FarCargo, a Bakkafrost subsidiary, has reportedly closed a deal to purchase a Boeing 757-200 aircraft, a 47-meter plane with a flight range of 7,000 kilometers, able to carry some 35 tonnes of cargo.
It was announced a year ago that a new air freight company had been founded with the backing of salmon farming giant Bakkafrost, and on Monday the name of the company was revealed.
According to a news release from FarCargo, the maiden trip is planned to take place in two to three months, with the first scheduled flight route set to interlink Vagar, Faroe and New York, US.
During a 12-month period of preparations since the formation of the new air freight carrier company, “challenges have been numerous,” according to FarCargo, “including finding the right plane, getting all the necessary permits and generally sorting out practicalities.”
“This is a great day for us,” FarCargo managing director Birgir Nielsen commented. “We’re pleased to have reached this point and are now looking forward to commence actual operations. Also this is an old dream that is now turning into reality, in particular for initiators Heðin Krett, Hans Meinhard á Høgabóli, and Andrew Djurhuus.”
FarCargo chairman and Bakkafrost CEO Regin Jacobsen called the launching of the new air freight business “a new chapter in Faroese trade history”.
“The aim is to deliver fresh salmon of the best quality to both the US, Israel and other far-away markets, a mere day after the fish was swimming in our fjords,” Mr. Jacobsen added, stressing the importance of the new venture Bakkafrost’s further development.
“Buyers such as Israel and the American sushi market are looking for fresh products, and with this much shorter transportation route, we can provide our customers with the freshest products on the market.”