PRESS RELEASE - 22nd JUNE 2017
Argentina becomes Norwegian’s gateway to South America
The airline has announced low cost flights on its new London-Buenos Aires route
On 22 June the Embassy of Argentina in the United Kingdom hosted the launch of the Norwegian route set to connect Buenos Aires to London, with no stopovers. During the press conference held at the Official Residence of Ambassador Carlos Sersale, involving 25 journalists — British and Argentine — and tour operators, Bjorn Kjos, the company’s CEO, also unveiled further details on the first flight, the number of weekly flights, fare prices and the company’s plans in the country.
“The fact that the airline has chosen Buenos Aires as the destination to open its first South American route confirms that Argentina is the natural gateway to the continent”, said Ambassador Sersale, who praised “the trust” the airline has placed in the country and its role in “building a new Argentina”.
And he added: “This announcement is key to improving our country’s global flight connectivity and our smart reinsertion to the world stage. It is also the result of a concerted effort between Ministers Dietrich and Santos, of Transport and Tourism, and the Foreign Ministry, to boost bilateral tourism between the UK and Argentina. In 2016 tourism to our country rose by 7%. Our plan is to increase the total number of visitors from 5.7 to 9 million tourists by 2020. Behind each tourist there are jobs, and tourism in our country provides work for 1 million people”.
For Kjos, whom British, Spanish and Argentine journalists repeatedly asked “why Argentina?”, the answer was the great potential of its market: “Argentina is a country which remains undiscovered. I believe it has fantastic potential as a tourist destination.”
Shortly after this, he added that in addition to this “milestone” marking the airline’s first route, connecting Europe and South America, work continues. “This is the first step in a very ambitious plan for national and international expansion in the country”. Earlier this year, Norwegian also opened the subsidiary Norwegian Air Argentina, with plans to establish a considerable operation in Argentina, including domestic flights.
Also during the launch, before taking questions from the press, a message was screened from Argentina’s Minister of Tourism Gustavo Santos, who visited London in November 2016 and worked very hard in the build-up to this announcement. "Argentina has opened itself to the world and the improved connectivity is vital for tourism. We welcome the arrival of this route and all the development that Norwegian is carrying out in our country. Argentina World Friendly is our tourist brand and the concept is about welcoming all travellers with open arms", he said during his welcome remarks.
The UK Tourism Minister Lord Callanan, who was also unable to attend, left a message: “This will open new opportunities for businesses and tourists in the UK and Argentina, which will further boost our economies, offering a wider range of choice for consumers and opening up channels for potential new business links. The UK is a global trading nation and this is an excellent example of government and industry working together to build and strengthen our connections with the world.”
The first flight will leave Gatwick on 14 February next year, and there will be 4 weekly flights aboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. According to reports from the press, it will constitute a reduction of around 35% in the cost of fares that have been available thus far. Details can be found on website of Norwegian, recently named Best Low Cost Airline in Europe.