Start-up long-haul carrier Norse Atlantic Airways has removed excess winter capacity on some transatlantic routes and will only serve Los Angeles on a seasonal basis.
The budget airline has subleased out four out of its 13 aircraft and is negotiating a similar arrangement for a fifth aircraft for 18 months.
Norse Atlantic said: “The changes to the company’s winter network will not result in redundancies.
“The company looks forward to ramping up cabin and flight crew recruitment in 2023, ahead of its expanded summer schedule.”
The airline continues to have ‘power by the hour’ lease agreements – meaning it only pays for an aircraft when it is flying – across the fleet throughout the winter, which provides utilisation flexibility at no cost.
Additional distribution channels have been secured, includingSkyscanner, Finn.no, Travelfusion and Google Flights, which have resulted in an “immediate positive increase” in forward bookings.
Norse Atlantic’s core summer 2023 schedule will be announced early in November, with flights available to book through to October 2023.
Other routes will be announced in “due course”.
The airline expects to have ten aircraft in operation at the height of the summer season including a greater presence out of Gatwick after the Civil Aviation Authority gave approval for an Air Operators’ Certificate and Operating Licence.
Norse Atlantic said it intends to operate direct point-to-point flights between the UK and the US, subject to further regulatory approval.
Traffic from the US to Europe during the winter is expected to remain strong with the effect of the strong US dollar against the euro and the pound encouraging early booking patterns.
Norse Atlantic expects load factors and yield to increase across its network from October as capacity is trimmed.
Chief executive Bjorn Tore Larsen said: “We have taken swift action to adjust our winter schedule and remove excess capacity from our network in light of lower expected demand, high fuel prices and rising global inflation.
“The flexibility provided by our power by the hour aircraft lease agreements has allowed Norse Atlantic to lower cash burn over the winter period in anticipation of ramping up operations for a strong summer 2023 season.
“We are pleased that bookings for our remaining core winter routes remain strong and that ticket sales have been increasing as we expand our distribution network.”
Norse Atlantic operated 98% of scheduled flights in September, with cancellations caused by airport closures linked to Hurricane Ian in Florida.
The airline operated 338 flights last month, a 33% increase compared to August, due to a number of routes commencing mid-month during that period. Passenger carryings edged up by 7% month-on-month to 62,749 with a load factor of 56%, linked to excess capacity on specific routes in the network.