After nearly 15 months of closed borders and grounded planes travellers have flocked back to airlines, desperate for a taste of pre-pandemic life.
But though short-haul flying has bounced back relatively fast, the long-haul market remains a shadow of its former self.
For no market segment is this more true than the transatlantic market, one of the crown jewels of global aviation.
Thus far, despite repeated pleas from
When, however, the transatlantic market returns in full, it will have a different look. After years of rapid growth the pandemic put paid to Norwegian, which emerged from restructuring shorn of its once much-envied long-haul business.
Back in 2019, before the pandemic struck, Norwegian and its
Almost no sooner than it bowed out, two new players staked their claims to fill the gap Norwegian left behind.
The first,
At the other end of the spectrum is Norse
Although the company has repeatedly tried to distance itself from Norwegian, the combination of its staff and business model – the same low-cost, long-haul approach championed by the other carrier – have stuck.
‘Real challenge’ for Norse Atlantic
Some, it is fair to say, are sceptical that the new carrier can make the approach work.
“There’s no example of an airline which has made low-cost, long-haul work sustainably over a long period”, aviation consultant
“The transatlantic market has long been seen as a pot of gold but for many airlines it has been a disaster. Big players who can sustain flying all year round and tap into the lucrative business class market do fine, but it’s a real challenge for those airlines which just go after price.”
Speaking to City A.M.,
“We are the only pure player in this particular segment, so our target group is not the same as our fellow airlines”, he said.
Aviation analyst
“In my view, the fundamental problem with Norwegian was that it didn’t have enough premium seats. It didn’t get it right in earlier iterations, but let’s see if they can do it this time.”
Even with this in mind, for many launching an airline now, with the market as it is, is a counterintuitive move, but Larsen insisted that it was the “best possible” time to do so.
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“If there ever was a time to establish an airline in this segment, for a number of reasons it would be now”, he said.
“First of all the availability of competitive and more environmentally friendly aircraft has never been better, and we were able to secure aircraft at very competitive terms.
“Secondly, we have flexibility to start the operation when the market gets back, which we think will happen sometime in spring next year. We certainly need the coronavirus to be behind us and those travel restrictions lifted, but we have flexibility to go on beyond that, if required.
“And thirdly there was an abundance of people that wanted to come work for us to create this new airline focusing on a new segment creating comfortable rides for passengers in
After starting flying next spring, Larsen said he hoped the airline’s 15-strong fleet would be flying at full capacity in 2023 and 2024.
‘As good as time as any’ for
By contrast
“US carriers are all in a better position than their European counterparts because they’ve got such a strong domestic market which at the moment is largely back to normal”, said Strickland.
And unlike
Add in the strength of JetBlue’s brand on the other side of the
“They’ve obviously got to work hard to establish themselves over here but if there was anytime for a newcomer to come in and offer a good product at a much lower price it would be now.”
One thing is for sure, said Tarry – it’s all good news for the passenger.
“With someone coming into the market there is always a fare fight, and it’s the one with the deepest pockets who survives. It’s not a good business premise, but it’s usually good for consumers.”
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