BRUSSELS AIRLINES RECOGNIZED AS COMPETENCE LEADER FOR EUROWINGS’ LONG HAUL FLIGHTS

(Posted 09th July 2018)

New setup for Eurowings Group

• Brussels Airlines set to become long-haul competence center of Eurowings Group
• Eurowings airline will be responsible for the short-haul business of the Eurowings Group
• Eurowings Group CEO Thorsten Dirks: “New strategic setup puts us at the helm of European airline consolidation”

After first successes of joint projects, Eurowings and Brussels Airlines will take the next decisive steps in the integration process, defining each other’s roles within the Eurowings Group.

Taking the expertise and strengths of both entities into consideration, Brussels Airlines will become the long-haul competence center of the Eurowings Group, steering all long-haul activities of the entire group out of Brussels. Next to that, the airline will actively participate in the Eurowings Group pan-European growth strategy by becoming the operator for the expansion to other airport bases in the French- and Dutch-speaking part of Europe.

“The successful launch of Eurowings long-haul flights operated by Brussels Airlines out of Düsseldorf to New York, Fort Meyers and Miami last April, reconfirms the long-haul expertise of the Brussels based airline,” said Eurowings Group CEO Thorsten Dirks. “In only five months Eurowings and Brussels Airlines have managed to set up a long-haul base at Düsseldorf, strengthening the group in one of its key German airports,” he added.

This affirms the competence Brussels Airlines has within the Lufthansa family to the operation of long haul flights, not just to Africa but also to destinations on other continents.

In parallel, Eurowings – focusing on European point-to-point traffic – will steer the entire short-haul portfolio of the Eurowings Group from Cologne. Added Dirks: “Joining forces with Brussels Airlines will not only strengthen our position as the #3 low-cost carrier in Europe but also spur further Eurowings Group growth in the future”.

Both airlines will continue to operate long-haul and short-haul flights out of their respective bases Brussels, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Vienna. This also means that even though two competence centers are being created at Brussels and Cologne, there will remain functions for both long-haul and short-haul operations at both locations. Implementation of the new setup is planned for 2019. Eurowings Group already operates from more than 20 European bases today.

"Brussels Airlines is recognized for its expertise and for the value it adds to the Eurowings Group. We will continue building on our assets to become an even more important player within the group, while remaining Belgium’s strong home carrier and continuing to focus on our guests," said Christina Foerster, the CEO of Brussels Airlines.

Eurowings Group CEO Thorsten Dirks is confident that this new teamwork structure under the umbrella of Eurowings Group is the right strategic step to meet future challenges. “The scattered European aviation landscape is beginning to consolidate – the new structure of Eurowings Group will make it possible for us to be at the helm of this development.”

Many faithful passengers of the airline, in Belgium and beyond, have in the past expressed some level of misgivings why Brussels Airlines was not given the same status within the Lufthansa Group as Swiss and Austrian and vowed to closely monitor the new parent company’s approach and if any attempt could be sensed to downgrade the hitherto full service airline into something different.

The latest moves though seem to have calmed the potentially stormy waters but as always only time will tell where this is heading.

Brussels Airlines connects the European capital with Entebbe, Kigali and Bujumbura in East Africa, presently flying six times a week to Entebbe, five times a week to Kigali and once a week to Bujumbura.