Wideroe dreams electric and southwest bets on the Max

One of Europe’s once fastest-growing airlines, Norwegian, has been forced to shrink to survive, abandoning its ambition to become a leader in an emerging transatlantic low-cost market. However, a much smaller name in Norway is pioneering a different new market segment that could eventually prove even more disruptive for the industry.

Regional carrier Wideroe is teaming with Rolls-Royce and Italian light aircraft maker Tecnam to put an all-electric, nine-seat passenger aircraft into service by 2026. Oslo has been promoting more sustainable domestic journeys – it wants a full transition to electric air travel by 2040 – and Wideroe has expressed interest in a series of electric regional aircraft projects.

This time the contender is the P-Volt, a proposed electric-powered version of Tecnam’s P2012, already in service, in conventional piston form, with Cape Air of the USA. For the UK engine maker, positioning itself as a pioneer in environmental propulsion is just what it needs to divert attention from woeful financial results and a dependence on a widebody market that will be last to recover.

As we have noted before, so far the crisis has seen few airline collapses or mergers, most likely because of government support and other measures to put carriers in effective hibernation. An exception is Air Canada’s attempt to buy its rival Air Transat, which was first mooted in 2019 but has been stopped at the traffic lights because of the pandemic.

This week it emerged that owners of the leisure-focused airline are working on a “Plan B” in case the acquisition falls through. The last barrier to the marriage is the European Commission, which has an interest in the move because of both airlines’ transatlantic operations. Air Transat expects a decision, one way or the other, by the middle of the year.

One recent burst of good news amid the gloom has been the increasing return to service of the Boeing 737 Max fleet, after its almost two-year hiatus. Regulators in Brazil, Canada, Europe, the UK, and the USA have cleared the single-aisle jet to fly again, and as of this week 14 carriers – including Air Canada, but not yet Norwegian – are now flying the Max again on commercial service.

Southwest became the latest Max operator to return it to service on 11 March – it has 41 of the type in its fleet, and expects to add 28 this year. Additionally, it emerged this week that the Dallas-based airline may be closing in on a deal for up to 130 examples of the Max 7 variant, something that would prove a huge boost for troubled Boeing from one of its most loyal 737 customers.

Finally, several of them have already been turned to scrap. Many others are in storage, unlikely to ever fly again. But one airline believes it can find a new owner for a pair of unwanted Airbus A380s. Thai Airways International has issued a “request for indication of interest” in two of its six Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered superjumbos.

Several unsuccessful attempts have been made over the years to establish a market for secondhand versions of the quadjet. But with no freighter conversion option, the pandemic – and the spate of retirements of thirsty large widebodies it has prompted – has made it even less likely that the world’s biggest airliner has a future beyond its few loyal original customers, most notably Emirates.