LATVIA: Primera Air To Commence Low Fare Transatlantic Flights

When Norwegian Air Shuttle launched its first flights between London and New York in 2013 with one-way fares sometimes as low as $99, it upended a market that until then had been dominated by legacy airlines charging four to five times as much.

How did it manage to undercut the competition? By utilizing new, fuel-efficient aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 and more recently, the Boeing 737 Max; by charging extra for almost everything, from meals to checked bags to assigned seats; by offering low transatlantic fares; and by aggressive expansion.

Now, Primera Air, which will begin offering service between Boston and New York (Newark) and London, Birmingham, England and Paris this spring, hopes to succeed by using the very same strategy.

Initially, Primera Air, which began life as JetX in Iceland, operated charter flights for major Scandinavian tour operators. But the airline gradually started selling surplus seats as flight-only tickets on some of its fixed charter flights.

Primera Air continued to increase both the number of routes and flight frequency, resulting in a mixed charter/scheduled carrier business model.

Since those early days, the airline has turned its business model upside down, according to Anastasija Višņakova, Primera’s vice president and chief commercial officer. The majority of its flights are now scheduled.

The carrier has already shown it intends to be aggressive, announcing its plans to expand by offering flights between Europe and Canada before it’s even acquired its first aircraft capable of transatlantic flights.

We plan a fast-paced expansion, said Visņakova. This is the way to go – very aggressive.

Primera is the third airline with Nordic roots to offer low-cost transatlantic service. Like WOW, it traces its roots back to Iceland. And like Norwegian, it promises to provide nonstop service across the Atlantic, as opposed to WOW flights that require a stop in Reykjavik.

Maybe there’s something in the air to explain why Nordic-based carriers have entered the low-fare transatlantic market, Visņakova said.

Or, more likely, it’s what Visņakova described as a revolution in aircraft design, with the introduction of the Airbus 321 NEO and the Boeing 737 MAX. Both aircraft offer a range that makes intercontinental flights possible.

Primera will launch its transatlantic service using the Airbus321 NEO, the first of which is due to arrive in early 2018. By year’s end, the airline plans to have eight A321 NEOs, including two long-range variants.

On board, there are 198 seats in three cabins. The standard economy seat pitch is 30 inches. There is also an Economy Comfort cabin offering 32 inches and 16 Premium Economy seats in a 2-2 layout with a pitch of 49 inches.

There is no in-flight entertainment system, but Wi-Fi is free and there are power ports available throughout the aircraft.

The airline also has an order for 10 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft and is scheduled to be the launch customer for the new aircraft in 2019. Visņakova said the airline expects to eventually expand its fleet of 737 MAX9s to 20 aircraft.

While they would appear to be direct competitors, Norwegian and Primera have slightly different strategies.

With both carriers offer ultra-low fares for bare-bones service, they differ in how they deploy their aircraft.

Norwegian flies its single-aisle 737 MAX8 aircraft, with a seating capacity of 189 passengers, from secondary markets in the US, such as Providence, R.I., Hartford, Conn. and Newburgh, N.Y., to Ireland and Scotland, as well as seasonal service to Norway and Northern Ireland.

Primera, on the other hand, will fly directly from Boston and New York’s Newark to the United Kingdom and Paris, a decision, Visņakova said, that will give the airline a competitive advantage.

In London, however, Primera will base its flights from Stansted Airport, rather than more popular Heathrow or Gatwick.

Visņakova said Stansted gives the carrier the opportunity to grow its UK operations as opposed to already crowded Heathrow and Gatwick. She said Stansted was also located in an attractive catchment area, with industries and education facilities similar to those located in Boston and New York.

We’re in this for the long haul, said Višņakova, explaining one of the reasons behind the decision to establish a base in Stansted. The airline is looking to the future, she commented.

And Visņakova sees a growing opportunity in Birmingham, as other carriers have announced they’re suspending service to England’s second largest city. Birmingham booking numbers are very, very good, she said.

Visņakova said bookings so far exceed the airline’s expectations. We’ve had a great reception in Europe and an increasingly warm reception in the US, she said.

She said the carrier is relying mostly on online marketing to get the word out about its service in the US. It must be working: Visņakova said between 60 and 65 percent of current bookings are coming from the US.


Tourism Observer

LATVIA: Primera Air Review

Booking with a budget airline is always a risk, but with a number of out-of-country weddings to attend this summer, when Nordic airline Primera Air announced its £99 transatlantic flight sale in March, the deal was too good for me to resist.

The airline introduced transatlantic flights from London to New York, Boston, Washington DC, and Toronto earlier this year— and there were 99 tickets on offer in the sale for each of the routes.

Primera appears to have even cheaper deals from the US, with a number of $99 fares available to Paris and London.

There were even some $69 one-way fares available.

On the day of the £99 sale, the site was so busy I couldn't get on it for hours — but I still managed to bag a one-way fare from London Stansted to Toronto Pearson for August.

The light fare which normally starts at £149 one way from London, only includes the seat and 10kg hand luggage, so I paid £24.99 extra for a 23kg checked bag and £19.99 for an XL reserved seat, paying a total of £143.98 for the one-way ticket.

However, I was one of a number of lucky customers who were bumped up to the premium economy cabin, which would normally start at £499 each way, or $749 from the US.

Since not all reviews of the airline have been positive, I expected this would just mean I'd receive some food and perhaps board before other passengers.

But it was far more luxurious than I thought.

Primera Air is a leisure airline headquartered in Riga, Latvia owned by the Primera Travel Group, an Icelandic tourism company that consists mainly of Nordic tour operators Solresor, Bravo Tours, Lomamatkat, Heimsferðir and Solia.

Its provides scheduled and charter passenger services to leisure destinations from Northern Europe to more than 40 destinations in the Mediterranean, Middle East and North America.

The airline was founded in 2003 as JetX in Iceland, and operated under an Icelandic AOC.

In 2008 Primera Travel Group took ownership of the airline and rebranded it as Primera Air, while also appointing Jón Karl Ólafsson as the new CEO of Primera Air.

In 2009 Primera Air established the subsidiary Primera Air Scandinavia under a Danish Air operator's certificate (AOC) and in 2014 added a Latvian operating license under the name Primera Air Nordic.

Hrafn Thorgeirsson was appointed Managing Director of Primera Air Scandinavia in 2009 while Jón Karl remained CEO of Primera Air.

The head offices for the holding company and airline remained in Iceland until 2014 when the main offices were moved to Riga, Latvia.

The success of Primera Travel Group in Denmark, Sweden and Iceland facilitated further expansion and growth during the next years; in July 2014 Primera Air flew 155.000 passengers in 1006 flights with an average flight seat utilisation of 91%.

Initially, Primera Air operated charter flights for major Scandinavian tour operators, but gradually started selling surplus seats as flight-only tickets on some of the fixed charter flights in 2013.

The continued success allowed Primera Air to increase both the number of routes and flight frequency, resulting in a mixed charter/scheduled carrier business model.

Today the majority of Primera Air flights are scheduled, although some flights combine charter and regular passengers, and separate full charter flight services are also available.

In August 2014 Primera Air announced the founding of a new airline, Primera Air Nordic, IATA code 6F in Latvia, which would be run parallel to Primera Air Scandinavia.

Simultaneously, a new Network Control Center was opened in Riga for overseeing all operational matters of the airline, focusing on continuation of the healthy development enjoyed in prior years and to expand into markets beyond Scandinavia.

A supportive business environment, skilled workforce and high quality standards were the key factor for moving the control center.

Hrafn Thorgeirsson was appointed as the new CEO of both Primera Air Scandinavia and Primera Air Nordic.

The major restructuring and consolidation had a positive impact on the airline. In 2015 Primera Air operated eight aircraft with a turnover of 250 million USD, and earned more than 5.2 million euros in total revenue before taxes (EBITDA).

During the first 8 months of 2016, the airline had earned 4 million euros with an estimate of 7.60 million by the end of the year.

Today Primera Air is essentially a Danish-Latvian airline with Icelandic owners.

Generally Primera Air operates return flights from its Scandinavian airports to popular holiday destinations along the Mediterranean coast of

Europe and Africa, the Canary Islands, the Azores, Madeira, Bulgaria and Turkey, as well as custom charter flights to virtually any destination. The airline maintains seasonal summer and winter selections.

The selection of scheduled flight destinations has gradually expanded since their introduction in 2013.

In late 2014 Primera Air launched 10 new winter and summer direct flight destinations from Iceland, namely, Las Palmas, Tenerife, Alicante, Salzburg, Malaga, Mallorca and Barcelona, Bologna, Crete and Bodrum.

On 26 October 2014 Primera Air launched weekly flights from Gothenburg and Malmö to Dubai (Al Maktoum) and Tenerife, from Helsinki to Fuerteventura and Las Palmas.

On November 16 the airline commenced a new route from Keflavik to New York (JFK) after acquiring rights to serve the United States. Later that year the airline started four new weekly routes: Aalborg-Las Palmas, Copenhagen-Billund-Lanzarote, Aarhus-Tenerife and Aalborg-Fuerteventura.

In 2015, Primera Air signed agreements worth 30 million euros with several leading travel agencies in France for operating a series of flights with 2 aircraft from Charles de Gaulle airport to popular holiday destinations during summer.

In February 2016 Croatian destinations of Dubrovnik and Pula were added to the range of flight destinations. In May 2016 the airline commenced regular flights from Billund to Nice and Venice.

Shortly afterwards flights to Antalya were introduced. Later that year Primera Air announced the increase in frequency for existing destinations as well as new destinations (Milan and Rome) from Stockholm for the summer season of 2017.

It was done in an effort to strengthen its operations and presence in Sweden and in line with plans for further fleet and destination range expansion.

Later that year Trieste, Almería and Lamezia Terme were added as destinations.

Summer 2017 saw the addition of routes to Kalamata, Ponta Delgada and Madeira. In July 2017, Primera Air announced they would start transatlantic flights in 2018 to Newark, Boston and Toronto-Pearson from Birmingham, London Stansted and Paris Charles de Gaulle with a fleet of 8 Airbus A321neo aircraft.

In early 2018 Washington DC was added as the latest transatlantic destination, while Athens, Kos and Zakynthos are the latest holiday destination additions.

Primera Air has announced increased flight frequency for flights to its most popular destinations in southern Spain, and the pricing policy on these routes has allowed it to compete with the low-cost carrier Norwegian.

In June 2018, citing delivery delays by Airbus of its A321neo fleet, Primera cancelled all transatlantic flights to and from Birmingham Airport scheduled on or after 21 June 2018.

Transatlantic flights to and from Birmingham were expected to resume in 2019. However in July 2018, Primera Air announced it will terminate all operations at Birmingham Airport by October 2018.

In August 2018, the airline announced 3 new routes from Brussels to Boston-Logan begins 2 June 2019, Newark begins 9 May 2019 and Washington-Dulles International Airport begins 2 June 2019.

2 Boeing 737 MAX 9 will be based in Belgium. And it announced 3 new routes from Berlin to Boston-Logan begins 9 June 2019, Newark begins 7 June 2019 and Toronto begins 10 June 2019 using their Boeing 737 MAX 9.

In September 2018, Primera announced 4 new routes from a new European base at Frankfurt. The routes are New York Newark begins 16 June 2019, Boston begins 21 June 2019, Montreal begins 16 July 2019 and Toronto begins 16 July 2019. This will be operated by their 737 MAX-9s.

Primera Air offers charter services for the following companies:

Travel agencies within Primera Travel Group: Heimsferoir, Bravo Tours, Matka-Vekka, Lomamatkat, Solia, Solresor and Terra Nova Iceland.
Third-party travel agencies: 747 Travel, Travel City Sports and Urval-Utsyn.

The Primera Air fleet, consisting of aircraft operated by Primera Air and Primera Air Nordic, consists of the following aircraft:

- Airbus A321neo = 5

- Boeing 737-700 = 2

- Boeing 737-800 = 7

- Total = 14

Primera Aircraft Orders Currently:

- Boeing 737 MAX 9 = 18 To be delivered in 2019. 8 aircraft leased from Air Lease Corporation.

- Boeing 737-800 = 1

- Airbus A321neo = 1 To be delivered in 2018

- Airbus A321LR = 2 To be delivered in 2018


Tourism Observer

DENMARK: Leisure Airline Primera Air Orders Up to 20 737 MAX 9s Worth More Than $950 Million

Boeing and Primera Air today announced an order for eight 737 MAX 9 airplanes, valued at more than $950 million at list prices.

The agreement also includes purchase rights for four additional 737 MAX 9s and a lease agreement for eight more airplanes from Air Lease Corporation.

The 737 MAX 9 will form the backbone of the low-cost airline’s future as it seeks to commence flights between Europe and North America.

Primera Air plans to use the MAX 9’s auxiliary fuel tanks to lower trip costs and maximize the range to accommodate flights connecting Europe to the east coast of the U.S.

The 737 MAX 9 will allow Primera Air to open up nonstop, long-haul routes from Europe to the U.S. with unmatched economics, said Andri M. Ingolfsson, President, Primera Air.

This aircraft has a lower per-seat cost than the current wide-body aircraft servicing the transatlantic and the capabilities of this aircraft type will change the economics of the industry. This will open up fantastic possibilities for growth for Primera Air in the future.

Primera Air’s commitment is a major endorsement of the 737 MAX 9 and its ability to serve new transatlantic markets, said Monty Oliver, vice president, European Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The MAX 9 will provide Primera Air unmatched efficiency, range, reliability and operating costs while continuing to provide a premium onboard experience for its passengers.

Primera Air is an all-Boeing carrier currently operating a fleet of nine Next-Generation 737-700s and 737-800s with flights to more than 70 airports in Europe.

Primera Air is part of the Primera Travel Group that operates travel agencies and tour operating companies in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Estonia.

The 737 MAX family has been designed to offer customers exceptional performance, flexibility and efficiency, with lower per-seat costs and an extended range that will open up new destinations in the single-aisle market.

The MAX 8 and 9 will be followed in 2019 by the smaller MAX 7 and higher capacity MAX 200, while studies and customer discussions continue on further growing the family.

The 737 MAX incorporates the latest-technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets and other improvements to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market.

The 737 MAX is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, accumulating more than 3,700 orders from 87 customers worldwide.


Tourism Observer

DENMARK: Primera Air Orders First Long-range A321neo Narrow-body Plane

Primera Air, a specialist in holiday flights from Denmark run by Icelander Hrafn Thorgeirsson, aims to take delivery of the first long-range version of the A321neo narrow-body plane in October and use the extra miles to offer trans-Atlantic flights that are normally the preserve of larger twin-aisle aircraft.

Primera isn’t alone in targeting the low-cost long-haul market from Europe’s far north.

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA has pioneered heavily discounted U.S. flights with a fleet of Boeing 787s and is also a future customer for the Airbus LR model, while Wow Air Ehf specializes in transporting cash-conscious travelers prepared to change planes in Reykjavik en route to North America.

In all three cases the airlines have looked south to find a market. Primera commenced flights from London Stansted to Newark last month and will also operate from Paris and Birmingham, with services to Boston, Toronto and Washington.

Norwegian has a major base at London Gatwick and also operates 787s from Barcelona, Paris and Rome, as well as deploying single-aisle 737s at the limits of their range from Britain and Ireland to the eastern US. Wow connects 21 European locations with 15 in the US and Canada via Iceland.

Thorgeirsson said the airlines are being forced to look beyond their Nordic heartlands partly as a result of subdued demand at home, drawing parallels with the economic pressures that stoked the Viking invasions of northwest Europe more than a thousand years ago.

It’s stagnant, the chief executive said. The number of charter passengers out of Denmark is almost unchanged over the last five years, and that’s true across Scandinavia.

We saw the same thing in 800 AD. Norway became overpopulated and because of inheritance laws only the oldest sons could inherit. So they started sailing in their long-ships to Ireland, England, Scotland and France.

Stansted alone has a catchment area of 26 million people, according to Primera, which has established a headquarters in Riga, Latvia, to minimize costs.

That’s about the same as the combined populations of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland. Larger airlines are awake to the threat, and have begun operating their own lower-cost inter-continental services.

At the same time, the challenge of funding trans-Atlantic operations may push the fledgling operators into the arms of rivals.

Norwegian, struggling with a stretched balance sheet from hundreds of jet orders, has had at least two takeover approaches from British Airways owner IAG SA, while Wow CEO Skuli Mogensen says his company may seek an industry investor or initial public offering to finance direct Europe-U.S. flights and services to Asia.

Primera’s two A321LRs, equipped with extra fuel tanks to give a 4,000 nautical-mile range that’s the longest for any current single-aisle model, will be sourced from U.S. lessor AerCap Holdings NV in order to gain first-mover advantage.

From 2019 the fleet will also be swelled with as many as 20 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets.

For a small carrier like us it’s vital to get a head start, Mr Thorgeirsson said.

The low-cost market across the Atlantic is just going to grow. People are unsure about it but that was the same 25 years ago when Ryanair and EasyJet started.

As a consumer, if I think the product is safe, comfortable and accessible and goes to the right airports, I’m going to go with the best price.


Tourism Observer

ICELAND: Primera Air Creates 3 New Routes

Primera Air, which is venturing into the combative transatlantic market this summer, has added three new routes from three different bases, all launched on 18 May.

Utilising a leased 757-200 from US charter carrier National Airlines, the airline started a six times weekly operation from Birmingham (BHX) to New York Newark (EWR).

Using the carrier’s single A321neo presently available for commercial flying, Primera commenced the four times weekly route from London Stansted (STN) to Boston (BOS).

Neither of these routes faces any direct competition. The final sector of the transatlantic trio launched was from Paris CDG (CDG) to Newark.

With incumbents United Airlines (12 times weekly) and Delta Air Lines (five) already operating this airport pair, Primera’s passengers will at least in the short-term be stepping on board a leased euroAtlantic Airways 767-300 to take them to New York on a daily basis.

Primera Air, has commenced its first transatlantic flights from London Stansted (STN), beginning a daily operation to New York Newark (EWR), just over a week after launching flights to Malaga and Alicante.

The start of services are being flown by a leased 757-200, to be replaced with the carrier’s A321LRs once they are cleared for operations.

While there is no direct competition on the airport pair, Air India, British Airways, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic Airways all offer services from London Heathrow.

Primera Air inaugurated operations from its new base in Birmingham (BHX) on 14 May, with its first two routes being Spanish links to Malaga (AGP) and Palma de Mallorca (PMI).

The first two routes come ahead of the airline’s transatlantic debut from the city to New York Newark on 18 May, with Toronto Pearson flights following soon after in June.

Anastasija Visnakova, CCO of Primera Air, said of the Birmingham base opening: It was a pleasure to welcome our passengers on the inaugural service to Malaga.

The range of destinations, both European and transatlantic, at fantastic prices creates more choice for passengers travelling from Birmingham Airport.

We have growth plans for Birmingham and we look forward to working with the airport and serving the region’s leisure and business travellers throughout 2018 and beyond.

While both Spanish routes are new to Primera Air, both are already well served from Birmingham.

The 1,767-kilometre sector to Malaga is already flown by Jet2.com (nine times weekly), Ryanair (nine), TUI Airways (four) and British Airways (one).

The 1,473-kilometre jaunt to Palma de Mallorca is already flown by Jet2.com (eight), TUI Airways (eight), Ryanair (daily), Thomas Cook Airlines (four) and British Airways (two).

Along with its new routes from Birmingham, Primera Air also began services from Aalborg (AAL) to Athens (ATH) this week.

Initiated on 10 May, the route between the Danish and Greek cities will be flown by the airline weekly (Thursdays) facing no direct competition.

The 2,366-kilometre connection, along with the airline’s Birmingham services, will be flown by 737-800s. No other airline currently links Aalborg to Athens.

Primera Air has recently confirmed its intention to begin flights over the Atlantic to Boston and New York Newark, starting initially with flights to both destinations from Birmingham, London Stansted and Paris CDG/

With routes scheduled to begin in April and May next year. All routes will be flown by A321neos, of which the carrier currently has an order for eight, plus two A321LRs, with deliveries expected in Q1 2018.

It should be noted that the carrier also has a firm order for eight 737 MAX 9s.

Flights to Newark will be flown daily from all three airports, with Boston being served four times weekly from the UK airports, and three times weekly from the French capital.

With the news of the carrier’s transatlantic venture, Primera Air will join the list of airlines including Norwegian, LEVEL, Eurowings, WestJet and WOW air in offering low-cost long-haul flights to North America from Europe.

Based in Scandinavia, Primera Air was initially launched to operate charters for major Scandinavian tour operators, but gradually it started selling tickets on some of its fixed charters in 2013.

The continued success allowed Primera Air to increase both the number of routes and flight frequency, resulting in a mixed charter/scheduled carrier business model.

Today the majority of Primera Air flights are scheduled, although some flights combine charter and scheduled passengers, and separate full charter flights are also operated.

Currently the carrier has a fleet of nine aircraft; two 737-700s and seven 737-800s.

This year Primera Air will increase its annual seat capacity by close to 15% when referring to OAG schedules, with the airline expected to operate 1.24 million seats in 2017.

However, what is very clear is the seasonality of the carrier, with its peak month of July in 2017 seeing 187% more seats than the carrier’s lowest month this year, December.

While the carrier has increased its seat capacity this year, the airline has done it sustainably, with it not increasing its seasonality profile.

Instead it has grown capacity throughout the year, with all months except three (March, June and October) seeing double-digit growth in seat capacity.

Now while services from both Birmingham and Stansted will not see direct competition, flights from CDG will go head-to-head with a number of airlines.

United Airlines (twice-daily), La Compagnie (nine times weekly) and Delta Air Lines (daily) already link CDG to Newark, while Boston is served by Air France (13 times weekly), American Airlines (daily) and Delta (daily) this summer.

There are also 60 weekly flights in summer between CDG and New York JFK, a route that is flown by LCC Norwegian four times weekly on 787-8s.

So while Birmingham and Stansted are monopoly markets for Primera Air over the Atlantic, it will have a tough job cracking the market from the French capital.

Particularly with there already being LCC competition from Norwegian, which also links CDG to Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles.

The carrier will also in S18 serve Boston and Newark from CDG, along with routes to Denver, Oakland and Orlando.

What also makes it harder for Primera Air is that it does not have brand awareness in France or the UK, so strong marketing is going to have to be done if the venture is going to be successful.

Currently the airline’s biggest market is Denmark, with Billund (14% of weekly departing seats) and Copenhagen (13%) being the carrier’s largest bases this summer.


Tourism Observer