Launched by some of the most prominent names in Scandinavian aviation, Flyr had lofty ambitions to take on the established airlines from Oslo. This is the fascinating story of the airline and its rapid failure.
Thanks to the country's geography and the standard of living, many Norwegians are frequent flyers. Yet the global health crisis of 2020-22 saw many residents of Norway stop flying altogether for at least a year.
With this background, it may seem a very strange time to launch a new airline, but that's exactly what happened in the summer of 2021. In fact, the airline had already been forced to delay its launch because of the travel restrictions.
From the brains of some of Norway's most prominent aviation executives, Flyr aimed to take a bite out of the domestic air travel market dominated by SAS, Norwegian and Widerøe.
It was a bold plan, but ultimately Flyr failed just 19 months after its first flight. So, what went wrong? Let’s take a look at the fascinating story of Flyr.
The Brainchild of Experience
A new budget airline for Norway, was conceived by several experienced Scandinavian aviation veterans who saw a market opportunity in Oslo amid the financial struggles of Norwegian and SAS.
According to company founder Erik G. Braathen, the company aimed to make air travel as simple as possible: “Flying is what we do best, and that is the only thing we plan to be doing.”
He said the name Flyr “reflects the simplicity of the business and model and the product we will be offering the market.” To some, the airline sounds like a smartphone app. There was a reason for that!
An app was a core part of the airline's strategy. All customer bookings and subsequent changes had to be made on the website or the app.
In one of her first press releases at Flyr CEO, Tonje Wikstrøm Frislid took aim at her former employer Norwegian Air. Norwegian’s long-haul operation failed when the airline chased expansion.
She said Flyr is “building an airline which is not dependent on getting more and more planes in the air to become profitable.”
Flyr destinations
Flyr launched with a small domestic network in Norway based at Oslo Airport. They also ran flights to selected European destinations.
Their debut flight took off from Oslo Airport to Tromsø on 30 June, 2021. Since then, the domestic network became established with the following destinations:
- Bergen Airport, Flesland (BGO)
- Bodø Airport (BOO)
- Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes (EVE)
- Oslo Airport, Gardermoen (OSL)
- Tromsø Airport, Langnes (TRS)
- Trondheim Airport, Værnes (TRD)
International destinations initially focused on leisure destinations. At first, this included Nice, Malaga, and Alicante. These were quickly added to with Copenhagen, Paris, and Rome.
As the international routes became popular and Flyr acquired additional aircraft, more international destinations were launched including routes to Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Scotland, and Sweden.
The Flyr Fleet
Early in the company’s plans, Flyr revealed that their fleet would consist entirely of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The airline also revealed their smart green and white livery, pictured below.
Boeing 737-800 aircraft seat 162 passengers in a two-class layout or 189 passengers in an all-economy class layout. Given Flyr's no-frills approach, they chose the second configuration.
Regular Norwegian flyers were no stranger to this aircraft. Boeing 737-800 aircraft provided the backbone of Norwegian's extensive short-haul fleet for many years. Other European airlines including Ryanair also use the Boeing model.
“It's an aircraft that we in management have a lot of experience with. Also there is simulator capacity in Norway and crew and mechanics with ample experience and competence,” said Flyr founder Erik G. Braathen at the time of the announcement.
Financial Problems for Flyr
Founded in August 2020, Flyr faced significant challenges due to pandemic-related travel restrictions and fluctuating demand. These issues delayed the airline's inaugural flight until June 2021, by which time it had already spent a substantial amount of its startup capital.
In October 2022, Flyr announced a reduction of their winter schedule by half to save nearly 40 million Euros due to decreased demand.
By November 2022, the airline was seeking additional funds from investors, warning that it could not guarantee future operations without them, though their initial attempt to secure funding failed. Flyr also planned to lease at least one aircraft to another airline.
The End of Flyr
On 30 January 2023, Flyr revealed that their alternative financial plan had failed, and the board was seeking new financing methods. However, on 1 February 2023, the airline went into administration and ceased all flights.
Airline bosses said “market conditions and continued uncertainty with regards to airline travel and earnings through 2023” deterred potential investors.
Flyr closed its doors with a simple message on its website: “Many thanks to everyone who has chosen to fly with us over the past year and a half. We will miss you all from the bottom of our hearts and deeply apologize to everyone affected by the fact that we now have to go in for landing.”
The ongoing pandemic and changed travel patters no doubt played a major role. However, critics claimed the business model was never right for the start, so it was no surprise the airline never gained the passenger numbers they needed for sustainability.
Did you ever fly with Flyr? Let us know your experience down in the comments.
how about a flight to Newcastle ? I guarantee there wouldn’t be an empty seat.
I wish you the best of luck and every success for the future and look forward to flying with. Do you propose flights to any London airports in the near future.