As demand rises, Brussels Airlines will operate additional flights during the summer vacation. It will therefore add approximately 170 extra round-trip flights within Europe, providing 60,000 additional seats.
Lufthansa, the group to which Brussels Airlines belongs, is, on the other hand, exploring various scenarios to cope with rising kerosene prices driven by the war in the Middle East. One option under consideration is grounding dozens of aircraft.
Travel preferences have changed
Brussels Airlines will operate additional flights this summer to Greece (Athens), Croatia (Zadar), Portugal (Faro), Slovenia (Ljubljana), Spain (Alicante, Bilbao, and Valencia), and the Czech Republic (Prague).
This schedule adjustment is a result of the war in the Middle East, which has changed travel preferences. For instance, Brussels Airlines is seeing a rising demand for travel within Europe, as people prefer to stay closer to home and avoid transit hubs in the Middle East.
In addition, Brussels Airlines is seeing increased demand for vacation destinations in Africa. As a result, it has decided to fly to Tanzania (Kilimanjaro) during the winter season (October through February) as well, rather than only during the summer season. That route, with one or two flights per week depending on the period, will launch on June 3.
Lower demand for flights to the Middle East
Brussels Airlines can increase capacity thanks to the early delivery of new Airbus A320neo aircraft and by anticipating lower demand for flights to the Middle East. Brussels Airlines normally flies to Tel Aviv, but those flights to Israel have been suspended. If they resume, they will initially operate at a lower frequency than usual.
Other airlines within the Lufthansa Group, the parent company of Brussels Airlines, are also planning additional flights to respond to the shift in demand. Across the entire group, approximately 1,600 additional departing flights will depart from the various hubs of Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and Swiss. These are primarily flights within Europe, but also to India.
More changes are on the way, as are higher ticket prices
At the same time, the company is exploring various scenarios to address rising kerosene prices driven by the war in the Middle East.
CEO Carsten Spohr has, for example, asked staff to calculate, among other things, the impact of grounding 20 to 40 aircraft. This represents 2,5 to 5% of the group’s fleet, which consists of more than 800 aircraft.
It would primarily involve older aircraft that were already scheduled to be taken out of service soon, while for any affected routes, the company is looking at the less profitable ones.
“We want to be prepared early,” said Spohr. The CEO emphasized that Lufthansa had hedged 80% of its fuel needs against price fluctuations, but the remaining 20% alone would incur 1,5 billion euros in additional costs. These will inevitably lead to more expensive tickets. “That, in turn, will affect demand: fewer people will travel,” said Spohr.
Uncertainty
There is a striking contradiction in the messaging – on the one hand, more flights, and on the other, keeping planes grounded – but it perfectly reflects the internal uncertainty that many airlines are currently facing.
Lufthansa is trying to capitalize on the higher demand – and thus generate additional revenue – while also managing rising fuel costs, which may require cutting capacity on less profitable routes.
The key question remains whether those extra European flights will be profitable enough despite higher fuel costs. More expensive tickets might seem like an obvious solution.
Still, there is significant price-sensitive leisure demand for popular vacation destinations in Europe, and low-cost airlines will likely try to maintain their existing prices rather than raise them. However, this will be difficult for them as well.
