Tag: Oslo

Norwegian to restart short haul flights from UK from July

Norwegian has said that following other European carriers, the airline will begin to operate flights between London Gatwick to Oslo, London Gatwick to Copenhagen, Edinburgh to Oslo and Edinburgh to Copenhagen from July 1.

The services from London to Oslo will be operated seven times a week, London to Copenhagen six times a week, and Edinburgh to Oslo and Copenhagen twice a week respectively.

Jacob Schram, Norwegian CEO said: ‘Feedback from our customers has shown that they are keen to get back in the air and resume their travels with Norwegian beyond the current domestic services that we have been operating. Norwegian is returning to European skies with the reintroduction of more aircraft to serve our key destinations which will ensure that we remain in line with competing carriers.

‘Safety remains our top priority and we have introduced a number of specific measures to further reduce the already low risk of infection on board.’

Stewart Wingate, Gatwick CEO, said: ‘The restart of regular Norwegian services from Gatwick is very welcome news and reflects the strength of the relationship and success the airline has had at Gatwick in recent years, as well as the fact that consumer demand is picking up as more people want to start flying again.

‘The wellbeing and safety of passengers and staff remains Gatwick’s top priority and – combined with the health measures announced by Norwegian -today’s news demonstrates that we are starting to see small green shoots of recovery.’

Since April Norwegian has only operated eight aircraft on domestic routes in Norway. From July Norwegian will operate 76 routes across Europe from the airline’s Scandinavian hubs compared to the 13 domestic Norway only flights served today. Other destinations include Spain, Greece and key European cities. Further destinations and frequency increases will be announced in due course subject to passenger demand and government travel restrictions, it said.

The airline has introduced new protective safety measures to minimise the risk of infection onboard its aircraft, including: compulsory facemask for travellers who are six years and older, as recommended by the European aviation authorities; maintaining physical distance during boarding and deboarding; minimise queuing in the cabin with hand luggages placed under the seat in front; seating passengers with as much distance as possible, while mid row seats will be the last to be occupied; no onboard catering so as to minimise the contact between customers and crew, as well as thorough disinfection of the aircraft.

bmi regional doubles capacity on its Aberdeen – Oslo service

UK-based airline, bmi regional, has said that it has doubled its capacity on the Aberdeen to Oslo route as the airline seeks to provide better connectivity for the oil and gas industry on both sides of the North Sea.

The airline’s scheduled service was launched in October last year as a single daily flight, Sunday to Friday. Effective from February 3, bmi regional will operate two flights a day, Monday to Thursday, with single daily flights continuing on Sundays and Fridays.

The addition of morning and evening flights four days a week will enable business travellers to spend a day in either city and will also increase inbound leisure traffic to the North-east of Scotland, the airport said.

Cathal O’Connell, chief executive of bmi regional, said: ‘When we launched our Aberdeen to Oslo service last year we committed to increasing the frequency if demand required it and we are now delivering on that promise.

The support of businesses at both ends of the route has exceeded our expectations and we are now responding to feedback from our customers by delivering additional frequency. Increasing the number of flights to two a day demonstrates our commitment to providing connections that support the strong economy in the North-east of Scotland, the oil and gas industry, and businesses in Scotland and Norway.’

The Scandinavian oil and gas industry is a key market for bmi regional, as it launched a direct service from Aberdeen to Kristiansund in August 2013, and started flights between Stavanger and Harstad/Narvik (Evenes) and Tromso in the north of Norway, Kristiansund and Gothenburg in Sweden, in January.

Claimed to be the UK’s most punctual airline for the past eight years, bmi regional operates 300 flights a week to 21 destinations across the UK and Europe.

UK’s bmi regional starts new Aberdeen – Oslo service

bmi regional, claimed to be the UK’s most punctual airline, is set to launch a new scheduled service between Aberdeen and the Norwegian capital, Oslo, on October 28, 2013.

The new Oslo service will operate from Aberdeen International Airport as a single daily flight from Monday to Friday and on Sundays, and will be operated with a 37-seat Embraer 135 jet aircraft. Flights will depart Aberdeen at 1605, arriving in Oslo at 1845, and depart Oslo at 1915, arriving in Aberdeen at 2000, all times local. Booking is now available via the airline’s www.bmiregional.com website and travel agents. Fares start from GBP99 one way and GBP175 return. From Oslo, fares start from NOK999 one way or NOK1999 return.

There are currently no direct flights between Aberdeen and Oslo. While leisure travellers may benefit from the direct access between two key city destinations, the decision to start the service was prompted by demands from the oil and gas industry, the airline said.

Cathal O’Connell, chief executive of bmi regional said: ‘We are delighted to be launching a direct scheduled service between the cities of Aberdeen and Oslo. Both locations are strategic hubs for oil and gas activity and we believe our flights will offer significant time and efficiency savings for businesses in the North-east of Scotland and Norway.’

Carol Benzie, commercial director at Aberdeen International Airport, said: ‘We are delighted to see bmi regional growing strongly at Aberdeen and really reflecting the demand in the market. Oslo is a key location for the North-east business community as well as being a great leisure route for both inbound and outbound travellers.’

Ranked number one in terms of quality of life amongst European cities, Oslo also offers a range of cultural and natural attractions. Steve Harris, chief executive of VisitAberdeen, said: ‘We are delighted that the opportunities to attract tourists to Aberdeen through Aberdeen International Airport continue to grow and that bmi regional, in particular, continues to expand into Scandinavia at a real pace. Aberdeen is fast becoming recognised as Scotland’s weekend city, where great value exists in hotels and elsewhere. The timings of this service will help us to develop that market.’

The new route announcement comes after bmi regional recently launched direct, scheduled flights between Aberdeen and Kristiansund in Norway. Earlier this month, the airline also announced that it would operate scheduled services between Stavanger and northern Norway from January 2014.

Other than its recently launched Kristiansund service, bmi regional operates flights from Aberdeen to Bristol, Manchester, Norwich and Esbjerg in Denmark.