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Brussels-based Air Belgium is looking to launch two routes to South Africa this coming September, with up to three flights each week flying simultaneously to Cape Town and Johannesburg. Further ahead on this is the airline’s plan to service direct flights to the United States – amongst other planned route additions.
Ambitious plans
Air Belgium has been on a relatively ambitious ride since the second half of last year as the airline revamped its older fleet of quadjet Airbus A340s with newer-generation Airbus A330neos, and also started relooking at air cargo operations as the contract between Air Belgium and French shipping company CMA CGM expires by the end of this year.
This then led to the Belgian airline partnering with Hongyuan – a Beijing-based crossborder trade integrated service provider that had chosen Brussels Airport for its European headquarters back in 2020. As a beneficial result through the partnership, Hongyuan becomes a shareholder in Air Belgium – with the Belgian airline having a slight majority of the shares to guarantee its status as a European carrier, as confirmed by Walloon minister Elio Di Rupo:
“The Chinese group Hongyuan plans to take up to 49% of the capital of the Belgian airline Air Belgium within the framework of a capital increase operation, thus leaving 51% in the hands of the current shareholders.”
The current Belgian shareholders (SRIW, Sogepa, SFPI, 3T Management, and Sabena Aerospace) would keep the 51% majority. Photo: Airbus via Air Belgium.
Investing wisely
With a similar vision of having a focus on cargo, the shareholding partnership does seem to make sense. And what’s more, through the shareholding partnership, the Hongyuan Group has invested a capital increase of approximately €19.3 million (US$21.21 million) into Air Belgium – a needed sum of money to help the airline make strategic growth decisions.
The injection of capital eventually allows for the fleet of Air Belgium to get a slight upgrade as well with two ex-Saudia Boeing 787-8 freighters added. By September, the fleet should consist of a total of eleven aircraft, four of which will be passenger aircraft. And by the end of the year, the fleet is looking to add more Airbus A330-200 freighters from the CMA CGM company as well and these will all be painted in the mixed colors of Air Belgium and Hongyuan.
The Airbus A330neo allows for Air Belgium to service further along the eastern coast. Photo: Airbus via Twitter.
Exciting planned schedules
The further expansion of the fleet results in more capacity, and this also allows for Air Belgium to service even more routes for its passengers, in which the airline has wasted no time in planning for an enhanced winter schedule this year – starting in the Dutch Caribbean with twice-weekly flights from Brussels to Bonaire from November 4th, which will be combined in a triangular route with a non-stop service to Bonaire with a stopover in Curacao.
Flight services from Charleroi to the French Antilles and from Brussels to Mauritius will remain firm on the winter program, but the excitement further lies in the airline’s vision to take-off for South African cities from Brussels with a mighty thrice-weekly schedule. And if the airline’s ambitions haven’t seemed big enough, Air Belgium further plans to fly direct to the United States in the next year or so, and eventually wants to enter the Chinese market as well when health conditions will allow as the Airbus A330neo allows it to go further than the east coast.
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