enable it to secure traffic from them and to stimulate the market further. The airline also has the advantage of transfer options in Brussels to its wider European and African markets, the latter likely to attract additional custom to its own flights.
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