ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIGHER LOAD FACTOR AND MORE PASSENGERS IN APRIL OVERSHADOWED BY STRIKE NOTICE
(Posted 12th May 2018)
Following the continuing offer of competitive fares, Brussels Airlines in April recorded a passenger growth of 9.9%. This means, however, that the pressure on the yield remains very high. The Seat Load Factor increased slightly, with 1.8 percentage points to a total of 82.8%.
In April 920,816 passengers flew with Brussels Airlines, which is a 9.9% increase compared to the same month last year. The number of passengers traveling on a European flight grew by 10.5% to 763,882. The African flights recorded a growth of 11.9%, while the number of passengers flying to North America decreased slightly with -0.4%. The Middle Eastern and Asian flights recorded growths of respectively 1.5% and 2.2%. Thanks to its increased offer (+8.8% more seats), Brussels Airlines was able to continue to propose competitive fares and attract more customers. This means, however, that the pressure on the yield remains very high.
On the 7,152 flights in April 2018, Brussels Airlines recorded a Seat Load Factor of 82.8%, which is a slight increase of 1.8 percentage points. The Cargo Load Factor increased by 7.8% to an average of 73.1%, while the Revenue Ton-Kilometers (RTK) grew by 11.0%. The transported cargo volumes amounted to 5,000 tons, the highest in the history of the company.
The number of flights operated in April increased slightly (0.3%) compared to the same month last year. Nevertheless, the Available seat-Kilometers (ASK) rises more strongly with 8.8%, due to the replacement of the last AVRO Jets (100 seats) by Airbus aircraft with a greater capacity (180 seats).
These statistics do not include the passengers on board of the many charter flights Brussels Airlines operates on behalf of tour operators.
| April 2018 | April 2017 | difference in % | |
| Flights | 7,152 | 7,130 | 0.3% |
| Total Passengers | 920,816 | 837,646 | 9.9% |
| — Passengers Europe | 763,882 | 691,120 | 10.5% |
| — Passengers Africa | 94,669 | 84,571 | 11.9% |
| — Passengers North America | 35,312 | 35,456 | -0.4% |
| — Passengers Middle East | 18,865 | 18,583 | 1.5% |
| — Passengers Asia | 8,088 | 7,916 | 2.2% |
| Available seat-kilometers (ASK) | 1,884,965,430 | 1,732,103,375 | 8.8% |
| Revenue Passenger-Kilometers (RPK) | 1,560,898,624 | 1,403,686,142 | 11.2% |
| Passenger Load Factor (%) | 82.8% | 81.0% | 1.8 %pt |
| Available Ton-Kilometers (ATK) | 221,257 | 207,090 | 6.8% |
| Revenue Ton-Kilometers (RTK) | 179,994 | 162,192 | 11.0% |
| Cargo Load Factor (%) | 73.1% | 65.3% | 7.8 %pt |
In Eastern Africa does Brussels Airlines fly daily to Entebbe in Uganda with six of these flights routing via Kigali / Rwanda and one service stopping over in Bujumbura / Burundi.
