“Thousands stranded as budget airline ceases operation” – that was the headline in The Independent in March 2019 when Wow Air closed down.
I mention the unfortunate demise of the Icelandic airline, which went bust to the tune of £150m, because a new venture, Fly Atlantic, seems to have a similar business plan.
Wow Air’s strategy was to funnel passengers from points across the UK and the Continental into an island hub on the fringe of northwestern Europe. Planes would touch down from Edinburgh, Gatwick, Amsterdam, Lyon and Barcelona, discharge passenger into a transit area then distribute them to North American cities such as Boston, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Montreal and Toronto.
Fly Atlantic is planning something very similar, starting in summer 2024.
The island hub this time will be Belfast International, the largest airport in Northern Ireland.
Andrew Pyne, the airline’s chief executive, said: “Our vision is of Belfast as a strong aviation hub linking Europe and North America.
“The lack of direct transatlantic air services has clearly been an impediment to Northern Ireland’s economic and tourism development, which we now intend to remove.
“The project can be a gamechanger. This is an airline that will deliver greater connectivity and help transmit Northern Ireland’s unique identity to a global audience.”
Fine words – but why should Fly Atlantic work when Wow Air failed?
The costs should be significantly lower: an airline based in Iceland has to pay Icelandic-scale wages, which are higher than those in Northern Ireland. For most of the prospective links, Belfast offers a more direct flightpath than Reykjavik – saving 300 miles on a London-New York jaunt.
Northern Ireland’s population is five times bigger than that of Iceland, which should help with local demand.
Yet the pitfalls outweigh the advantages, I fear – starting with competition. Wow Air was competing against Icelandair for transatlantic connecting traffic. There are no direct rivals for a Belfast-based operation. But one of the great aviation success stories over the past few years has been Dublin airport – and in particular its transatlantic offering.
The Irish capital is one of few cities which can offer “pre-clearance” for the US – whereby passengers pass through American border formalities while still on Irish turf. After…
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