Belgian carriers SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express united on Tuesday under the new name and corporate identity of Brussels Airlines.
Even though they already were part of the same Belgian company, the official renaming marked the completion of their merger, five years to the day after SN Brussels' predecessor, Sabena, was declared bankrupt.
Virgin Express was started by British tycoon Richard Branson in 1996 to launch the first low-cost carrier out of Brussels.
The Brussels Airlines planes will have red dots marking a small "b" on their dark-blue tail.
Although operating under a common name, one part of the company will offer a no-frills service based on the Virgin Express identity while another will cater to the business community and offer customers more convenience and flexibility.
"Brussels Airlines listened to what all its passengers want, both business and low-cost, and has created two products that exactly meet their needs," said Brussels Airlines CEO Neil Burrows.
Flights will be operated under the Brussels Airlines brand as of March 25.
Popular interest had centered on a name for the joint airline, with some predicting it would hark back to the old days of Sabena. Yet for the first time in decades, there will be no stylized "S" in the corporate logo of Belgium's biggest carrier.
The two airlines decided to merge to stand a better chance of prospering in the cluttered European market. Virgin and SN set up a joint holding company under the name SN Airholding, with SN receiving a majority 70.1 percent stake and Virgin the remaining 29.9 percent.
SN has some 2,100 personnel and Virgin 700, and the joining of forces should not lead to redundancies.
The network the new airline will cover will seek to cut the overlap between routes and extend links to Europe's major economic hubs. SN has traditional links with Africa because of Belgium's colonial past, and the new entity will seek to expand to other continents as well.
With Brussels Airport as its base, it will seek to become the main airline for business travel to the EU headquarters. Last year, the two airlines combined transported 5.2 million passengers.
Brussels Airlines will service over 50 European airports, 13 African destinations, three in North America and one each in China and the United Arab Emirates.
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