Eventonline only lacked a ‘travel partner’ to complete its MICE services. Well, we have a scoop because Brussels Airlines fills that gap now. Erik Wood, CEO of Eventonline had a chat with Kathleen Vandenbroecke, Key Account Manager MICE for the Lufthansa Group to which Brussels Airlines belongs.
Brussels Airlines, a member of the Lufthansa Group and Star Alliance, is the leading Belgian airline that offers the widest choice of flights to and from its base in Brussels Airport. The 50 aircrafts and more than 3,500 employees of Brussels Airlines provide daily 300 flights to over 90 European and African destinations, a daily service to New York JFK and five flights per week to Washington DC. From April 2016 onwards, Brussels Airlines flies five times a week to Toronto (Canada).
“MICE is a major sector of the Belgian market. As an airline we offer a variety of contracts with interesting rates. We mainly work with associations, tourism departments, PCOs, convention centers, corporates organizing international events, etc.”, Kathleen Vandenbroecke explains. These contracts are mainly with Belgian companies but also with foreign companies that want to bring customers to an event in Belgium.
What kind of service does Brussels Airlines provide to MICE travelers? Brussels Airlines together with other carriers of the Lufthansa Group offer special rates for events from 100 participants onwards traveling from at least three different destinations. “As we work with a single point of contact, the customer doesn’t need to negotiate with several airlines, but all is centralized”, the Key Account Manager adds. “Flights can be booked through an online booking tool or through travel agents. We provide all the necessary information for the client’s website: logos, written text etc. and the ticketing instructions for travel agents. Our clients very much like this personalized approach tailored to the customer.”
To promote this service, Brussels Airlines often participates in trade fairs, such as IBTM, “but we are especially active in Belgium during events and workshops”, Kathleen Vandenbroecke said. “We discovered that more customers have opted for our MICE products during 2015. We’ve also noticed that this positive trend continues in 2016”, the Key Account Manager confirmed.
In addition to her role as Key Account Manager MICE, Kathleen Vandenbroecke is also in charge of the travel with Lufthansa’s private jets.“We can offer private charters to eight people. The big advantage is that the set price is all-inclusive. Moreover, it is a custom product, i.e. departure time is set to suit the customer, custom catering is available etc.”
Brussels Airlines sees its presence on the Eventonline MICE platform as an automatic consequence for the further development of its MICE services. Erik Wood is very pleased indeed with Brussels Airlines becoming Eventonline’s official travel partner. “Now you can find all possible partners to organize an event from A to Z via Eventonline. It has become the most complete service tool for event organizers.”
