UGANDA (eTN) – In spite of the problems in 2010 with the Icelandic ash cloud and the severe winter snow storms in December, Brussels Airlines (SN), the Belgian national airline, carried overall 4.4 percent more traffic for the past year.
Codeshared flights into Entebbe, Uganda, and, in fact, into the wider region to airports like to Bujumbura, Kigali, and Nairobi, with major shareholder Lufthansa, has added to the attraction of passengers to fly with SN, and it paid off handsomely as Ugandan traffic, originating here, also grew.
Brussels Airlines flies daily into the East African region, and their unique operating method, covering two destinations at a go, gives their passengers options, since local codeshare arrangements, like on Air Uganda between Juba and Entebbe or Entebbe and Nairobi, allow them to fly with their favorite airline daily to Brussels and beyond.
It is also understood that a principal agreement has been reached to add at least one more A330 to the SN fleet this year, allowing the airline to expand their frequencies into both West and East Africa and in the process cementing Star Allianceโs market leadership in global destinations, numbers of flights, and passengers. The same source also confirmed that Africa will remain, for the foreseeable future, the only long-haul continent for SN, as the company prefers to have, for instance, flights to North America operated by their Star Alliance codeshare partners to their mutual benefit.
Said the source on condition of anonymity: “We know Africa very well and have a big market share as a result of the rapport with travelers, companies, and travel agents we built over [the] decades, first as Sabena and now as Brussels Airlines. I believe our company chose to do what we know best, and that is to fly to Africa and give our international partners many destinations across the continent. In turn, they operate codeshared flights with us to North America and other parts of the world, where they have strengths, and in the end it works out best for our passengers and the airlines involved.”