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Eurobelgian Airlines Boeing 737-300
A Boeing 737-400 at Faro Airport in 1999
A Boeing 737-300 landing at Faro Airport in 2005

N.V. Virgin Express S.A. was a Belgian airline created within the Virgin Group. It operated flights mainly to southern Europe from its hub at Brussels Airport. Ticket sales were mainly through the Internet. The airline merged to form Brussels Airlines in November 2006.[1] Virgin Express’ head office was in Building 116 at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, Belgium, near Brussels.[2][3]

History

On 23 April 1996, the Virgin Group (with chairman Richard Branson) bought the Belgian leisure airline EBA-EuroBelgian Airlines, founded by Victor Hasson and Georges Gutelman, and renamed it Virgin Express on September 2 of that same year.[4] It also took over EBA’s fleet of Boeing 737s and operated this type of aircraft from thereon. The airline soon concentrated on low-budget scheduled flights out of its Brussels hub, and became a major competitor for Sabena and later SN Brussels Airlines.

In October 2004, the Virgin Group sold the ownership to Delta Air Transport, and both airlines were placed under the control of SN Airholding holding company, chaired by Viscount Étienne Davignon. On 31 March 2006, SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express announced their merger into a single company, to be named Brussels Airlines. The combined airline added long haul destinations and strengthened its position in Africa.[5]

Fleet

During its 11-year existence, Virgin Express had operated the following aircraft:[6]

Virgin Express retired fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A320-200 1 1997 1997 Leased from Constellation International Airlines
Boeing 737-200 2 1997 1997 Leased from AirFoyle Passenger Airlines
Boeing 737-300 15 1996 2007
Boeing 737-400 11 1996 2007
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 1 1998 1998 Leased from Aer Turas
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 1 1998 1998 Used for charter flights for summer

Three Boeing 737-300 (OO-VEX, OO-VEG and OO-VEH) were fitted with winglets (March 2007). The airline operated 26 737s at its peak, and was given the first Joint Aviation Authorities air operator’s certificate delivered by the Belgian Civil Aviation Authorities. After the merger, all 10 of the Virgin Express fleet went to Brussels Airlines. The airline has since phased out its Boeing 737s.

References

  1. ^ Airliner World January 2007 [full citation needed]
  2. ^ “Contact Us.” Virgin Express. 22 January 2005. Retrieved on 26 June 2010. “.”
  3. ^ “imaging/IMG_directions_599x556.jpg.” Virgin Express. Retrieved on 26 June 2010.
  4. ^ Company profile Archived 2006-10-19 at the Wayback Machine virgin-express.com
  5. ^ “Destinations | Brussels Airlines”. brusselsairlines.com. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  6. ^ Flight International, 3–9 October 2006 [full citation needed]

Further reading

  • Virgin Express info set, year 2003

See also

Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Virgin Express at Wikimedia Commons