Atlantic Airways and Airbus have signed a memorandum of understanding on the purchase of an Airbus 320 to be delivered in late 2016. The final agreement will be signed in June.

Atlantic Airways plans to purchase a new aircraft of the type Airbus 320. The Faroese carrier and the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus have signed a memorandum of understanding, in which they have agreed on guidelines for the purchase of the aircraft. The purchasing price will not be made public.

According to the plan, Airbus will deliver the aircraft in late 2016. Atlantic Airways is taking steps to buy the larger aircraftdue to the increasing demand on the route between the Faroes and Copenhagen. The new craft will primarily serve this route.

Airbus 320 is planned to have 168 seats, 24 more than the Airbus 319, which has a capacity of 144 passengers. Currently, there are three Airbus 319 in Atlantic Airways’ fleet, one of which the company owns while it leases the other two. The leasing contracts for the two aircrafts expire in September 2016. The company plans to extend one of these contracts to secure sufficient capacity until the new aircraft has been acquired and while the new NORTH routes are being built up.

Until the fall of 2016, Atlantic Airways has opted to serve the NORTH routes with Airbus 319s. In this trial period the company will determine whether it is feasible to acquire a smaller plane to serve these routes. The company is still researching what type of aircraft is ideal for the NORTH routes.

In summary, within the next few years, Atlantic Airways plans to have a fleet consisting of an Airbus 320, an Airbus 319 and an aircraft suited for the NORTH routes.

The new aircraft, just as the company’s A 319, will be equipped with Airbus’ advanced navigation technology, RNP AR 0.1, which so far has resulted in a marked increase in regularity and so reducing delays. This is a GPS based technology, which Atlantic Airways has combined with the ILS systems commonly used byairports. Combined, this proves to be a very accurate navigation tool for both arrivals and departures.

The Faroese carrier has so far adapted RNP AR 0.1 to Vagar Airport’s ILS system, making it the first airport in the world to use the new technology. With this Atlantic Airways’ three Airbus planes are able to approach Vagar Airport at a lower altitude and less visibility than ever before.