Norse Atlantic Airways has conducted a service between Oslo Gardermoen and Darwin, claiming the first nonstop flight between Norway and Australia.
The long-haul budget carrier operated the charter flight with a Boeing 787-9 (LN-FNB) – powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines – which took off at about 06:50 on 3 August.
Norse declines to discuss details of the charter service, including passenger numbers or payload, although it states that 12 crew members were among those on board.
The flight was chartered by Spanish carrier AlbaStar, based in Palma de Mallorca.
Oslo-Darwin has a great-circle distance of just over 6,900nm (12,800km), but this would have required passing through Russian and Chinese airspace.
The aircraft instead took a course over Central Asia, India and Indonesia and arrived in Darwin at about 06:45 on 4 August – a flight of some 16h 30min.
Norse says the aircraft flew around 7,950nm and that the service demonstrated the twinjet’s long-range performance and efficiency.
“The [787] is uniquely suited to such extended flights, offering unparalleled passenger comfort, fuel efficiency and environmental benefits,” it states.
Norse has been exploring supplementary charter services to balance the seasonality of its main long-haul scheduled operation, and last year operated a flight to the Antarctic base at Troll airfield for the Norwegian Polar Institute.
Both that flight and the Darwin service were brokered by Scandinavia’s Aircontact.
Norse director of charter Mette Birkedahl says the 787 was “perfect” for the long-distance route and that the Oslo-Darwin service is a “testament to our commitment to consistently delivering excellent service to our charter clients”.
