bmi Regional
bmi regional will launch the first scheduled services connecting Stavanger with Harstad and Tromsø in northern Norway in January 2014. These services will be the first direct air link between the two fastest growing regions in Norway, and are important hubs for the Norwegian oil and gas industry.
The announcement that the UK’s most punctual airline is to fly direct services within Norway has been widely welcomed by Norwegian city municipalities and the business community, as it represents the culmination of extensive work by industry and the public sector to achieve enhanced air connectivity between these key regional locations. The news comes just days after bmi regional launched a direct, scheduled service between Kristiansund in Norway and Aberdeen in the UK. Both cities are key locations for oil and gas activity in the North Sea.
At the recent ONS conference in Stavanger, the municipalities of Hammerfest, Tromsø, Harstad, Brønnøysund, Sandnessjøen, Stavanger Airport Sola and Greater Stavanger presented a detailed route development report on the opportunities between Stavanger and Northern Norway. “A comprehensive survey of the market carried out by regional municipal partners revealed that Norwegian businesses could save significant time and money with the creation of a direct route between Stavanger-Harstad and Stavanger-Tromso and that there was significant demand for shorter travel times." says Commercial director, Stavanger Airport, Ina Eldøy. “When the regions with the strongest growth in Norway require close co-operation and faster connections to enable shorter travel times, it's our job at the airport to facilitate this. We are delighted that bmi regional have responded almost immediately to deliver on this opportunity”.
Ian Woodley, Chairman, bmi regional, said: “The launch of these domestic Norwegian routes is part of bmi regional's strategy of expanding into markets with compelling growth possibilities for our business model. We identified the Nordic region and, in particular, the oil and gas industry as one of the best opportunities. The solid data and documentation of the two region’s requirements delivered at ONS, combined with the support of local government, businesses and the airports convinced the management at bmi regional to launch domestic flights in Norway. These routes not only meet our strategic goals, but are a perfect example of the flexibility of our airline to move fast when opportunities arrive. We look forward to bringing the fantastic bmi regional product to Norwegian flyers”.
Tromso and Harstad also have incredible scenery and experiences to offer the leisure tourist. Tromsø is the the capital of the arctic and is surrounded by mountains, fjords and islands. It has 24 hours of daylight in the summer - you can even play a round of golf on the most northerly course in the world - at midnight. The polar nights from November to January offer stunning light conditions during the short dawn. Tromsø is one of the best places on earth to observe the northern lights. And, of course, you can go skiing - even as late as May. Harstad is on Norway’s biggest island, and offers fantastic hiking options and nature based experiences. You can catch the ships sailing the Hurtigruten route (‘the fast way’) through the Arctic Norway coast.
AIR BALTIC TO SERVE RIGA FROM ABERDEEN
Currently at the planning stages of the schedule, the new route which will be operational in spring 2014 will offer convenient connections between the two cities and beyond to destinations in the Baltic region, Scandinavia, Russia and the CIS countries.
It is predicted that the service will operate four days a week. It will provide an important service to businesses at both ends of the route, as well as feeding the growing leisure market thanks to the popularity of Riga as a short-break destination from the North-east of Scotland.
Michael Grimme, Chief Commercial Officer of airBaltic: “Every month, airBaltic has been achieving consistently good results. This means we can now bring it back to our customers by offering affordable tickets and new destinations. We are now making the necessary preparations for a new Aberdeen-Riga route to offer excellent connections via Riga to and from destinations such as Baku, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Kiev, Odessa.”
Carol Benzie is the Operations Director in Aberdeen. She said: “The energy industry will benefit from this route, and many of our business passengers will value this service into Riga as well as the onward connections that serving this hub will provide. On top of that it will be welcomed by our leisure passengers who see Riga as a popular short break destination. We look forward to welcoming airBaltic to the Aberdeen team.”
airBaltic serves 60 destinations from its home base at Riga, Latvia. From every one of these, airBaltic offers convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East.
It is predicted that the service will operate four days a week. It will provide an important service to businesses at both ends of the route, as well as feeding the growing leisure market thanks to the popularity of Riga as a short-break destination from the North-east of Scotland.
Michael Grimme, Chief Commercial Officer of airBaltic: “Every month, airBaltic has been achieving consistently good results. This means we can now bring it back to our customers by offering affordable tickets and new destinations. We are now making the necessary preparations for a new Aberdeen-Riga route to offer excellent connections via Riga to and from destinations such as Baku, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Kiev, Odessa.”
Carol Benzie is the Operations Director in Aberdeen. She said: “The energy industry will benefit from this route, and many of our business passengers will value this service into Riga as well as the onward connections that serving this hub will provide. On top of that it will be welcomed by our leisure passengers who see Riga as a popular short break destination. We look forward to welcoming airBaltic to the Aberdeen team.”
airBaltic serves 60 destinations from its home base at Riga, Latvia. From every one of these, airBaltic offers convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, CIS and the Middle East.
MTB 07/09/2013
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