Sun-Air announces Billund – Brussels from 7 September
Denmark’s Sun-Air, the British Airways franchise, has announced it’ll operate Billund – Brussels from 7 September. The 620-kilometre route is currently unserved following Brussels Airlines ending it last month. Jesper Klausholm, Billund Airport’s Chief Marketing Officer, told anna.aero: “In these difficult times, we are truly happy that British Airways, operated by Sun-Air, sees the potential in the market. Its high-frequency operation is vital for West Danish business as well as politicians working with the EU parliament.”
| Routing | Start date | Weekly frequency | Timings (from Billund first) | Aircraft | Direct competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billund – Brussels | 7 September | 10 | Mon-Thu: 0800-0925, 1000-1125; Mon-Fri: 1525-1650, 1720-1845; Sun: 1900-2025, 2055-2220 | Dornier 328JET | None |
| Source: Sun-Air’s website | |||||
Sun-Air returns to Brussels
As Léon Verhallen, Director of Aviation Development at Brussels Airport, told us: “We are delighted with Sun-Air taking over the Brussels – Billund route of Brussels Airlines. Sun-Air had been operating successfully to Brussels until 2016, so it’s really a ‘welcome back’. What is even more encouraging is the confidence that Sun-Air has in the near-term recovery of air travel. Every cloud has a silver lining.”
Different approaches of Sun-Air and Brussels Airlines to the airport-pair
Sun-Air often had low annual capacity on Billund – Brussels, at 30,000-40,000 seats according to OAG Schedules Analyser. This is because it focused on point-to-point demand with a business-orientated timetable based on working in Brussels. While the carrier primarily used its 32-seat Dornier 328JETs, it normally operated the 19-seat Jetstream 31 on some flights each week. This increased the block time from 1h 25m to 1h 40m.
Source: OAG Schedules Analyser.
In contrast, Brussels Airlines focused on local but also connecting traffic over its hub, so its much greater capacity. It primarily operated Dash-8-400s (operated by flybe), Superjet 100s (CityJet), and CRJ-900s (CityJet). In its peak year, 2018, Brussels Airlines was operating up to a 17-weekly service using the 98-seat SuperJet. Interestingly, OAG Traffic Analyser suggests that almost 70% of the carrier’s Billund traffic connected over Brussels, with top destinations Madrid, Rome, and Edinburgh. So the capacity offered by P2P-focused Sun-Air.
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