The airline company Air Belgium confirmed the acquisition of two Airbus A330-900, which will initially be deployed on the new link between Brussels and the island Mauritius. StarFlyer in Japan will rent six A320neo, while Royal Brunei Airlines will convert one of its own for freight transport.

As announced in mid-June, the fleet ofAir Belgium will be enriched with two new A330neo leased from ALC, which will gradually replace two A340-300s. Their Airspace cabins will be configured to accommodate 286 passengers in three classes (Business, Premium and Economy), compared to 265 for the current four-reactors.

From October 15, 2021, the two new rotations of the Belgian company between Brussels-Zaventem and the airport of Port-Louis-Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam will be operated by A330-900, and not by A340-300 as initially planned for launch on December 15, 2020. Departures remain scheduled Tuesday and Friday at 9.40 p.m. to arrive the next day at 11.30 a.m., return flights leaving Mauritius on Wednesday and Saturday at 9:00 p.m. to land the next day at 7.20 a.m. (from November, departures at 6.30 p.m. and returns at 11:20 a.m.).

Air Belgium remains without competition on this route, which will be added to the lines relaunched on July 2 between Charleroi and the Martinique and the Guadeloupe ; tomorrow, it will inaugurate a new destination, Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles, operated on Wednesdays and Saturdays in continuation of flights to Fort-de-France.

Air Belgium is very happy and proud to be able to present these new aircraft in Belgium. These are the most modern aircraft that will operate under the Belgian flag. We are delighted with our operation of the Airbus A340s which demonstrate their reliability, comfort and performance. With the A330neos, customers will benefit from even greater comfort and on-board service, while reducing our environmental footprint by a quarter. », Declared in a press release Niky Terzakis, CEO of Air Belgium.

We are delighted to see that Air Belgium recognizes the advantages of the A330neo in terms of productivity and flexibility, which make it the best in its class and the most profitable for the airline’s long-haul network. With a maximum range of 8,150 nautical miles and a 25% reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to previous generation aircraft, the A330neo is the ideal tool to get airlines out of the way. the crisis and meet the demand of passengers eager to get back on the plane. This is why the A330 Family aircraft – the most popular widebody in the world with 1,500 A330s delivered – were the most used long-haul aircraft during the pandemic. Added Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International, Airbus.

Airbus A330neo in Belgium, A320neo in Japan and in cargo 1 Air Journal

© Airbus

Side Airbus A320neo, the Japanese company StarFlyer announced the rental of up to five devices at the leasing company SMBC, all equipped with the Airspace cabin. They are available from 2023, and will gradually replace its 150-seat A320s. Launched in 2006 and based in the airports of Tokyo-Haneda and Kita-Kyushu, StarFlyer operates twelve A320s to five other Japanese destinations and Taipei in Taiwan (a destination suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic).

Airbus A330neo in Belgium, A320neo in Japan and in cargo 2 Air Journal

© Airbus

Royal Air Brunei for his part announced the conversion for freight transport one of its seven A320neo, the V8-RBE deployed since June 21 between its base in Bandar Seri Begawan and the airports of Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Singapore and Taipei. The national company intends to use this “preighter” up to five times a week on regional routes, only special flights being currently operated from and to the sultanate.

CEO Khalidkhan Hj Asmakhan said in a statement that the airline diversified its operations due to the health crisis: ” We are delighted to launch this new service to the freight community, to further support strong regional demand and of course continue our role of transporting essential supplies and services to and from Brunei “. Royal Brunei Airlines Cargo Operations ” have performed well over the past 12 months, and this A320neo conversion allows us to further strengthen our capabilities, network and strategic Brunei location to maximize the opportunity “, he added. In addition to the A320neo, it owns two A320s and five Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

Airbus A330neo in Belgium, A320neo in Japan and in cargo 3 Air Journal

© Airbus

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