The Norwegian airline plans to launch a Boeing 787 airplane route between London Gatwick and Rio de Janeiro’s Galeao airport next year reported the FlightGlobal website, which on Thursday had the plans confirmed by CEO, Bjørn Kjos.
It was known from before that the airline were looking atthe opportunity to strengthen its offer in Brazil. The new route between London and Rio will compete with British Airways’ existing scheduled flight between London Heathrow and Rio.
Norwegian entered the South American market earlier this year with departures between London Gatwick and Argentina’s Buenos Aires with the Boeing 787 aircraft, from February. From the 16th of October, the company is launching domestic flights in Argentina.
According to Kjos, the company sees great opportunities for further growth related to South America. Towards the end of 2019, the new Airbus A321LR aircraft will serve international routes on the South American continent, which will be based in Argentina said Kjos.
The company is also looking at the possibility of long-haul flights to southern Europe, for example to Madrid and Barcelona. The Norwegian boss pointed out that there are very many travellers on these routes.
“It’s extremely expensive to fly on any of these routes.They deserve to pay lower prices,’’ said Kjos.
Aerolineas Argentinas, Air Europe and Iberia currently offer departures from Madrid to Buenos Aires, while Iberia is alone on the routes from Madrid to Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona to Buenos Aires.
Norwegian adds to Hamilton and Montreal in Canada, and Tampa in Florida on their network list this autumn.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
