Faroe Islands national carrier Atlantic Airways has signed a second contract with the Danish tour operator Atlantis Rejser to provide charter capacity, primarily out of Copenhagen, starting in October 2013. The arrangement will lead to the introduction of a third Airbus A319 into the small carrier’s fleet as it continues to diversify its activities away from its small home scheduled market.

The support for Atlantis Rejser, one of the leading tour operators in Denmark, will lead to Atlantic’s aircraft flying across a range of destinations in Europe and into the Middle East. The travel company was the first Nordic business leisure operator to offer package holidays to Sharm el Sheikh, as early as 1994 and it continues to specialise in supporting leisure demand into Egypt.

According to Atlantic Airways, the contract with Atlantis Rejser will run until 2016 and will generate an estimated turnover of DKK 75 million (£8.68 million) in 2013 and 2014. The activity is distributed throughout the year, with a peak in the winter season. The airline says the arrangement will not change its expected financial result for the full year 2013, but the agreement is an important step in Atlantic Airways' growth in activity, based on the Airbus 320 Family series and this growth will consequently support a lower unit cost.

The carrier introduced its first A319 in March 2012 and has subsequently been able to expand its charter activities due to the extended range of the Airbus short-haul model versus its older Avro equipment. It launched flights between Vagar and Barcelona last year and is studying additional destinations for growth in 2013. The carrier has confirmed a second aircraft has already been ordered and will join the fleet in June 2013, while an additional unit will be sourced to support this latest contract for delivery in autumn in 2013.

"This is a significant contract for us and we value highly the trust Atlantis Rejser has given us as a carrier. It is also supporting our ambition to grow our fleet of Airbus A319 aircraft," said Magni Arge, Chief Executive Officer, Atlantic Airways. “Our cooperation with Chilean carrier DAP provides us, in parallel, with the opportunity to reduce our fleet of Avro RJ 85 aircraft. One Avro RJ is currently operating in Chile and a second delivery is planned in the autumn of 2013."

Atlantic Airways expects to operate three A319s and one Avro RJ from the fourth quarter of 2013: its fleet currently consists a single A319 aircraft, two Avro RJ85s and one Avro RJ100, as well as two helicopters which operate local helicopter services within the 18 Faroe islands as well as search and rescue services and support to the offshore oil exploration sector. The carrier focuses primarily on providing the Faroe Islands with important air services to neighbouring countries, including Denmark, the UK, Iceland, and Norway but it is also involved in increasingly important activity in other markets including charter contracts throughout northern and central Europe.