2021 was another year marked by the Covid pandemic and a year that still required a high level of resilience. The year started with a very limited flight schedule, in line with the low market demand due to high infection rates and lockdowns all over Europe, followed by a three-month travel ban issued by the Belgian government. This travel ban heavily impacted Brussels Airlines’ first quarter.

On 19 April, the travel ban was lifted and demand started to pick up again, while the vaccination campaign was also gaining velocity. What followed was a rapid increase in demand towards the summer. Brussels Airlines restarted full hub operations in June and built up its capacity from 12% to 53% of pre-pandemic levels towards the summer. The summer demand lasted longer than other years due to the effect of postponed travel plans and the desire to travel after the lockdown. This strong and prolonged summer peak led to a positive third quarter and the first profit since the beginning of the pandemic. November came with rising infection numbers and again many restrictions, causing the demand to decrease once more. The end-of-year holiday showed a strong travel peak, before returning to a lower winter demand due to the emergence of the Omicron variant.

After the restructuring phase of the Reboot Plus plan and the numerous changes undertaken, in November 2021 Brussels Airlines presented a new branding to strengthen its Belgian identity and to mark a new start after the coronavirus crisis. The new branding was an important signal towards the market that the airline is here to stay. As additional symbol for its future-readiness the decision was taken in June 2021 to add three Airbus A320neos to the Brussels Airlines fleet in summer 2023. With these new state-of-the-art aircraft and by retiring three older A319s, Brussels Airlines takes a significant step to the further modernization of its fleet and reduces carbon and noise emissions in its medium-haul network.

In the whole of 2021, the demand on the African network was again very resilient, mainly thanks to the business and VFR segments (Visiting Friends and Relatives), while the European segment was more volatile. All in all, the full-year capacity (Available seat-kilometres) was 62% higher than in 2020 and Brussels Airlines operated 39% more flights, welcoming 3.5 million passengers (+47%).

The passenger load factor was 1.1 percentage points lower than the previous year’s level, at 67.2% (previous year: 68.3%). Yields fell by 6.9% after adjusting for exchange rates. Traffic revenue increased with the expansion of traffic by 31% to EUR 503m (previous year: EUR 384m).

Revenue rose by 35% to EUR 560m(previous year: EUR 414m). Operating income rose by 31% to EUR 599m (previous year: EUR 456m). The Reboot Pluscost savings measures and strict cost discipline limited the increase in operating costs. At EUR 788m, they were only up 5% on the previous year. Higher fuel costs (+62%) due to increased prices and volumes as well as higher fees and charges due to volumes (+55%) were partially countered by lower staff costs (–17%).

In the 2021 financial year, Adjusted EBIT at Brussels Airlines was at EUR –189m (previous year: EUR –293m). The Adjusted EBIT margin was –33.8% (previous year: –70.8%). The EBIT was also at EUR –189m (previous year: EUR –332m). The previous year’s value was adversely affected by write-downs on the fleet totalling EUR 33m.