At a recent press conference, Air Belgium CEO and co-founder Niky Terzakis announced the addition of two brand new Airbus A330neo aircraft to the airline's fleet. They should enable Air Belgium to start flights to South Africa from September. The Airbus A330neo is the latest generation of aircraft in the Airbus range. They consume on average 25% less fuel than previous generation aircraft. Lower fuel consumption means less carbon and nitrogen emitted into the atmosphere and a lower dependence to the current fuel price increase!
Pending final approval by the South African authorities, the airline will operate two scheduled flights a week from Brussels Airport to Johannesburg and two to Cape Town. Agreements with local airlines will provide additional destinations to several Southern African countries.
Air Belgium is majority owned by Belgian public and private shareholders, namely Terzakis himself, the two public Investment institutions of Wallonia, Sogepa (Société wallonne de Gestion et Participation) and SRIW (Société Régionale d'Investissement de Wallonie) and the Belgian federal private equity firm FPIM (Société Fédérale de Participations et d'Investissement).
This will be the first direct link between South Africa and Belgium since the demise of SABENA over 20 years ago. Terzakis said Air Belgium's strategic choice was made because there are many Belgian companies active in South Africa and Southern Africa and many Belgian tourists who love to travel there! Prior to the announcement, travellers would have to connect via Schiphol, Frankfurt, Paris or another hub.
More details on the flights configuration here: https://www.tourismupdate.co.za/article/belgian-carrier-heads-sa