2022 marked 15 years since Brussels Airlines commenced operations in March 2007, following a merger between SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express. Today, data from ch-aviation.com shows that the Belgian flag carrier has 40 aircraft at its disposal, all of which are Airbus twinjets. But which models? Let’s find out.
Going large
Brussels Airlines‘ largest aircraft, and, indeed, its only widebodies, are its nine examples of the twin-aisle Airbus A330-300. Eight of these twinjets are active, with the ninth presently listed as undergoing maintenance in Amman, Jordan.
The Belgian flag carrier’s A330s are the youngest aircraft in its fleet, with an average age of 14.7 years old. This puts them more than two years below the average figure for the fleet as a whole which clocks in at 16.8 years.
Historically speaking, Brussels Airlines has flown another eight A330-300s, as well as four examples of the smaller A330-200. Most of these widebodies are configured with 244 economy, 21 premium economy, and 30 business class seats. However, one (OO-SFX) has one economy seat fewer, while another (OO-SFJ) has just 225 economy seats, which frees up space for an extra seven in premium economy.
The dominant force
By the barest of margins, Brussels Airlines’ most numerous aircraft type is the single-aisle Airbus A320-200. With 16 examples present, these account for 40% of the Belgian carrier’s current fleet. Just one of them is presently listed as being inactive, namely OO-SNB, since it is undergoing maintenance in Budapest.
Brussels Airlines’ Airbus A320-200s are the airline’s oldest planes, with an average age of 17.9 years old. In years gone by, the Star Alliance member has also operated another two examples of this popular narrowbody design.
Seating-wise, these aircraft feature the flexible 180-seat layout that many European operators of the A320 have come to favor. This allows Brussels Airlines to accommodate business class cabins of varying sizes by blocking the middle seats in a particular number of rows. The seat pitch onboard these jets is 30 inches.
Going forward, Simple Flying reported earlier this month that Brussels Airlines plans to modernize its narrowbody fleet with the acquisition of five next-generation Airbus A320neo twinjets. These are set to come onboard in 2023 and 2024.
Small but mighty
Brussels Airlines’ remaining 15 aircraft are examples of the short-fuselage Airbus A319-100. 13 of these twinjets, which have an average age of 17.7 years old, are active, and the carrier has flown another eight in years gone by. Of the inactive pair, OO-SSA is having maintenance in Budapest, while OO-SSH is stored in Ljubljana.
The Belgian flag carrier has configured its A319s with 141 economy class seats, with their pitch ranging from 30 to 32 inches. The latter of these figures makes them a more compelling prospect than the A320 if you get the right row.
Source : Simple Flying
