After beginning 2024 with positive year-on-year performance – in January, Norse Atlantic Airways had an average load factor of 64 per cent (an increase of 12 percentage points year on year) – today the airline announced it has entered into an agreement with Air Peace for an ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) charter service.
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This collaboration marks the beginning of a strategic partnership aimed at providing seamless air travel solutions between London and Lagos, Nigeria. Commencing in April 2024, initially for a period of two months with the potential for a longer-term agreement, the ACMI charter will operate four times a week, offering travellers convenient and reliable transportation options between these key destinations. Norse Atlantic Airways will be using slots at London Gatwick allocated to Air Peace to facilitate this new route.
“We are thrilled to be working with Air Peace to launch this ACMI charter service between London Gatwick and Lagos. This collaboration represents an exciting opportunity to leverage our expertise in charter operations to deliver a reliable and high-quality service to Air Peace and their customers,” said Bjørn Tore Larsen, CEO and Founder of Norse Atlantic Airways.”
Strong numbers for January 2024
During January, Norse Atlantic Airways had 65,116 passengers across 313 flights, including 31 charter flights. 71 per cent of flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time with a completion rate of 100 per cent.
‘The first month of the year represented strong year on year growth for Norse Atlantic with increases in load factor, ASK and RPK, demonstrating that we are on the correct flightpath. We have continued our strategy to optimize fleet utilisation over the quieter winter period by operating a greater number of charters, a total of 31 in January, and we continue to see high levels of interest in our services in this sector. Following a positive year on year start to ticket sales at the beginning of January I am pleased to note that this has continued through to the end of the month for both short and long lead bookings,’ said Bjorn Tore Larsen, CEO and Founder Norse Atlantic Airways.
Extension of subleases for 4 Boeing 787 Dreamliners
Norse Atlantic Airways has agreed to extend the term for four subleased Boeing 787 aircraft. Three Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners have been extended by up to one year from the original return date and will now be redelivered to Norse between the end of March and the end of May 2025. Additionally, one Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will be extended by two months before returning to Norse Atlantic Airways in early May 2024, ahead of it entering Norse’s peak summer flying program. The agreement will increase total cash profit during the extended sublease periods.
Norse has 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. All 15 aircraft are on long-term flexible lease terms agreed during 2021 when lease rates were at historical low prices. The low lease pricing is fixed for the full duration of the leases, with no inflationary adjustments.
“This extension to the sublease agreements for four of our Dreamliner aircraft provides a further opportunity to increase secured total cash profit during the lease period. Our strategy is to grow at a steady pace in line with market demand. We intend to operate 12 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft during our summer 2024 season and we look forward to building up to a fully operational fleet of 15 aircraft in 2025,” said Bjørn Tore Larsen, CEO and Founder Norse Atlantic Airways.
About Norse Atlantic
Norse Atlantic Airways is an airline that offers affordable fares on long-haul flights, primarily between Europe and the United States. The company was founded by CEO and major shareholder Bjørn Tore Larsen in March 2021. Norse has a fleet of 15 modern, fuel-efficient and more environmentally friendly Boeing 787 Dreamliners that serve destinations including New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Jamaica, Barbados, Bangkok, Miami, Oslo, Athens, London, Berlin, Rome and Paris. The company’s first flight took off from Oslo to New York on June 14, 2022.
