Brussels Airlines (SN, Brussels National) has had an 8% profit margin target imposed by 2022 on it by its parent Lufthansa Group, according to a press release issued by the Cologne-based airline group.

The Brussels National-based carrier is not profitable enough for its German parent and has been instructed to review its network and to extract further synergies from working with other carriers in the group.

As part of the current review, Brussels Airlines has also been tasked with becoming more digitalised and streamlined. Savings are expected to come from fleet rationalisation, productivity gains and flight operations enhancements.

The objective is for the airline is to become a smaller, more profitable company. Once the profit margin target has been reached, the group may then consider growth again for its daughter company.

The news follows swiftly on the heels of reorganisation at two of the group's other carriers, namely Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna) and Lufthansa Cargo (LH, Frankfurt International). The Vienna-based company has been given the goal of saving EUR90 million euro (USD99 million) per annum by 2021.