15 PERCENT PASSENGER GROWTH IN JANUARY CONFIRMS BRUSSELS AIRLINES SUCCESS STORY
(Posted 10th February 2018)
Brussels Airlines started off the new year with continued double digit growth. On board the 5,413 flights that were operated during the past month, Brussels Airlines welcomed 590,329 passengers, or 76,895 more than in January 2017. Especially on the European and African market the Belgian airline recorded significant growth rates, with respectively a 14.4% and 12.4% increase.
The 15% passenger growth also led to an increase of the seat load factor of 5.6 percentage points, resulting in an average seat load factor of 74%.
The freight volumes transported in the underfloor cargo compartment of Brussels Airlines’ passenger flights also grew significantly (+36%). Thanks to a more effective use of the cargo hold, the cargo load factor grew from 59.4% to 71.6%. This resulted in an increase of the Revenue Ton-Kilometers (RTK) by 24.9%.
Compared to January last year did Brussels Airlines however 5.8% less flights which makes the growth even more impressive.
This is the result of the replacement of the last AVRO jets (100 seats) by Airbus aircraft with a greater capacity (180 seats). While the pressure on airline ticket prices remains high, thanks to its increased offerings was Brussels Airlines able to continue to set competitive fares and attract even more customers.
These statistics do not include the passengers on board of the many charter flights Brussels Airlines operates on behalf of tour operators.
| Month | Month | VLY difference
in % |
|
| jan/18 | jan/17 | ||
| Flights | 5,413 | 5,749 | -5.8% |
| Total Passengers | 590,329 | 513,434 | 15.0% |
| — Passengers Europe | 458,443 | 400,845 | 14.4% |
| — Passengers Africa | 94,986 | 84,491 | 12.4% |
| — Passengers North America | 15,445 | 16,394 | -5.8% |
| — Passengers Middle East | 11,313 | 11,704 | -3.3% |
| — Passengers Asia | 10,142 | / | / |
| Available seat-kilometers (ASK) | 1,461,013,944 | 1,291,669,850 | 13.1% |
| Revenue Passenger-Kilometers (RPK) | 1,085,692,172 | 886,791,848 | 22.4% |
| Passenger Load Factor (%) | 74.3% | 68.7% | 5.6 % pt |
| Available Ton-Kilometers (ATK) | 176,206 | 154,738 | 13.9% |
| Revenue Ton-Kilometers (RTK) | 129,190 | 103,462 | 24.9% |
| Cargo Load Factor (%) | 71.6% | 59.4% | 12.2 % pt |
| These figures are based on preliminary results currently available | |||
Brussels Airlines flies daily between the European capital and Entebbe / Uganda, using an Airbus A330-200 for the services. Six of the flights route via Kigali / Rwanda while one flight routes via Bujumbura / Burundi, offering excellent connectivity to travelers in both directions.
The airline, from the summer schedule onwards, connects passengers to over 100 prime destinations in Europe, across the Mediterranean, to North America, India and Israel.
