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Norwegian Bjørn Kjos, 72, is used to taking up challenges. He was born prematurely, weighing only 600 grams, five times less than his twin brother, Jon. In 1967, during a training jump, his main parachute was flawed. The urgency has not opened. A few seconds before his crash, he was able to solve the problem and landed without being hurt. And 25 years ago, he saved a small aerospace company from bankruptcy.
He is now preparing for a new mission, announced this week: to ensure the first low-cost flight between Brazil and the United Kingdom. The non-stop route will link London to Rio de Janeiro, effective March 31, 2019.
Former jet pilot and career lawyer, Kjos founded the Norwegian Air Shuttle. Under his command, the airline has become the largest in Scandinavia and the third in Europe in the low-cost segment, behind Ryanair and easyJet, carrying 33 million pbadengers in 2017.
For Brazil, four weekly flights ( Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, in addition to Sundays) with 347-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, in economy clbad and in premium cabins.
According to the company's information, flights from Rio. departure at 22:25, arrival at 13:35 for Gatwick airport. The departures from London must take place at 12 o'clock and arrive in Brazil at 19:25. The times are local.
The great Norwegian differential, however, lies in the price: from 240 pounds (about R $ 1,185) per section. This figure represents a reduction of at least 30% compared to that of the competitor, according to an online quote from BBC News Brazil the first week of April. Ticket sales are now available on the company's website.
Currently, only British Airways offers direct flights between London and Rio de Janeiro. Latam ceased operating this route in 2014 and its flights connecting London to Rio now have at least one stopover.
"Our new link in Rio de Janeiro breaks the monopoly of direct flights between the United Kingdom and Brazil, as we pledge to lower fares and make travel more accessible to tourists and tourists alike." "business," said the company in a statement.
The inclusion of Brazil in the list of international destinations managed by Norwegian strengthens its presence in America The company currently makes direct flights connecting the Argentine capital Buenos Aires to London.
Currently, with four weekly frequencies, this link will be daily from December 3 due to increasing demand. In October of this year, the airline inaugurated domestic flights in Argentina, with two different routes between Buenos Aires and Mendoza and Cordoba, as well as scheduled connections to Salta, Iguazú, Bariloche and Neuquén.
For the moment, the company announced plans to do the same thing in Brazil. Even if it wanted to operate regional routes, it would run counter to Brazilian legislation, which forbids foreign capital to control the ownership of national airlines. Earlier this month, the Chilean airline Sky Airline became the first foreign airline to operate an international flight of scheduled and low-cost pbadengers to Brazil. from Santiago de Chile to Rio de Janeiro
The Argentinian Flybondi and Avian (Avianca group), also at a modest price, are expected to visit Brazil next year. The first has received authorization from the Argentine government to operate in the country, but has not yet filed a legal and operational authorization request with Anac (National Agency of civil aviation). Meanwhile, the second is legally allowed to start operations in Brazil.
Economic model
The beginning of Norwegian flights to Brazil coincides with the regulatory changes in the Brazilian aviation market, among which the rule that allows
This is considered to be the only one of the main elements of the tripod on which the low-cost airline business model is based.
"The main difference between low-cost carriers Traditional airlines and traditional airlines are divided into three groups: the service economy, the economy of operation and the indirect economies", indicates a report by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN specialized agency, published in 2003. [19659002] Norwegian is no exception among low-cost airlines. Those who opt for the most basic fare (non-refundable) are only allowed to travel with a purse, any other luggage is charged separately. All services on board are also charged: from the pillow to the water. Check the seat in advance is only possible on prepayment. You forgot to print the boarding card at home? There is no totem at the airport
This will also be the case of the link between Brazil and the United Kingdom
But it is precisely this reduction in costs that allowed these airlines to lower their prices and revolutionize the civil aviation market
"In addition to simplifying the service, we standardized the fleet, increased the number of flight hours and reduced the weather ", André Castellini, partner of BBC News Brazil, the consulting company Bain & Company and specialist of the aeronautical industry.
Since London, the company serves 100 different destinations, from the United States to Thailand.
Up to now, the project looks like been successful. [19659002] The Norwegian company transported 1.67 million pbadengers in the 12-month period ending in July 2007. The Norwegian airline was the largest airline outside the United States to operate transatlantic links to and from the New York region.
So it is not surprising that the acceleration of growth has turned Norwegian into a subject of dispute between the giants of the United States. air transport industry
IAG, a conglomerate holding British Airways, which already holds 4.6% of the capital of Norwegian, has attempted to buy it twice, without success.
Brazil
Despite the success of the Norwegian world, Mr. Castellini stated that he did not think that the beginning of his operations in Brazil would "revolutionize the sector". "What happens is that every time a new player comes on the market, especially a capitalization company, he increases the supply of flights and
He adds that the economic model of low-cost airlines on long-haul routes does not turn out to be "disruptive"
"The main problem is whether the operation will be sustainable." The business model of these companies are based on cost optimization, but some of these factors on long-haul flights, such as Fleet standardization and reduced ground time are not as relevant as those for short and medium distances ", explains he
"Not to mention the behavior of pbadengers. between Rio and London), there are many who attach importance to the minimum of service on board. "
Sustainable model
The sustainability of Norway's long-haul business model is in fact one of the most important (19659002) In 2017, Norwegian recorded a net loss of NOK 300 million (R $ 135 million), mainly due to poor performance from October to December.
In another development, the company announced that it would cancel the London-Singapore route, just one year after its launch. -e246729254a7fac93dc1d039975298c0.jpg "clbad =" img img-responsive image-wide "/>
In addition, since Norwegian's long-distance operation is optimized in terms of costs, it offers less flexibility in case of illness or technical problem of an aircraft. On some sections, only one plane is available. This is the case of the trip between Oslo and Los Angeles, for example.
An example of this occurred in March of this year when pbadengers from a Norwegian flight to New York were held at London Gatwick Airport for nearly a year. 24 hours. due to a technical defect of the aircraft. The company refused to offer accommodation and the police had to be called.
Another problem is of political origin. Norway has one of the highest labor costs in the world. After refusing the application for the hiring of a Thai crew, Norwegian established the long-haul operation of a company registered in Ireland in order to comply with the regulations of the United Kingdom. EU.
Finally, the fleet expansion (Norwegian bought 222 aircraft in 2012, the One of the biggest purchases in the sector) and rising fuel prices could create a new obstacle to the financial health of the company.
"We will have to wait to see what level of tariff is needed to to maintain this operation, "concludes Castellini
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