More passengers and better seat load factor during first semester for Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines closes the first semester with a passenger growth and an improvement of the load factor. 1.7 percent more passengers chose for a Brussels Airlines flight and thanks to the optimized seat offer, the load factor of the European and the intercontinental flights rose with 2.1 percent points.

In total 2.8 million passengers flew Brussels Airlines between January and June. That’s an increase of 1.7 percent compared to the first six months of 2012. The growth is mainly due to the intercontinental network and reflects the choice made by the company to consolidate the European flight offer and expand the long haul network. This choice resulted in a 2.1 percent point increase of the load factor on the entire network. The load factor of the European flights increased by 1.5 percent.

The cargo activity grew significantly and showed an increase of 9.2 percent.

Highlights during the first semester of 2013 were the opening of the Washington D.C. route mid-June and several frequency increases to African and Mediterranean destinations. The long haul capacity increased in June thanks to the addition of an eighth Airbus A330 to the intercontinental fleet.

Record week

Brussels Airlines ended the last week of June with a passenger record. In the week of June 25 until July 1st, a total of 143,600 passengers flew with Brussels Airlines. This is 6 percent more than the last week of June in 2012 and is a record in the history of the airline. The seat load factor grew to 76.3 percent. Friday June 28 was a peak day, with 23,326 passengers transported on Brussels Airlines flights.

These passenger figures only reflect the scheduled flights of Brussels Airlines. The passengers of charter flights operated by Brussels Airlines on behalf of tour operators are not included.