Loftleidir Icelandic is a capacity solution provider for airlines and tour operators, concentrating mainly on AM (Aircraft, Maintenance) projects, VIP Private Jet services, ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance), part trading and consulting services. During the year, Loftleidir Icelandic operated five B757 200s, two B767 300s, one B737 800 and one B737 700 aircraft.
The year 2021 was affected by the continued impact of the pandemic. The AM marked showed minor signs of improvement, and the demand for Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and repatriation/rescue operations, which made a considerable positive impact in 2020, plummeted in 2021, leading to a 23% fall in production of flight hours from 2020. The VIP Private Jet market was almost non-existent in 2021. However, there are vital signs of a recovery in 2022 as the underlying demand remains strong, and flights are bound to resume soon with more countries lifting travel restrictions. Loftleidir Icelandic added the second B757 aircraft to the VIP Private Jet fleet. Both aircraft are well booked in the next couple of years and are expected to be operating at full capacity when flights resume.
Loftleidir Icelandic is now handling all the charter AD-HOC sales and operations for the Icelandair fleet, both the Bombardier and Boeing aircraft. Despite many countries being closed to travellers, there has been good demand for these AD-HOC charters. Many special-purpose groups, such as film crews, corporations and sports teams, have travelled with charter aircraft instead of scheduled flights. Also, travel agencies have organized many charters, especially in the second half of 2021, while the first half saw many cancellations due to travel restrictions.
In November 2021, full charter flights were introduced for local travel agents between Orlando, Florida and Havana, Cuba. These flights went well and have resulted in a more extensive program in 2022.
Another addition in last year’s operations were full charter flights to Antarctica for two customers. The operations required flights to two different airfields in Antarctica, with one project lasting three months with a base in Punta Arenas, Chile. These projects were an enormous logistical and operational challenge. They demonstrated the resourcefulness of everyone involved at Icelandair and Loftleidir Icelandic, such as sales and marketing, flight operations, technical and maintenance, cabin crew, and mechanics.
Loftleidir Icelandic maintains a strong partnership with Air Niugini on AM contracts with two B767 and one B737. The fleet was reduced by one B737 aircraft in June. Despite this reduction in the fleet, the operation in 2021 was slightly more than in 2020.
The company continues to offer aircraft part trading, which started in 2019, focusing on procurement, teardown projects and commission-based sales for a third party, to provide its customers with an even more comprehensive range of solutions.
As the last two years have been incredibly challenging, there is a good reason to be optimistic about 2022 and onward. The forecast for 2022 shows revenue growth as Air Niugini is expected to gain momentum and the VIP Private Jet operations bounce back at full strength by mid-year. The company is embarking on a new project in Miami, Florida, for US travel agents with flights to Cuba, Dominican Republic and Ecuador on the horizon. Along with other potential projects, enquiries for different aircraft leases are increasing rapidly, indicating growing demand.
Loftleidir Icelandic maintains its strong foothold in the VIP Private Jet market segment with customers in Europe, North America and Oceania and flights are expected to resume later in 2022. There will be a continued focus on promoting AM, VIP Private Jet, ACMI and full charter products. In addition, the company will offer potential customers a plethora of consulting services as a total capacity solution provider. Leveraging Icelandair’s resources of extensive aviation experience, the services provided include operational optimization, network development, revenue accounting, ticket sales, market strategy, etc.