This was published 5 years ago
Primera Air's 'non-stop' London to New York flights will be stopping in Iceland after switch to Boeing 737
By Hugh Morris
Primera Air will be flying Boeing 737s on a 'non-stop' route longer than the plane's range.Credit: Shutterstock
Passengers on-board a "non-stop" flight to New York next week with budget airline Primera Air might be surprised to find that the first time their plane touches down after take-off from London will not be in the US but actually Iceland.
The Latvian low-cost carrier is employing an aircraft incapable of flying the transatlantic route from Stansted in one go for a number of services next week, instead using one that requires a refuelling stop in Reykjavik, adding some 480 km and 90 minutes to the journey.
Flight information on Primera's website shows that the service will be "non-stop" and take nine hours and 55 minutes but a schedule from flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 shows the trip to Newark, just outside of New York in New Jersey, will run via the Icelandic capital, with a 45-minute pause for refuelling.
Where's the Empire State Building? The Primera flight will stop off at Reykjavik airport, Iceland, to refuel.
The reason behind the diversion is because Primera has next week swapped its Airbus A321neo aircraft, capable of flying 4000 nautical miles (7408 km, more than enough to reach the US eastern seaboard), for a Boeing 737, which has a range of just 2935 nautical miles (5435 km).
According to FlightRadar24, New York-bound flights on September 2, 3, 4 and 5 are all set to travel via Reykjavik, yet on Primera's website they are still advertised as "non-stop", despite detailing a longer journey time of nine hours and 55 minutes and the change of aircraft. Return legs, going eastbound on the same dates, will also stop in Iceland.
Judging by the journey times given on Primera's website, services on September 6 and 7 will also stop in Iceland.
Wow air, another low-cost, long-haul airline, also operates its transatlantic flights via its base in Reykjavik, using Airbus A321 aircraft, but its website clearly states that the journey comes with a stopover.
A spokesperson for Primera Air said: "Due to operational reasons, six flights in September will be operated with Boeing 737-800 instead of Airbus A321neo. As these were ad-hoc changes, the website is not showing the information properly, however all passengers on these flights have already been informed about the aircraft change and information on the website will be updated today.
"We apologise for the inconvenience... however, these are temporary changes after which A321neo will be again operating the New York route."
Primera Air launched long-haul routes from London Stansted earlier this year to much fanfare, with headline-grabbing fares to destinations including New York, Toronto and Boston. The Icelandic-owned, Latvian-based carrier has, however, had a bumpy ride since, cancelling its inaugural transatlantic flights from London Stansted, with a delivery delay from Airbus blamed.
Primera was subsequently forced to cancel all flights from Birmingham before its routes to North America even launched.
Earlier this month, the airline came under heavy criticism after it was revealed it had failed to inform a family that turned up at Birmingham Airport for a trip to Toronto that their flights had been cancelled months earlier.
More passengers then came forward accusing the airline of ignoring customer complaints and enquiries and lamenting lengthy waits for compensation. The number of disgruntled passengers has led to the creation of a Twitter account called Donotflyprimera.
At a glance | Who is Primera?
Founded: 2003
Fleet size: 12
Destinations: 36
Key routes: New York; Toronto; Washington
Headquarters: Riga
Rivals: Norwegian; Wow air; Level
The Telegraph, London
See also: Singapore to launch world's longest non-stop flight, with no economy class on board
See also: Qantas looks to Airbus A350 for non-stop Sydney-London flights
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