Originally Posted by
South London Bon Viveur
I am intrigued at what lies behind the decision to make this rotation the Air Belgium wet lease, as opposed to any one of the other long haul destinations. Notwithstanding the positive comments above, and that I have no beef with (and frankly no real knowledge of) Air Belgium, ORD strikes me as one of the more "premium" routes (though that is just a hunch and nothing more) and I would have thought that a wet lease might be better used for a less premium route, for reasons of brand protection/recognition in an important market.
The length of the route and probably the timings play a significant part in it I imagine. This will be just one aircraft going back and forth, so maximum utilisation with minimum complexity will be important. The capacity presumably fits as well.
In general (with a few exceptions) I would say airlines are not as concerned as FTers think they are about which aircraft fly on which route from the customer perspective. Focus is more on the operational, revenue and cost fit.