Three weeks before the end of the year, VLM Airlines set an all time record by welcoming the 500,000th scheduled passenger for 2004 on its network…
Three weeks before the end of the year, VLM Airlines set an all time record by welcoming the 500,000th scheduled passenger for 2004 on its network. The passenger was flying from Brussels to London City.
2004 has been an outstanding year for VLM Airlines, with the company achieving an increase of 31% in passenger numbers compared to the same period last year. In 2003 the airline transported a total of 407,000 scheduled passengers on its network.
The 500.000th passenger, Mr. Abbas Bayat, was welcomed at Brussels Airport by Johan Vanneste, Managing Director of VLM Airlines and Jan Van der Cruysse, Communications Manager at BIAC (Brussels International Airport Company). Mr Bayat who is CEO of Sunnyland Distribution and travels weekly from Brussels to London City with VLM Airlines was presented with a bottle of champagne and comments: “I just think VLM Airlines really understand what the needs of business passengers are. VLM is most certainly the fastest way of getting from Brussels to the heart of London, especially with London City Airport being so close to the city centre, there is no better alternative for me when travelling to London.”
With the launch of two new routes; Liverpool – London City in February of this year, and the Jersey – London City at the end of June 2004 and 4 additional aircraft being added to its fleet, it’s been a busy and successful year for VLM Airlines. Johan Vanneste, Managing Director of VLM Airlines certainly isn’t complaining: “We are extremely proud of being here today and welcoming our 500,000th passenger onboard this flight from Brussels to London City. At the same time I would like to thank all passengers who have regularly flown with us over the past year, their loyalty to our airline is of great value to our company”.
Mark Duyck, COO of BIAC states: “For some time now the persistent and high frequency link of VLM Airlines is no longer an alternative for business travel between the British and Belgian capital, it has become a high qualitative product with excellent punctuality.”
Last week VLM Airlines also reached another milestone in Luxembourg, when the airline surpassed the 1,000 passengers-per-week mark for the first time in the 6 year history of the route to London City. The airline has been flying the Luxembourg-London City route independently for a little more than a year now and this figure proves that an increasing number of passengers are choosing to fly with VLM Airlines.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
