Niceair has taken delivery of its first aircraft this week as the startup carrier gears up for its inaugural flight on Thursday. On Monday, Niceair’s Airbus A319-100 flew from Lisbon and touched down at the airline’s base in Akureyri, North Iceland.
Niceair receives its first plane
North Icelandic startup airline Niceair has received its first passenger aircraft as it prepares to launch operations later this week. The carrier is due to operate its first flight on Thursday, flying from Akureyri to Copenhagen.
The welcoming ceremony attracted many guests and onlookers, including Iceland’s First Lady Eliza Reid, who was handed the task of naming the plane. She christened the aircraft Súlur, named after the mountain peak near Akureyri.
The Airbus A319 (registration: 9H-XFW) had been in Lisbon, where it received a new livery and maintenance work. Niceair has chartered the aircraft from Hi Fly Malta and will operate as a virtual carrier.
Simple Flying took a closer look at what a virtual airline is – essentially, virtual airlines will outsource operations but retain control of certain aspects, such as branding and ticketing.
CEO of fellow Icelandic carrier PLAY, Birgir Jonsson, welcomed the arrival of Niceair’s first aircraft.
Jonsson said,
“We at PLAY airlines welcome the competition but also recognize the positive impact this new venture will hopefully have on the tourism sector in the north-east of Iceland, and that this will also increase awareness of Iceland as a destination in general.”
Inaugural flight on Thursday
Niceair has finally made it to flight week, with its first flight all set to go on Thursday. The inaugural flight – from Akureyri to Copenhagen – is completely sold out, while the airline’s first scheduled flights have sold better than expected.
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