Brussels Airlines Relaunches Services To Nairobi

Brussels Airlines has resumed services to Nairobi this morning after a nine-year long hiatus. The service made possible through the recent induction of a newly delivered Airbus A330-300 (OO-SFP, which will enter service shortly), will operate six times a week this summer season. As reported by Simple Flying in September, the new route brings Brussels Airlines’ total number of destinations in Sub-Saharan Africa to 18.

The new route

This summer season, the Belgian flag carrier will offer 6 weekly flights, two of which route via Kigali in Rwanda on the outbound leg. In winter, frequencies will drop to four, and the freed-up capacity will be deployed elsewhere to destinations in Africa, boosting services to Dakar, Banjul, and Monrovia.

This further increases the Lufthansa Group’s overall operation to Kenya, which includes a five-weekly

Lufthansa

service from Frankfurt. Discover Airlines also operates between Frankfurt and the coastal city of Mombasa.

The aircraft operating the first flight is registered OO-SFH, an 18-year-old Airbus A330-300. The aircraft was nearly 100% full, and boarding took much longer to complete than anticipated, resulting in a slight delay in departure. The carrier says that 50,000 people have already booked to fly on the new route either originating in Brussels or connecting from elsewhere.

Poaching Lufthansa traffic?

Brussels Airlines had operated the service to Nairobi since its founding in 2002 but suspended it in 2015. In 2009, Lufthansa purchased a 45% stake in the carrier, acquiring the remainder in 2017.

As relations between the two developed, network expansion was coordinated across the Group. Brussels Airlines suspended operations to Nairobi because the group felt customers would prefer a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt, which is better connected to the US and Europe.

Photo: Dillon Shah | Simple Flying

Now, the Lufthansa flight remains and Brussels Airlines is reentering the market. The latest route marks a significant capacity increase of Lufthansa Group airline seats to Africa. Simple Flying asked Brussels Airlines CEO Dorothea Von Boxberg whether the new route would be poaching traffic from its fellow LH Group members. She said:

“No, we are adding the networks. So they keep their five weekly rotations that they do already, we add our six and together I think we provide a very good network for people traveling from all places in Europe not just from Brussels or from Frankfurt.”

The two airlines are also catering to two different clientele. Brussels Airlines’ Head of Marketing, Michel Moriaux told Simple Flying:

Of course, we’re flying from different hubs but also have a slightly different clientele. We have our different feeder networks that we fill the flights up to Nairobi, and also different types of profiles, where it’s maybe slightly more business-corporate profiles for Lufthansa. We will have good mix of corporate [travelers] but also leisure travelers. Kenya being a very nice leisure destination from Belgium but also from neighboring countries like France and Holland. So that will also be important to to fill our flights.”

Both Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa operating to Nairobi, complemented by the leisure-focused Discover Airlines to Mombasa, means the Lufthansa Group have a significant presence in Kenya. Travel dynamics have changed since Brussels Airlines left the market in 2015, particularly given the growing economy. Media Relations Manager for Brussels Airlines, Nico Cardone, told Simple Flying:

“Firstly, in many places in Sub Saharan Africa and especially in Kenya, we see a growth of the middle class and growth of the economy and thus also an increase in demand for flights. So that’s already a difference. And secondly, indeed, today we have a bigger footprint in the United States and Canada. Also, thanks to our partners United and Air Canada who are adding flights to Brussels. And thanks to that extra connectivity, we can now make this route to Nairobi.”

The key role of connections

The recent LH Group-United Airlines-Air Canada decision to create a US-Africa hub in Brussels most certainly plays a part in developing connections on both ends and ensuring the success of the new Nairobi flight.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Connections are absolutely essential to this new route. Speaking to fliers, Simple Flying noted that most passengers’ trips originated in North America, a testament to the well-timed bank of long-haul flights at Brussels Airport. Von Boxberg told us:

“The two largest markets for bookings on the flight [to Nairobi] are actually the Belgians and US passengers. So US is very important and it helps that we offer connections with Air Canada and United feeding across the transatlantic market.”

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Brussels Airlines Focused On Renewing Airbus A320s Before Tackling A330 Fleet

Brussels Airlines CEO Dorothea Von Boxberg confirmed additional A320neos are also on the horizon.

Brussels Airlines is also relying on feeder traffic closer to home, notably from flights from English-speaking countries. Cardone tells Simple Flying:

Connections are very important to Brussels Airlines. Brussels to Kenya as well, but certainly [more importantly for] markets like Ouagadougou, or Abidjan where demand directly from Brussels alone is not big enough to fill an A330, let alone daily or several times a week. So connections are really vital. And then depending on the markets, it depends on what destination is the most important for feeder traffic. Kenya is an English speaking country. So it is obvious that United Kingdom and United States and Canada are very important feeder markets as well.

The difference with the other markets, however, is that Kenya has a higher demand for leisure traffic for holidays. Typically, other African destinations focus on the diaspora around the world, which connect in Brussels for southbound flights.

A route of political importance

The launch of the service to Nairobi comes in tandem with the development of political ties between Belgium and Kenya. Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib explains that Brussels to Nairobi connects the two “most important capitals” for their respective continents. In her speech at the opening ceremony, Lahbib said:

“This inauguration is not coming out of the blue. It is the direct result of advances in cooperation. We are increasingly working together in sectors like technology and environments and tourism. It is also shows very concretely how fruitful bilateral relations can have a direct impact on our economies and the prosperity of our populations.

“This connection will undoubtedly strengthen our economic partnership from Belgium. Nairobi is a gateway to the vibrant and diverse continent of Africa. We consider Kenya to be a strategic partner regionally and internationally tied to its history and its economic power.”

On the sidelines, Simple Flying had the opportunity to chat with the Minister on network expansion from Belgium. She noted the importance of the new route, notably given the recent Foreign Affairs Trade Council hosted under the Belgian Presidency for the EU Council where the EU “formally adopted the economic partnership agreement with Kenya.” When Simple Flying asked whether there were any other destinations Lahbib would like to have connected from Brussels, she responded:

“Listen, the importance of the well-being of the population here is essential in Brussels. We also have an ecological consideration and an economic one. So this triangle is very important.”

What is clear is that Belgium is keen to expand its network connectivity, notably from its main hub in Brussels. The recent Nairobi launch is a testament to continued efforts to (re)develop route options in the post-COVID environment.