Air Belgium retires all Airbus jets; shifts focus to Boeing

The aircraft, registered as OO-LAJ and OE-LAL, joined Air Belgium between 2022 and 2023 and are under 20 years old. They currently operate on behalf of Hongyuan Group from China, which has invested significantly in Air Belgium, including supporting its acquisition of Boeing 747-8Fs.

"The withdrawal of the Airbuses also involves re-registering one of the two Jumbo Jets in Belgium, in order to retain the license issued by the DGTA (Directorate General of Air Transport)," according to mobilithib.

With no new Airbus arrivals planned for an all-Boeing fleet transition at Air Belgium, around 30 Airbus-trained pilots face an uncertain future. Only six new positions have been advertised for Boeing 747 operations.

The commonality between A330 and A340 aircraft would allow pilots easy transition between these models; however, retraining for a Boeing 747 requires several months of additional training. Simple Flying has contacted Air Belgium for comments and updates on this situation.

In related news, CMA CGM recently purchased Air Belgium’s cargo division after previously holding an 8.8% stake in Air France-KLM as of December last year.

The outgoing A330s were converted from passenger planes during the pandemic after serving Etihad Airways previously. Earlier this year, French logistics firm CMA CGM saved bankrupt Air Belgium but resulted in two-thirds employee redundancies with potential further reductions among Airbus pilots likely imminent.