PrivatAir commenced a new business-class-only airline service between Stavanger and Houston on behalf of SAS, under a wet lease agreement. The route operates six days per week i.e. every day except Tuesday.
“PrivatAir introduced long-haul business class only flights in 2002 using extended range narrow body aircraft,” Greg Thomas, President and CEO of PrivatAir, said.
“The concept proved to be highly successful and over the years we have operated such flights on numerous routes on behalf of several major European airlines. We operate the aircraft on an ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) basis, offering our partner airlines a low-risk, cost-effective and flexible way to respond rapidly to demand. We are now honoured to count SAS as our partner on the new all-business-class Stavanger-Houston route and are proud to be able to bring our experience and service to their customers.”
The scheduled service is operated by a Boeing 737-700 in SAS livery, with 44 business class seats available on board.
“Passengers are treated to the full Business Class concept with spacious seats, a modern in-flight entertainment system, excellent service and luxury catering. In addition to this distinctive club-like atmosphere, there is the advantage of this being a direct flight, making it extremely time-efficient for passengers.”
“The partnership between Scandinavian Airlines and PrivatAir perfectly illustrates the combination of local market demand that SAS may not be able to economically serve using wide body long-haul aircraft and the unique capabilities of PrivatAir in successfully operating such extended range aircraft and delivering VIP service for almost 40 years,” Paul de Salis, PrivatAir’s Senior Vice President Scheduled Services, added.
This service has been set up by SAS in response to demand from leading players in the oil and gas industry for better connections between Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia), and Houston, Texas. It was launched just ahead of the major oil exhibition – Offshore Northern Seas (ONS 2014) – that takes place in Stavanger from the 25th to 28th August.
Flight SK951 departs Stavanger at 16:00, arriving into Houston at 19:40, with the return leg SK952 leaving the US city at 21:35, landing back into the Norwegian city at 14:20 the following day (all local time). It’s a practical timetable, set to enable easy connections throughout Scandinavia in both directions, while Houston is a hub for links to the south and west such as Mexico, Los Angeles, Dallas and Phoenix with the Star Alliance.
“It was a privilege to witness the departure of the inaugural flight to Houston after several months of exemplary collaboration between the SAS and PrivatAir teams which made this success possible. Our primary objective is to deliver consistent, quality service to SAS passengers and I am delighted to announce that the feedback from the first flights has been excellent,” Victor Grove, Senior Vice-President Training, Selection and Customer Service at PrivatAir, who was in Stavanger for the launch, said.