ATLANTIC AIRWAYS FOCUS ON
This small airline with a big name is proving itself one to be reckoned with in more ways than one. Jo Austin flies to the remote Faroe Islands and meets a dedicated and resourceful team at Vagar Airport
An airline for all seasons S
ituated in wilds of the North Atlantic mid-way between Scotland and Iceland at
History
Regular air links between the Faroe Islands and Denmark have been in operation since 1963. Although the airport at Vágar was built by the British Army during World War 11, air traffic to the islands was practically non- existent between the departure of the British and the start of services to Copenhagen. As passenger numbers steadily increased, Maersk Air enjoyed the monopoly as the sole airline to serve the islands. Atlantic Airways was established in 1987 with its first flight to Copenhagen on March 28 1988.
atlantic.fo
62degrees north, the Faroe Islands do throw out some challenges for its national airline, not least in terms of the weather.
Atlantic Airways is an impressive name for an airline with a fleet of just three Airbus A319s and two Avro RJs, but the airline is rightly proud of its status and has wasted no time in its 25 years in investing in the very best in aviation technology.
Commented Atlantic Airways ceo, Magni Arge: "It can be tough running a regional airline in a remote set of islands but we are a lifeline for the islanders, flying every day except for Christmas. The Faroes have a population of 50,000 people and pretty well everything has to be imported, other than fish, lamb, beer, spuds and rhubarb!
"The extension of the runway at Vagar Airport enabled us to introduce the Airbus A319 to our fleet last year and we have recently leased a further two in order for us to develop a route system with higher frequencies. At the same time, we need to be sure that we can fly every day and we have exploited the full potential of the RNP AR 0.1 (Required Navigation Performance Authorisation Required) system to enable service to run in bad weather conditions. On our major route to Copenhagen, for example, 40 per cent of cockpit crew time is spent analysing weather systems. The installation of RNP is currently saving us an average six minutes’ flight time which adds up to a lot of fuel.”
Pictured above right: Delivery of the Airbus A319; right: the dramatic Faroe Islands
Innovation comes in all departments at Atlantic Airways and ‘Gannet’ is a highly advanced maintenance management system created by the team and now being marketed to other airlines. At the same time the airline is working towards a totally paperless flight deck through the introduction of an electronic flight bag system using Apple iPads. On board, Atlantic Airways offers passengers free food and drinks. Locally-farmed smoked salmon is a speciality of the menu and the hot bread is a popular feature. The airline has around 60 airline crew
in the summer, cut to 40 in the winter, and training is undertaken in Copenhagen. Says Annika Jespersen, cabin crew manager: “We are known for our hospitality and as many of our passengers are regulars we do like to change the menu whenever we can. Our meals are all served cold and are produced for us by Hotel Føroyar in the capital, Tórshavn. We do not have our own catering facility and use Gate Gourmet out of Copenhagen.” Flying with Atlantic Airways definitely has a ‘local’ feel and Faroese artist, Anker Eli Petersen, is the responsible for aspects of the interior décor, while uniforms are designed by Ulino. Atlantic's small fleet of helicopters serves the community with scheduled flights between the 18 islands. They also run sea and mountain rescue operations and have even been known to deliver animals and trucks! The Faroe Islands may have been named “one of the most curious places left on earth” by The New York Times, but their award-winning airline seems more than able to meet that curiosity.
WWW.ONBOARDHOSPITALITY.COM 41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96