Brussels Airlines and shuttle transport specialist Flibco are launching a collaboration to offer connections between Lille and eleven destinations in Sub-Saharan Africa. The bus service operated by Flibco between Lille and Brussels Airport in Zaventem will automatically be included in the air ticket. This is a pilot project that both companies hope to expand later.

According to Paul de Muynck, managing director of Flibco Belgium, the collaboration, which is “not technically simple”, has been in the works for a year and a half. “This cooperation allows us to highlight the bus connection from Lille to Brussels, which is already currently in our offer.”

Connections guaranteed

According to De Muynck, most travelers in northern France still have the reflex to take the train to Paris – there is, of course, a direct high-speed connection between Lille and Brussels.

Flibco makes the case that it takes sufficient account of traffic delays, runs frequently enough, and always schedules the buses’ arrival two hours before the plane’s departure.

Connections are guaranteed, it says, and the bus route also counts for Brussels Airlines’ Miles & More frequent flyer program. However, on arrival at the airport, travelers must still check in their luggage. Travel time is 1h30, and tickets are available from €14,99 for a single journey.

Expand cooperation

Flibco and Brussels Airlines are ambitious to expand their cooperation to other destinations. Next spring, for instance, Flibco will start connections from Tilburg and Breda in the Netherlands via Antwerp to Brussels Airport, with which it already has a partnership, and later also from Maastricht. “The intention is to offer flight numbers on those routes too,” De Muynck said.

Active in 13 European countries

Besides France and Belgium, which also operates a shuttle service to and from Charleroi Airport, Flibco operates in Germany, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Sweden, and Cyprus.

It does not operate rides itself but cooperates with local bus operators to do so, as, for example, competitor Flixbus does. Flibco, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based travel and bus specialist Sales-Lentz Group (SLG), aims to become the leading digital sales platform for airport shuttles in Europe.