Northern Pacific’s choice of the Boeing 757 could be seen to raise a few eyebrows,
given that it’s an older technology aircraft. However, the airline’s CEO
Rob McKinney has made it clear that this was a decision driven out of necessity,
and that new technology aircraft are certainly on the roadmap for the startup airline in the future.
Northern Pacific Airways intends to be a brand new low-cost airline based in Alaska. The carrier will
provide nonstop connectivity for locals to visit both cities in Asia and the lower 48 US states,
and vice versa. More critically, it intends to build its offering with a stopover opportunity,
allowing passengers from both sides of its network to connect over Alaska, either as
a one-stop itinerary or with a short break to explore Alaska built into their travel plan.
It’s a model that has worked well for European carrier Icelandair for some time with flights
across the Atlantic. Passengers have been connecting over Keflavik between
Europe and North America for many years, some directly transferring to their onward
flight and others using the opportunity to explore Iceland for a few days in between.
It’s a strategy that proved successful in the low-cost sphere to an extent (with WOW air) and
which will be replicated again by PLAY in 2022. For Icelandair, despite being a full-service
carrier, it has been able to offer highly competitive prices for these services
thanks to its extensive use of single-aisle aircraft. Icelandair has been one of the more
prolific operators of the Boeing 757 for its relatively small fleet size, flying 38 of the
type over its 40-year history. But these aircraft are getting old and their efficiency is dwarfed by
the contemporary alternatives. Indeed, Icelandair has already retired 21 of the single-aisle jets
But Northern Pacific is keen to keep the 757 flying. Its initial fleet will be entirely
comprised of the Boeing 757, with 12 aircraft targeted to start. The airline has already
secured the first six of 12 and is preparing to fly its initial aircraft to Alaska in its
brand new livery early in 2022. So why is a new startup airline so keen to operate
an older and less popular aircraft like this? Northern Pacific’s CEO Rob McKinney previously
explained to Simple Flying that the choice of the 757 was driven more out of necessity than anything
else. He called the aircraft quote ‘more mister right now than mister right’, noting that there
are plenty of 757s around readily available to lease and at very attractive rates too. At
our recent Future Flying Forum, he elaborated on the airline’s choice of initial aircraft.
“The original choice of the 757 was because that was really the only choice. That’s the
only plane that was readily available, that we could press back into service, and that also
had the capability of making the length of legs that we’re contemplating doing. There really
wasn’t a whole palette of potential airframes to pick from and stay in the narrowbody space.”
McKinney noted that it’s a fair argument to say that this is a 20-year-old technology airplane,
and therefore is never going to compete on efficiency with
the new-generation aircraft that are around.
However, for Northern Pacific, getting the timing right for its service launch is everything.
“We really see the opportunity here as a timing one. One of my favourite sayings is
‘we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good’. To us, good is getting going and getting
the service off the ground while we still have the window of opportunity to do so.”
McKinney is a firm believer in new technology aircraft, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise
to see an order in place for the A321neo or similar type of aircraft in the future.
However, for the time being, the reliable 757 workhorse will be what gets this airline started.
What do you think of this airline’s choice of aircraft for its initial operations?
And what jets would you like to see it acquire next? Let us know by leaving a comment.