Against all odds, another new airline launches

Against all odds, another new airline launches

With many airlines still barely flying due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and some collapsing altogether, launching a new carrier in the current environment is certainly a bold move.

Well, that’s exactly what the team at Nolinor Aviation have gone and done.

Against all odds, the Canadian company has unveiled a new airline called OWG, which will soon take off in Quebec, offering regular flights to “tropical” destinations including Cuba and the Caribbean.

For the past 27 years, Nolinor has offered charter transportation solutions with its fleet of some 10 Boeing 737s.

However, the company has been quietly working since 2018 to create OWG, investing more than $1 million in a think tank “to reinvent the way things are done in this industry”, and analysing “the best airlines in the world” to establish the values and mission behind its new brand.

“The flight portion of your trip should be an integral part of your vacation,” OWG president Marco Prud’homme explained.

“Traditional airlines have chosen to cut the quality of their services year after year, with no regard for the passenger experience.

“Our goal is to win the hearts of Quebecers with a new airline whose mission is to get travellers excited again.”

Early this year, Nolinor acquired a fleet of Boeing 737-400s and put millions of dollars into transforming them for its new airline.

The company said the interior of each plane has been refurbished with “new, lighter and sturdier seats”, and a “sophisticated communication system” has been installed to track OWG aircraft in real time.

OWG claims it is “reinventing the travel experience by placing its passengers at the heart of its actions”.

“The company logo’s design perfectly represents this brand spirit,” the airline said in a media statement.

OWG received authorisation from Quebec’s Minister of Transport to provide regular international flight service on 6 July.

The airline has also announced its first partnership with a Canadian-based tour operator called Hola Sun Holidays, which will offer direct and dedicated OWG flights to Cuba from 1 November 2020.

Surprisingly, OWG isn’t the first airline to launch during the COVID-19 pandemic, with new Japanese carrier ZIPAIR taking off in June.

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