kcaluwae

On the long term it certainly is.

Fanjet

BRU became useless for me when AA severed their codeshare agreement with SN. The only time I used BRU after that with AA was because it was the only exEurope airport that would have plenty of award seat availability (which decreased significantly after ORD-BRU was pulled and JFK-BRU went to a 757). So I can see why AA is no longer keeping that station open. And for those wanting AA to add AMS to their network, this move clearly shows that possibility just became even more remote.

mvoight

Yes, but how do you know outsourcing will save them money over not outsourcing?
It's not like sending jobs to a lower priced country.

GUWonder

I used to use AA to BRU at least a few times a year, but a fair chunk of that has been tied to connecting to 9W. Perhaps this is another sign that 9W won't be coming Oneworld's way -- not that it matters much to me when 9W is so miserly with making seats available for mileage ticket redemption.

CubsFanJohn

I think if anything this could possibly bring Dusseldorf into the cards since it is an AB hub/focus city.

Bralo20

An employer doesn't actually pay two salaries but the taxes are indeed quite huge. For example, let's say that a mid-level administrative employee makes about 4.000 USD per month, has a decent company car, a fuel card, a cell phone, meal vouchers and an additional hospital insurance. The employee will not only be taxed on his regular pay but also on all additional extra's which an employer gives as benefits. So at the end of the month he won't receive the 4.000 USD but rather something like 1.950 USD. This is when you are single without kids. When you are married and have kids the taxes drop quite a bit but are still quite high.

According a recent study a Belgian employee (single, no kids) that makes about 33.000 USD a year keeps 49,13%, an employee that makes 61.500 USD a year only keeps 40,09% if you go higher and are lucky to have 92.000 USD a year you'll only keep 36,71%. All the rest are taxes...

On the other hand Belgium has one of the best social security systems in the world... We won't get bills of tens of thousands of Dollars/Euro's when we are sick and end up being in the hospital, we can rely on a "decent" pay when we end up without a job and are actively looking for a new one, etc...

So yes, Belgium is extremely expensive but we have some benefits...

gemac

Hire tax? I suspect what he said was "higher tax".

TPJ

I do not have any data. But in my Corporate travel tool, I see Government fares on AA

AA BRUNYC.AT 20JUL13 MPM 4394 V-ATPCO
QTE F/B BK FARE EFF EXP TKT AP MIN/MAX RTG
1 - YCA Y X 435.00 01OC - 30SE - -/ - AT01
2 - DCB D‡X 5004.00 01OC - 30SE - -/ - AT01
3 - HMZ H X 494.00 - - - - -/ - AT01

If AA negotiated these fares with Washington, my guess is that these are used... I do not see BRU-NYC Government fares on e.g. DL.

cesco.g

On top of now minuscle service to FRA this does not bold well for AA, and unfortunately for AAs move to pull some business from dissatisfied UA fliers.

mvoight

Of course, Belgium gives you money for your kids
I also think you get a bonus payment at the beginning of the school year.
****************

Child benefit per month
Situation Monthly amount:
For your first child (basic amount): € 88.51
For your second child (basic amount): € 163.77
For subsequent children: € 244.52

In addition to the basic child benefit, you will get an age-related allowance for a child from age 6."
****************

mcgahat

I think AA is where UA was a few years ago. They just had to feed a partner hub and you will need to connect from there to your location in Europe. Some routes just get very difficult to serve and I dont think they have enough planes. I never minded it with UA to be honest as I just got used to connecting in FRA most of the time to hit various points in Europe that I wanted to visit. There are only a few points in Europe that AA can really serve without feeding a partner airline so that is what we have.....

I got used to flying through FRA and connecting with LH when I was with UA and I am prepared to get used to LHR with BA while I am flying with AA.

Fanjet

Yes or No. Some of us thought that AA would start ORD-BER service; but we just saw AB announce that launch for next year. While I do think that DUS will see new service to another AA hub in the States (ORD or DFW), I'm not so certain that it will be on AA metal. Maybe JFK-VIE with a 763 has a better chance than DUS or BER with AA metal. (Don't forget that Air Berlin and Niki have a hub at VIE).

DevilsX

Yes, "higher" I don't know why I can't type lately! Working too hard to afford this ticket and not sleeping enough :P

exiled2tx

if I may digress with a memory here from reading this thread:

I was stuck in Brussels on 9/11. Went to BRU on Sunday morning, wanting to just take the first flight back to the US. Didn't care to where in particular.

Took AA back to DFW that morning..........

sdsearch

But this route is served by a 75L (the 16J NGBC seats int'l 757 configuration), which has only limited use (for the shortest TATL flights).

So are they going to use this plane on some other route, or are they just going to keep it as a spare? (Is the 75L what's being used for one of the new Brazil routes, or are they using a domestic-style 757 for those?)