Avinor Oslo Airport feels Miami heat on its route network

In a significant development, Avinor Oslo Airport celebrates the inaugural flight of SAS’ direct link to Miami.

SAS has today launched its new four times weekly route from Oslo Airport to Florida’s seaport city, Miami. Operated by its 266-seat Airbus A330s, the Star Alliance carrier will be serving one of Oslo’s largest unserved routes. Having recorded a two-way indirect traffic flow of 28,000 passengers per annum, Norway’s capital city airport experienced 15% growth in the city pair traffic last year, according to OAG Schedules Analyser.

“Today is a momentous day for all of us here at Oslo Airport. Marking the launch of one of our biggest carrier’s links to one of the airport’s largest ‘white spots’ is a major development. We’ve been working extremely hard to ensure our route map is filled with attractive and in-demand new services, and I have no doubt that SAS’ new route to Miami will be prove popular,” comments Jasper Spruit, VP Traffic Development, Oslo Airport.

Facing no direct competition on the airport pair, SAS’ new service means that North America will become more accessible than ever. As Scandinavia’s largest regional feeder airport, with 50+ connecting markets from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, The Baltics, as well as Norway’s other airports, adding Miami to its route network allows Oslo to offer another important onward destination. The numbers connecting last year to the Floridian hot-spot tell their own story of this transfer success, as in addition to its own indirect traffic to Miami, the Scandinavian hub welcomed 15,000 passengers from other regional Avinor airports travelling to the US city.

“Almost 500,000 Norwegians travelled to the US last year, and with an 11% increase in US citizens visiting Norway, this new direct connection will only help in developing the market further,” added Spruit.

A great day for SAS
Miami will be SAS’ second intercontinental route from Oslo Airport.

“This will be very popular with Norwegians who long for sun and warm weather combined with a great variety of world-class experiences. Many Norwegians have a house or apartment in Miami. The city also has a large harbour and is a great starting point for fantastic cruises in the Caribbean,” says Knut-Morten Johansen, head of media relations in SAS.

“We can already see from the sales figures that the new route is being warmly received among travellers all over Scandinavia. Now they will be able to enjoy the lovely SAS cabins in our long-distance planes Airbus A330 with 264 seats,” Johansen concludes.