Some remarkably good news for the aviation sector this week comes from Canada, where a new airline called OWG is preparing to take off in Quebec, offering flights to Southern destinations. This new airline is being launched by Nolinor Aviation, a Quebec-based charter carrier, which is striving to continue its expansion into new markets.
Nolinor has operated charter flights for the past 27 years, mainly to the Far North, with its fleet of 10 Boeing 737s. The Nolinor Aviation team has been quietly working since 2018 to create a new airline that will position the company in the tourist flight market. As part of this work the company says it has invested more than CAD$1 million in a think tank to “reinvent the way things are done in this industry” and has analysed the best airlines in the world to establish the values and mission behind the new OWG brand.
As OWG president, Marco Prud’homme stated, “The flight portion of your trip should be an integral part of your vacation. 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.”
The OWG travel experience
Earlier this year, the carrier acquired a fleet of Boeing 737-400s, which are being fitted out with 158-seat configurations. OWG selected the TiSeat E2 economy seat, made by Expliseat, which the French manufacturer says are 40% lighter than any other certified seats on the market, achieved through a titanium and carbon fibre construction. For Nolinor this means a reduction in the total weight of each aircraft of 1.1 tons. The seats are equipped with a 4.5in recline function and foam combinations for flights of up to seven hours.
All of this work represents an investment of several million dollars, according to OWG.
Of course, the OWG travel experience will need to include protection standards against Covid-19, so the crew will benefit from the health and safety expertise developed by Nolinor Aviation during the crisis, while they continued to serve certain northern destinations.
OWG will begin operations in the coming months and the destinations will be announced shortly. On 6th July, 2020 OWG received the authorisation from Canada’s Minister of Transport to provide regular international flight services.
