Primera Air was a Danish airline owned by Primera Travel Group. It provided scheduled and charter passenger services from Northern Europe to more than 40 destinations in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and North America. It ceased operations on 1 October 2018.
The airline was originally founded in Iceland as JetX before it was acquired by Primera Travel Group and renamed to Primera Air. In 2010, operations were transferred to a Danish unit and the Icelandic air operator’s certificate was subsequently canceled. The airline also owned Primera Air Nordic, a Latvian subsidiary airline established in 2014.
About Primera Nordic
Primera Air Nordic was a Latvian operating licensed airline and a subsidiary of Primera Air. Primera Air Nordic was established in 2014. Primera Air Scandinavia is also another subsidiary of Primera Air, an Icelandic owned Airline which was founded in 2003.
Primera Air Nordic operated 2 B737-700s and 5 B737-800s on scheduled passengers flights from cities in Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and Norway to leisure destinations in Morocco, Spain, Iceland, Cyprus, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Malta, and Croatia.
Primera’s Demise An Opportunity For Others
As Primera Air left its crews and passengers out in the cold, airlines and travel companies turn the catastrophe into opportunities. A handful of airlines, including British Airways, Norwegian, Virgin Atlantic, Delta Airlines, and even Ryanair offered flights to stranded crew and passengers.
Travel tech start-up Flightlist also enabled stranded passengers to search a one-way ticket to get home. In an exclusive interview with TD Media, Flightlist founder Hans Desjarlais said: “For stranded travelers wanting to return home, they’ll have to purchase a one-way ticket. One of Flightlist’s unique features is the ability to search by city, airport, country, or region (continent) and by a departure date range (for example the next 7 days).”
Meanwhile, TransferTravel reminds passengers that they can sell their unused hotel reservations or tour packages on their website. Simon Powell, the company’s founder, and CEO said: “Primera Air customers who are yet to travel will be facing the dilemmas of what to do next. If you are left with pre-booked, non-refundable travel arrangements you can no longer get to, list them with TransferTravel.com for resale – and get some money back. Consumers can list any element of their travel plans that they have paid for but can’t use. We estimate that 80% of all travel is eligible for transfer.”
Primera Scandinavia
Primera Air Scandinavia, Primera Air’s other subsidiary, is headquartered in Riga, Latvia, and flies to over 70 destinations. Scandinavia has grown steadily over recent years and now has established services to the Middle East, Asia, Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and Atlantic. The parent company is the Primera Travel Group and in 2004 Scandinavia added a Latvian operating license under the name of Nordic. Originally Scandinavia was founded as JetX in Iceland and operated under an Icelandic AOC. In 2008 it rebranded itself as Primera.
Primera Scandinavia operates round-way flights from Scandinavia to many holiday destinations including Turkey, Madeira, Bulgaria, the Canary Islands, and along the Mediterranean coastline of Europe. Primera Air Scandinavia maintains winter and summer season schedules. From 2014, Primera Air Scandinavia introduced 10 new winter direct flights from Iceland, including Tenerife, Las Palmas, Alicante, Salzburg, Malaga, Mallorca and Barcelona, Bologna, Crete, and Bodrum.
Air Baggage
Primera Air allows 1 carry-on bag and 1 personal item (purse, briefcase, laptop bag) with a combined weight no greater than 10kg (22lb) per passenger fee-free for all fares selected.
Carry-on should not exceed the following size and weight restrictions:
- 124 centimeters (54 x 45 x 25 cm) or 49 linear inches (21 x 18 x 10 in) including handles and wheels
- Fit in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of you
Personal item should not exceed the following size and weight restrictions:
- 78 centimeters (25 x 33 x 20 cm) or 31 linear inches (10 x 13 x 8 in)
- Fit in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of you
- A jacket, umbrella, diaper bag, duty-free items, and assistive devices (wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, strollers, child restraint seats, etc.) do not count towards your carry-on allowance.
Primera Boston
Primera will suspend its four-times-weekly service from London Stansted on 26 October, and thrice-weekly service from Paris Charles de Gaulle on 25 October, FlightGlobal schedule data shows. The flights are operated with 198-seat Airbus A321neo aircraft. Both routes will resume in early 2019, the carrier tells FlightGlobal.
Primera launched service to Boston from London in May, and from Paris in June as part of its foray into the transatlantic market that also included service to Newark, Toronto, and Washington Dulles. However, the transatlantic flights have a rocky start, which the airline attributes to aircraft delivery delays. It suspended flights between Birmingham and both Newark and Toronto in June, as well as cut short-haul services from the UK airport.
