Brussels Airlines lost 53 million euros in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, which is a nine per cent improvement year-on-year, according to a press release that is at pains to point out that negative Q1 results are “common in the aviation industry.” Parent company Lufthansa also made a loss of 722 million euros – in its case, a 15 per cent year-on-year improvement.
The 100-year-old Belgian flag carrier remains buoyant about the financial results, published 29 April 2025, and is still predicting a profitable full year. It highlighted an increase in capacity, with more than 450 extra flights compared to Q1 2024. Available seat kilometres were up by 7.3%.
Three factors behind the loss
Accounting for the multi-million euro loss, the airline blamed “social unrest in Belgium.” It noted that three episodes of national industrial action and protests had cost the airline five million euros. The carrier was expected to handle high numbers of passengers (over one million) over the Easter period, but like Q1, the start of the spring season saw a 29 April strike that completely wiped its schedule.
“Another burden” the airline acknowledged was “political unrest in Central Africa” – a situation that has “important consequences on several sub-Saharan African markets served by Brussels Airlines.”
Finally, long-haul fleet maintenance, both planned and unforeseen, had also impacted results, with capital expenditure up and operations only maintained through a new temporary wet-lease arrangement with Air Baltic. The contract has seen four Airbus A220s deployed on the Brussels Airlines network in a flexible arrangement due to last until Q4 in October. This was dubbed a “strategic adjustment” that “is expected to enhance financial performance by better managing seasonality.”
Pressure on government and unions to end “social conflict”
A statement from Nina Öwerdieck, the airline’s Chief Financial Officer, was nonetheless upbeat. “We continue our journey towards sustainable profitability,” she said. Putting pressure on Belgium’s ruling coalition, she added: “We now hope that both the government and the social partners in Belgium can find solutions to stop the social conflict, as strikes cause a high burden on our customers, disrupting their travel plans.”
Öwerdieck did however recognise that further staff walkouts and disruptions to operations remain possible as the year goes on. “More strikes in the peak season would also have high financial consequences for Brussels Airlines,” she warned.
Lufthansa too has warned of financial headwinds, such as trade tariff uncertainties and has set up a taskforce to monitor consumer demand.
