In late September, ambitious startup Northern Pacific Airways secured its first six Boeing
757s ahead of a planned launch of operations. The first 757 has been undergoing maintenance
and is expected to arrive in Alaska by December. Simple Flying had the chance to speak with the CEO
of the startup airline, Rob McKinney, to find out more about the plans for this fledgling airline.
A step closer to launch, Northern Pacific Airways revealed last month it had secured its first
six Boeing 757s. The first is currently registered with tail number N206UW
and is a 26-year-old Rolls-Royce-powered 757-200 with a pretty impressive pedigree.
This particular jet entered service with US Airways back in 1995.
There it remained until the merger with American Airlines in 2013.
American continued to fly the 757 until January 2020, when it was retired from service.
The 757 remained the property of AerSale, a major leasing company. RadarBox.com showed that on March
28th, 2020, it was ferried from Mobile, Alabama, to Roswell, New Mexico for storage. The aircraft
underwent a full C-check before having its new livery applied. On October 15th, the jet flew from
Roswell to San Bernardino California for more work before it arrives in Alaska for Northern Pacific.
When it does get to Alaska, it will take on the registration number N627NP.
Speaking to Simple Flying, airline CEO Rob McKinney noted his excitement for
the initial purchase, adding that a further five had already been secured for the airline.
“It’s from AerSale. They have a half a dozen airplanes that are ex American Airlines … We’re
still in talks with several different other sources of airplanes to reach our target of
12 airplanes for the planned launch.” McKinney is expecting the first 757 to
arrive in Alaska in December and wants to have a fleet of 12 aircraft in house prior to launch,
which he’s targeting, hopefully, for some time in 2022. With everything in place,
he expects further 757s to arrive in Alaska roughly every six weeks between now and launch.
The choice of a quarter-century old 757 for a new airline might seem a little odd
when there are more efficient and more modern aircraft out there. But, as McKinney explained,
this was a choice made out of necessity more than a love for the aircraft.
“We look at the 757 as not ‘Mr right’ but ‘Mr right now’. We can acquire them sooner rather
than later. And for us, we really think the timing is the play for this opportunity to maximise the
post-COVID world. The 757 is not only readily available but they can make the stage length too.”
While the 757 has been the backbone of Icelandair’s stopover operations,
Northern Pacific will not necessarily tie itself down to just one fleet type. Eyeing a fleet of
50 aircraft in the coming years, McKinney is keenly considering other aircraft that would
suit an expanded fleet in the future, saying: “We plan on scaling this to 50 airplanes in
the next four to five years. You can’t scale to that degree with that vintage of an aircraft,
so we’re definitely looking at next generation, 737 MAX or the A321XLR, something like that.”
Although the airline will be targeting a low-cost operation, the CEO hasn’t entirely
ruled out the possibility of integrating widebodies in the longer-term future.
McKinney says that widebodies are off the table to get going. However, he thinks that there
is plenty of traffic to support his airline’s 757s. As the carrier scales up its fleet to its
goal of 50 jets, the CEO says that widebodies will definitely be in his airline’s future.
While Northern Pacific will maintain a low-cost structure, it doesn’t necessarily
mean there won’t be a slightly better than average cabin product onboard. Indeed,
the airline’s CEO says that full all-economy loading of the 757 would be unattractive,
given the long stage lengths it intends to operate. To de-densify the cabin,
and increase its margins, the airline is planning to include a small premium economy product.
“We will probably have a scaled down premium cabin. we haven’t settled on exactly how many
seats or what the amenities will be. But we have to have a density as such that we
can make those long stage lengths, so it makes sense to have a little bit of a premium economy.
But it’s not going to be like a full service class with lie flat seats or anything like that.”
Having a slightly more premium product onboard would make Northern Pacific more akin to an
airline like Norwegian than Icelandair. Icelandair is a full-service carrier,
and therefore has a business class onboard its 757s. However, these are almost quote-unquote
“business lite”, with 22 recliner seats in a 2-2 configuration in its ‘Saga’ business class.
Comparing further, Delta has a premium economy on its 757s: A 3-3 layout with extra legroom
over the standard economy, which is likely more in line with what Northern Pacific has in mind.
The Northern Pacific business model is built on the unique positioning of Anchorage as a midway
stopover point between Asia and the lower 48. Taking its inspiration from Icelandair, the
carrier plans to beat its direct connection rivals on price, but could also offer a much better
passenger experience too. McKinney noted that clearing customs and immigration in Anchorage,
with services used only by the airline, will see it avoid competing with other
services at Los Angeles or San Francisco. “We think is going to be a much superior
experience. And then, also, we want to get people into the idea that they
can spend an extra day or two here and see what Alaska has to offer.” he adds.
McKinney is already in talks with tourism boards to find out how Alaska can leverage
the stopover market, and is taking plenty of inspiration from the successful program
already built in Iceland. At present, Alaska is viewed as a somewhat seasonal destination,
but then again, so was Iceland. Thanks to the efforts of airlines and tourism stakeholders,
the island now enjoys year-round visitors who always have something amazing to do.
Rob McKinney’s vision for Northern Pacific has certainly raised some eyebrows in the aviation
world. But those naysayers should probably dig into his credentials before writing this
off as some sort of pipe dream. As well as being a qualified Learjet pilot himself,
McKinney has an impressive track record of turning around failing
airlines and building successful businesses out of almost nothing.
Back in 2002, he stepped in as VP and Director at Pacific Wings, a Hawaiian commuter airline,
and under his leadership, tripled the firm’s passenger traffic in just three years. He then
joined Mokulele Airlines in Hawaii as Chief Operations Officer and successfully converted
the airline from a small air tour company into a fully scheduled commuter airline.
Most recently, McKinney co-founded Float Shuttle Inc., with the letters of Float standing for Fly
Over All Traffic. a commuter and corporate transport service in southern California.
The FLOAT team, under Rob’s leadership, acquired Raven Alaska.
The airline group had shut down in the midst of the COVID crisis,
filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Part of the firm, Ravn Alaska and PenAir, were sold to FLOAT.
Ravn remains a part of the plans for the launch of Northern Pacific. As the domestic airline
rebuilds its networks with its Dash 8 turboprops, McKinney sees it being a fundamental component of
the stopover model, able to ferry arrivals from Anchorage out to explore the state. The addition
of electric short take-off and landing aircraft in the future will make this operation even better.
The success of Northern Pacific will be a massive win for the state of Alaska too.
As well as the boost in tourism that this model could stimulate, and all the economic benefits
that brings, McKinney estimates the airline will, in the short term, generate around 450 jobs,
some 300 of which will be based in Anchorage. We’d love to hear what you think of this airline’s
operational model by leaving a comment below. At the same time, we’d ALSO like to invite you to
hear more about Northern Pacific Airways and its CEO, as well as from other major industry leaders,
at our very own online conference happening soon. To that end, check out this video about the event: