Faced with a debt that must be rescheduled, Air Belgium has decided to stop its passenger activity, which is “chronically unprofitable”. The Airbus A330neo will return to the lessor.
Refocusing on freight and ACMI
The airline Air Belgium has just announced the cessation of its “chronically unprofitable” passenger activity. The carrier will now focus exclusively on cargo and ACMI (the chartering of aircraft and crew for other airlines). This decision is the consequence of the judicial reorganization procedure by amicable agreement introduced before the court, in order to cope with its debt and return to profitability. The court will consider the request in the coming days.
Two brand new Airbus A330neo
To boost its own passenger activity, Air Belgium had leased two Airbus A330neo, in the A330-900 version, designed to accommodate 286 passengers divided into three classes: 30 sleeper seats in Business class, 21 seats in Premium class and 235 in Economy class. The planes benefited from Airbus Airspace cabin improvements with improved lighting and storage, wifi, entertainment systems, etc. The aircraft will return to the lessor.
Successive crises have weakened Air Belgium
The Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and their inflationary effects have weakened Air Belgium, which is counting on freight and ACMI to continue. The airline also indicates that “employees linked to passenger activity remain active during the procedure” and beyond. Management wants to gradually reassign them to other activities.
