Flyr’s launch network will consist of five domestic and three international routes from Norway’s capital Oslo (OSL), with the carrier’s inaugural flight set to take off before the end of the month.
The airline, backed by industry veteran Erik Braathen, plans to begin commercial service with flights to Tromsø (TOS), operating up to 19X-weekly from June 30.
Two more domestic destinations— Bodø (BOO) and Harstad-Narvik (EVE)—join the carrier’s network the following day. The routes will receive seven and 12 flights per week respectively.
Bergen (BGO) and Trondheim (TRD) complete Flyr’s domestic schedule from Aug. 16, with 30X-weekly and 29X-weekly frequencies planned.
International service starts on Aug. 21, connecting Oslo with Alicante (ALC) and Malaga (AGP) in Spain, alongside Nice (NCE) in France. Service will be 1X-weekly on the OSL-ALC sector, and 2X-weekly to AGP and NCE.
In a statement, Flyr said its first Boeing 737-800 would arrive in Norway “soon” and the operating license would be in place “well before” June 30. “The company will expand the number of aircraft and destinations in line with demand,” the carrier added.
Flyr currently employs 67 staff and expects to swell its headcount to 350 by the end of the year.
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The planned launch of the airline comes as Wizz Air has confirmed it will exit Norway’s domestic market from mid-June—just seven months after beginning flights within the Scandinavian country.
As first reported by Norwegian news site E24, the ULCC will suspend flights from OSL to 10 domestic destinations, halting service to Alesund (AES), Alta (ALF), BGO, BOO, EVE, Haugesund (HAU), Kirkenes (KKN), Stavanger (SVG), TOS and TRD. Flights will end on June 14.
Wizz entered Norway’s domestic market in November 2020, stationing two aircraft at OSL and opening a base at TRD. However, the Trondheim base closed just a few months later.
Despite the exit of Wizz, Norway’s domestic market will continue to be well-served, with SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Widerøe and Norwegian Air Shuttle remaining the country’s three largest players.
OAG Schedules Analyser data shows that SAS will offer more than 524,000 domestic seats in June, with Widerøe providing almost 450,000.
Norwegian also intends to increase its domestic capacity from 172,608 seats in May to more than 255,000 in June. The growth follows the completion of a reconstruction process that began in November 2020.
“The company has managed to reduce its total debt since the end of 2019 by approximately NOK 63-65 billion ($7.5-$7.8 billion),” Norwegian said in a statement on May 26.
“In addition, it has discontinued its long-haul operations, reduced its fleet from 156 aircraft to 51 aircraft, as well as terminated aircraft orders with Boeing and Airbus representing CAPEX commitments of approximately NOK 85 billion in aggregated value.”
Norwegian has signed agreements for four owned and 44 leased aircraft and intends to operate them on a short-haul network primarily in Norway and to “key” destinations in Europe.
Credit: Dag Sundberg/Getty Images
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