newstodate.aero
Oct 11, 2018 (newstodate): The Faroese carrier Atlantic Airways is expanding its fleet capacity in the coming few years - but in a cautious way..
Currently operating a fixed-wing fleet comprising two Airbus A319 and one Airbus A320 aircraft, orders have been placed for one Airbus A320neo ti be delivered in March 2109, and one Airbus A320neo to be delivered about one year later, in 2020.
At the same time, one of the Airbus A319 aircraft will be handed back to the lessor as the first Airbus A320neo enters service in 2019.
-Organic growth is obviously a challenging issue requiring care and close management, as can be seen in the current stream of unfortunate news from the airline industry, says Johanna a Berghi, Atlantic Airways CEO.
-We currently operate some 500 annual flights in and out of Vagar Airport to and from destinations in Europe, primarily Copenhagen, and with introduction of the coming new Airbus A320neo this translates into some 30,000 more seats per year.
-With the larger Airbus aircraft this production becomes even more cost-efficient, but there are still only some 50,000 people on the Faroe Islands. Even if we want them to continue flying more and more it remains a challenge to grow our passenger volumes. One remedy is to expand the tourism infrastructure on the Faroe Islands, and much work is invested into this from several sides.
-It will, however, also be crucial to develop in the charter and ACMI business to complement our core strategy of providing connectivity at Vagar Airport. With the new aircraft fleet we will be in a stronger positoin to grow in these markets as well, says Ms a Berghi.
Currently operating a fixed-wing fleet comprising two Airbus A319 and one Airbus A320 aircraft, orders have been placed for one Airbus A320neo ti be delivered in March 2109, and one Airbus A320neo to be delivered about one year later, in 2020.
At the same time, one of the Airbus A319 aircraft will be handed back to the lessor as the first Airbus A320neo enters service in 2019.
-Organic growth is obviously a challenging issue requiring care and close management, as can be seen in the current stream of unfortunate news from the airline industry, says Johanna a Berghi, Atlantic Airways CEO.
-We currently operate some 500 annual flights in and out of Vagar Airport to and from destinations in Europe, primarily Copenhagen, and with introduction of the coming new Airbus A320neo this translates into some 30,000 more seats per year.
-With the larger Airbus aircraft this production becomes even more cost-efficient, but there are still only some 50,000 people on the Faroe Islands. Even if we want them to continue flying more and more it remains a challenge to grow our passenger volumes. One remedy is to expand the tourism infrastructure on the Faroe Islands, and much work is invested into this from several sides.
-It will, however, also be crucial to develop in the charter and ACMI business to complement our core strategy of providing connectivity at Vagar Airport. With the new aircraft fleet we will be in a stronger positoin to grow in these markets as well, says Ms a Berghi.