SN Brussels Airlines (SNBA) is a Belgian airline operating from Brussels National Airport, comprised of part of the failed Sabena airline. SN Brussels Airlines, or SN, started from Sabena's subsidiary Delta Air Transport (DAT). The airline is a member of IATA and the Association of European Airlines (AEA), and operates subject to stringent JAR standards.

History

After the bankruptcy of Sabena, Belgium was left without a national airline. SN Brussels Airlines was founded in 2002, when a group of Belgian investors (companies, financial institutions and regional investment companies, as well as the Brussels and Walloon government), headed by Etienne Davignon set up SN Airholding.

In February 2002, SN Airholding took over the Belgian airline DAT, which was a subsidiary of Sabena and survived the bankruptcy, and changed its name to SN Brussels Airlines. SN Airholding owns 92% of the shares in the airline. SN has positioned itself in the European market as a small, full-service airline, connecting Brussels with the rest of Europe. SN also flies to Africa, continuing Sabena's extensive network covering Africa. A codeshare agreement with American Airlines allows SN Brussels Airlines to offer its passengers flights to the United States.

On 12 April 2005, SN Airholding signed an agreement with Richard Branson, giving it the holding control over Virgin Express - another low cost carrier flying from Brussels National Airport. The name Virgin Express is expected to disappear in a few years.

In July 2005, SN announced that they would be offering flights to Toronto and Abu Dhabi after a code share agreemant was signed with Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad Airways.

Chairman resigned on 19 September 2005 after a long conflict with the board of directors around which strategy to follow after the merger of SN with Virgin Express. Neil Burrows has taken over the chair for a one year term.

SN is set to add another Airbus A330 to its long haul fleet, and there has been a great deal of speculation as to where this aircraft will be sourced from.

On March 31, 2006, SNBA and Virgin Express has annouced their fusion into a single company. The name of this future airline has not yet been decided. The airline plans to become the main airline operating from and to Brussels International Airport, with a marketshare of 55% at Brussels. Further attention will go to adding long haul destinations and strenghtening the position of the airline in Africa. SN Airholding is one of the candidates to take over the virtually bankrupt Cameroon national airline, Camair.

Destinations

Europe

Basel, Berlin, Bilbao, Billund, Birmingham, Bologna, Bristol, Brussels, Budapest, Firenze, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Helsinki, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Larnaca, Lisbon, London-Gatwick, Lyon, Madrid, Manchester, Marseille, Milan-Malpensa, Moscow-Domodedovo, Munich, Newcastle, Nice, Oslo, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Porto, Prague, Rome-Fiumicino, Seville, Sofia, Split, Saint Petersburg, Stockholm-Bromma, Strasbourg, Tel Aviv, Toulouse, Turin, Venice, Vilnius, Warsaw, Vienna, Zagreb, Zürich

Africa

Abidjan, Banjul, Casablanca, Conakry, Dakar, Douala, Entebbe, Freetown, Kigali, Kinshasa (N'Djili), Luanda, Monrovia, Nairobi, Yaoundé

Timeline

• November 10th, 2001: First flight of Delta Air Transport after the bankruptcy of mother company Sabena.
• February 15th, 2002: New name for DAT: SN Brussels Airlines.
• April 26, 2002: Codeshare started with Birdy Airlines for its African Destinations. As from mid 2004 these operations were fully integrated into SN Brussels Airlines.
• February 7, 2003: Three Airbus A319 received.
• February 7, 2003: New color scheme for SNBA aircraft.
• Summer 2003: Codeshare with American Airlines for destinations in the U.S..
• 2004-2005: Financial merge of SN Brussels Airlines with Virgin Express.
• October 31, 2005: Etihad Airways connects Abu Dhabi to Toronto with a stop in Brussels, SN Brussels Airlines codeshares on both legs.

Fleet

• 14 BAe Avro RJ85
• 12 BAe Avro RJ100
• 6 BAe 146
• 3 Airbus A319-100
• 3 Airbus A330-300

External links

• SN Brussels Airlines Website
• Corporate website SN Brussels Airlines
• SN Brussels Airlines Airbus Fleet Detail
• SN Brussels Airlines Passenger Opinions
• Photos of SN Brussels Airlines aircraft