Situated roughly equidistant between Scotland, Norway, and Iceland, the Faroe Islands have a population of a little over 50,000. When it comes to commercial air travel, the residents of this archipelago have been served by flag carrier Atlantic Airways for 35 years. Let’s look at the story of this airline, and its current setup.
How it all began
Atlantic Airways’ main base is situated on the island of Vágar, which is home to the Faroe Islands‘ only airport. This came into existence long before the present national airline, having been constructed by the British military. The first aircraft to touch down there did so in 1942, but, after the conflict ended, the withdrawal of UK forces left the airfield unused. This operational hiatus lasted nearly two decades.
1963 marked a return to activity at Vágar Airport (FAE), when an initiative by local residents prompted Icelandair to begin serving it from Bergen, Copenhagen, and Glasgow. Later that decade, a company known as Faroe Airways served Vágar from 1964 to 1967. Even with Icelandair flying Boeing 727 jets to the Faroe Islands in the 1970s, the following decade saw demand for the presence of a Faroese airline.
This eventually saw the establishment of Atlantic Airways in 1987. By then, Danish carrier Maersk Air was the only airline serving the Faroe Islands and had a monopoly at Vágar. Atlantic Airways commenced operations a year later, in 1988, with its first route serving Copenhagen in March that year using a BAe 146-200.
Turbulence in the 1990s
The Faroese government held a majority stake (51%) in the country’s newly-formed flag carrier at the time of its establishment. The other 49% initially belonged to Cimber Air, another Danish airline, but this too fell into the government’s ownership in 1989. The country invested in a brand-new hangar building at Vágar Airport to provide maintenance facilities and a base for its new flag carrier.
In Atlantic Airways’ early years, it enjoyed reasonable success levels thanks to high load factors. However, an economic depression in the early 1990s threatened to derail the carrier’s solid start. By 1992, the situation had become so extreme that Atlantic Airways needed a 75 million Kroner (127 million Kroner or $19 million today) government loan to stay afloat. It eventually returned to profitability in 1995.
This was a year that also saw it launch flights to Reykjavík (Iceland) and Narsarsuaq (Greenland) in co-operation with Air Iceland. Later in the decade, it also added Billund (Denmark) and Aberdeen (UK) to its expanding network.
Atlantic Airways has received two of its four planned Airbus A320neos. Photo: Airbus
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Recent stability and modernization
The 21st century has represented a more stable period for Atlantic Airways. The airline added a second BAe 146-200 (and routes to Oslo and London) to its portfolio in 2000. Later in the 2000s, the carrier increased its UK presence by adding a direct link between London and the Shetland Islands. Since then, it has altered its fleet strategy and now operates Airbus jets rather than the BAe 146 and Avro RJ series.
In recent years, a modernization program has seen it begin flying the A320neo, of which ch-aviation.com shows two aircraft from an order of four have been delivered. These fly alongside an A320ceo to various European destinations ranging as far afield as Spain. Additionally, Atlantic Airways’ helicopter division flies from Vágar Airport to several domestic locations throughout the archipelago.
What do you make of Atlantic Airways? Have you ever flown with the Faroese flag carrier? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
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