Monarch is moving increasingly from charter to scheduled operations, with long-haul scheduled routes on the cards, as it takes delivery of a new fleet.
New Monarch Scheduled managing director Liz Savage said the carrier could be operating regular flights to the US or South America from 2010.
The carrier’s business is split 50/50 between scheduled and charter operations. But within a year Savage expects this to be 60/40 in favour of scheduled.
Monarch’s Gatwick-Larnaca service, launched last month, is its longest scheduled route.
“We will expand by two aircraft a year for the next four to five years, with a mix of short and medium-haul routes,” said Savage.
But the delivery of the first of six Boeing 787s, the so-called Dreamliners, in 2010, will transform Monarch’s long-haul options. “The 787s could be used for scheduled flights – we will have the capability,” said Savage.
“With composite materials and wi-fi systems, the 787 will change the way people see flying. We could serve the US east coast or South America.”
The prospect of open skies between Europe and the US from April 2008 could also see Monarch expand its operations at Gatwick if rival carriers withdraw services at the airport to move to Heathrow.
“There is a lot of talk about consolidation following the open-skies agreement and we will be watching closely,” said Savage.
“If other carriers exited Gatwick, we could take up opportunities at the airport. The gloves are off in the fight for passengers.”
Savage joined Monarch from EasyJet in February. She said one quarter of the carrier’s passengers now check-in online.
Monarch carried 3.6 million scheduled passengers last year from Luton, Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester and has added 21% more capacity for this summer.