The Story of Atlantic Airways

March 28, 1988, was the day Atlantic Airways landed for the first time in Vágar. It was a day of celebration for the Faroese nation who for the first time was able to fly with Faroese wings. But the establishment of the company was far from easy. A combination of determination, luck and chance made the Faroese dream of having a national airline come true.

For a while, it was uncertain whether the company would survive. But suddenly it took a turn for the better, and the number of passengers grew and continued to grow ever since. The activity of the company increased, aircraft were added to the fleet, more destinations were added, the number of employees increased, and the company entered into several large contracts involving charter abroad.

In 2007/08 Atlantic Airways had seven aircrafts and two helicopters in its fleet, and the company had 277 full-time equivalents. The extension of the runway at Vágar Airport in 2010 opened up new possibilities for the Faroese airline. The decision was made to replace British Aerospace aircraft with Airbus aircraft. Only four months after the runway was finished the first Airbus 319 landed in Vágar Airport in March of 2012.

The aircraft profoundly improved the route net and regularity to and from the Faroe Islands. Atlantic Airways was the first airline in Europe to use the new and advanced navigation technology RNP AR 0.1. The new aircraft could stay in the air longer which the Faroese people became aware of that same summer when the first SUN route to Barcelona saw the light of day.

The Atlantic Airways fleet is made up of three aircrafts and two helicopters. In 1994 Atlantic Airways took over the scheduled air service between the Faroese islands from the national company Strandfaraskip Landsins, and Atlantic Airways has been in charge of the service ever since.

In 2015 and 2016 the fleet’s old Bell Helicopters were replaced by two brand-new up-to-date Agusta Westland AW139 helicopters. They are both more spacious and able to fly 200 nautical miles all the way out to the territorial water limit where they can be at work for 30 minutes in rescue operations. These are crucial qualities as Atlantic Airways serves as part of the emergency preparedness team which means that every day of the year 24–7 a helicopter crew is ready to take off in a heartbeat.

In December 2016 Atlantic Airways purchased yet another aircraft: a brand-new A320. In connection with the arrival of the new aircraft to the Faroe Islands, Atlantic AIrways decided to name the fleet. The aircraft, and helicopters are now named after distinguished Faroese artists.

The aircrafts are named William (Heinesen), Tita (Vinther) and Ingálvur (av Reyni), and the helicopters are named Sámal (Joensen-Mikines) and Ruth (Smith).

Flotin Our Fleet

OY-RCL (TITA) S/N 8918

Type: Airbus 320-251N

Seats: 174 Engines: 2x CFM LEAP 1A26

Length: 37,57 m Wingspan: 35,80 m Max Speed: 833 Km/h Max Range: 6.500 Km

OY-HIH speed: 259 km/t Max altitude: 6.096 m

Passengers: 15

OY-HIL (SÁMAL) SN: 31722 Type: Agusta Westland 139 Built: 2015 Engines / power: 2 stk Pratt & Whitney PT6C-67C (2 x 1862 SHP)

Lenght: 16,42 m

Lenght fuselage: 13,52 m

Width: 2,26 m

Height: 4,98 m

Main rotor diameter: 13,80 m

Weight empty: 4.600 kg

Weight fully loaded: 7.000 kg Max speed: 310 km/t Normal speed: 259 km/t

Max altitude: 6.096 m

Passengers: 15