The maiden trip of Bakkafrost’s Boeing 757-200 aircraft it purchased this past June is planned to take place in two to three months.
The aircraft has a capacity for 35 tonnes of cargo and will fly initially between Vágar, the Faroe Islands and New York.
The airplane will bring Bakkafrost’s fresh salmon to New York within 24 hours, saving CO2 emissions from air freight by 45 percent, the salmon producer said earlier.
“For many years, we have aimed to make progress in the American market, and along with our US processing plant in New Jersey, this initiative will provide us with the opportunity to provide the customers with the best service possible,” said Regin Jacobsen, chief executive at Bakkafrost.
“Compared to the current transportation routes through various airfields in Europe, the new route will ensure prolonged shelf-life due to shortened transportation, an unbroken cooling chain and reduction in GHG emissions.”
Aside from the United States, the airplane will transport salmon to Israel and other remote markets within a day of harvest.
“We believe this will significantly strengthen our competitiveness. Customers, both in Israel and the American sushi market, demand fresh products and with this much shorter route, we will provide our customers with the freshest product on the market,” added Jacobsen.
Bakkafrost subsidiary FarCargo, which handles the transport service, will offer the opportunity for both Faroese and international businesses to buy cargo space onboard the plane.
“This is a great day for us. We’re pleased to have reached this point and are now looking forward to commencing actual operations,” said Birgir Nielsen, chief executive at FarCargo.
The company hopes the Faroese market will benefit from the new direct route, and that this will provide new opportunities in the Faroe Islands.
