Speaking about future plans, the airline’s CEO Bjørn Tore Larsen said in an interview with Latvian Public Media (LSM) that almost the entire heart of the airline will be moved to Riga and flights could start from RIX Riga Airport in the future.

LTV journalist Kārlis Miksons: Last October, Latvia and the airline signed an agreement to establish a business services center in Riga. What is the main benefit for both sides from this cooperation?

Bjørn Tore Larsen: I think it is really important for us to find very talented and great people, with experience, also some without experience, but very sharp, who want to join a brand-new airline that has long-term ambitions that go beyond what we have seen before. I think it is a real benefit for us to find talented people who would like to join this adventure that we are creating. And for Latvia, I think, it is a lot of jobs. We are creating not only a business center here, but also an operational management center, which essentially means that a lot of the company’s daily work will be done from Riga, where we are currently located. So, I think it is very good not only for us but also for Latvia.

Why Rīga?

That’s a good question, and we’ve looked at a lot of countries. The location had to be in Europe because we’re a European airline, and we wanted it to be a place where we both have a certain culture and not too far from Norway. Riga has direct connections to the places where our offices are located, so not only the connectivity of Riga was important, but also access to talent. And the people we found here were very important to us when we chose Riga. But there were other good candidates.

Does the airline’s development plan include opening new routes from Riga? We see that the airline reviews its route network regularly, and the latest connection you have announced is from Athens to Los Angeles.

Yes, you’re right, and we only fly long-haul flights. In the summer we fly mainly between America and Europe, but in the winter, we fly to America, Europe, as well as Asia and Africa. We think that in the future we could have a good opportunity to create a route between the USA and Riga, especially New York. We believe that there is a good market for such flights. Many Americans want to go to Europe. And Riga is a beautiful city that, as we know, many people would like to visit. In addition, there are also cruise companies that start their journey here and would be interested in taking passengers here. [..]

Many aviation industry players are cautiously looking at our region, the Baltics, especially because of war in Ukraine. How do you see our region?

I think the region is safe. I understand that people are worried. You are a neighbor of Russia, and we, Norway, also share a border with Russia. Given everything that is happening in Ukraine, we are all very concerned about this development. At the same time, Latvia is a NATO member, as is Norway. And if something were to happen, we would be together anyway. But we do not think that there is a real and immediate risk.

You could say that “Norse” is a relatively new airline, which will celebrate its fourth anniversary in March this year. How would you assess the success of your business plan – to offer cheap long-haul flights?

I would say that so far, we have had very good success. It is like any new project – it takes a little time to find your niche. But we have done it. So, if you look at the load factors, in other words, the number of seats that we sold on each flight in January, then we had 94%. I think we have had very good progress over the last 12 months, but I also want to emphasize that the first two years were a bit difficult, but now we have a clearer path for the future.

“Norse” was made from the restructuring of Norwegian Air Shuttle…

I will interrupt you here. Many have asked me about this, but I want to clarify that “Norse” is a new airline and started operations independently of other aviation processes in Norway. In 2021, I started this process, we have entered the stock markets and attracted investors, but we have nothing to do with Norwegian Air Shuttle. [..]

Your fleet only has Boeing “Dreamliner” aircraft. Seeing various problems and the situation with Boeing, how safe is it to base an airline only on one model of aircraft?

This is very smart, because it allows us to ensure much lower operating costs than if we had different types of aircraft, because then we would not be able to use the same pilots or the same crew, or the same spare parts, technicians and other things. [..] All airlines that operate successfully, I would say, in the low-cost segment, have only one type of aircraft. Ryanair is a good example. Also, Latvian airBaltic. Both of these companies fly one model of aircraft, which reduces costs.

Yes, but when it comes to global problems with this type of aircraft, then it is a different picture and the problems are bigger.

Then it is an industry problem. And there has never been a problem that would prevent the use of one type of aircraft for a long time. So, I am not worried about it.

Speaking of Boeing, we see how the name of this company has been used in the media in recent years. The Ryanair you mentioned has canceled several flights due to a lack of aircraft. What is your relationship with the aircraft manufacturer?

We have a great relationship and we perceive them as a great partner. We can also say only the best in terms of support. Yes, in recent years they have had a lot of problems, which were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain problems, etc. We think they are on the right track to solve the problems.