BERLIN (Reuters) -Norse Atlantic Airways, which seeks to break into the long-haul market between Europe and the United States, has seen strong bookings for the upcoming autumn season, its chief executive said on Wednesday.
The Norway-based carrier, which began operations in mid-June, on Aug 5 announced it had filled 86% of transatlantic capacity in July, its first full month of business.
“August has also been very strong, but looking forward we have also seen very good numbers into the autumn,” Chief Executive Bjorn Tore Larsen told a news conference in Berlin.
He reiterated goals of turning a profit in 2023 and fully deploying its fleet of 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in 2024.
The carrier on Wednesday also announced it will open a route connecting Berlin to the U.S. city of Fort Lauderdale, operating three times a week from Dec. 7, with prices starting at 228 euros ($232) one way.
Norse faces stiff competition, however, from established players such as Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France and SAS, but hopes to do better than Norwegian Air which was forced to withdraw from transatlantic business during the pandemic.
($1 = 0.9842 euros)
(Reporting by Klaus Lauer, editing by Terje Solsvik, Kirsten Donovan)