LONDON – Norwegian airline Widerøe has announced a new expansion connecting west coast city Bergen, with new destinations such as Dublin, Munich and more, as a part of their Summer 2023 schedule.
The expansion
On November 2, Norwegian carrier Widerøe announced an expanision to multiple destinations outside Norway, from their base at Norway’s west coast city of Bergen, as a summer expansion.
The carrier who serves an important purpose in the smaller Norwegian communities, are to some thought of as a regional airline, only serving the smaller destinations that Norway has. However, the carrier has seen a great expansion in recent years, especially after they took delivery of the Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, an aircraft which they are the launch customer of.
With the carrier’s current international routes to London Heathrow (LHR), Alicante (ALC), Gothenburg (GOT), Billund (BLL), Aberdeen (ABZ), Faroe Islands (FAE) and Copenhagen (CPH), the expansion will add a further four routes to their international selection, with the destinations announced being:
- Bergen (BGO) to Dublin, Ireland (DUB)
- Bergen (BGO) to Munich, Germany (MUC)
- Bergen (BGO) to Hamburg, Germany (HAM)
- Bergen (BGO) to Liverpool, United Kingdom (LPL)
The aircraft type which will be utilized for these flights remain untold, but given Widerøe’s wide variety of Bombardier Dash-8 aircraft and their three Embraer E190-E2’s, we might see a mixed use of these aircraft types.
Flight frequency
In an official press release from Widerøe, the new routes’ flight frequency and starting dates are announced, with the dates and frequencies being:
- Bergen – Dublin, launches 27. April, twice-weekly on Thursdays and Sundays
- Bergen – Munich, launches 28. April, twice-weekly on Mondays and Fridays
- Bergen – Hamburg, launches 30. March, three times weekly on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays,
- Additional service starting on Tuesdays from May*
- Bergen – Liverpool, launches 31. March, twice-weekly on Mondays and Fridays
As well as this, an increased frequency on the already established Billund service is scheduled, and will go from twice-weekly, to daily service by the end of March.
Widerøe statements
With Dublin being a new destination for Widerøe, and also a gateway to one of Norway’s most beautiful cities, an official statement from the airport officials was released, where Managing Director of Dublin Airport, Vincent Harrison, said:
“This new route opens the door for Irish travellers to one of the most scenic parts of Norway, with the city of Bergen providing a gateway to the famous Norwegian Fjords. The addition of this exciting new destination is yet more good news for Dublin Airport as we continue to expand our route offering for our passengers.”
“We are delighted to be working with Widerøe and look forward to this route opening next spring,” he concluded.
According to the statement issued by Dublin Airport, Widerøe’s Commercial Director, Christian Skaug, commented:
“We are extremely happy to share the news that we will start flying to Bergen from Dublin in April 2023. We have high hopes for this route, both for travellers from Norway to Dublin, and for the Irish to discover Norway and Bergen. The route is tailor made for excellent onward connections into the famous Norwegian fjords and the breath-taking scenery of the north.”
Overall
Widerøe seems to slowly but surely, expand more into the international aviation market, given that the carrier now has multiple routes outside of Norway, as well as a small fleet of modern jet aircraft, suitable for longer range flights.
Widerøe is known for their wide variety of Dash-8 turboprop aircraft, operating every aircraft in its range, all the way from the Dash 8-Q100, to the Q400 series, which they are still taking some deliveries of.
The new additions for their summer route network appears to be selected carefully, but as with every new route for most airlines, demand and load factors are what decides if the route should be continued or not, so time will show what routes were more attractive than others.
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