Gwladys Foouche

OSLO (Reuters] – Wideroe is the largest Nordic regional airline and has set up a subsidiary in order to develop an emission-free business. This was revealed by its chief executive, who spoke out to Reuters.

Wideroe is a private company that serves short-haul routes. It operates in an area with limited train lines, challenging geography and sparsely populated. There are 40 Bombardier OTC: 8 propeller aircrafts, and three Embraer E190 E2 jets.

Wideroe hopes to fly its first zero emission plane in 2026. It also aims to replace the 26 Dash 8100 and -200 which were obsolete between 2030-2035 with zero-emission planes that use hydrogen or electric fuel.

Wideroe Zero was named and launched Friday. The company is expected to help Wideroe attain its objective of having a fleet that emits zero, near zero, or very low emissions, said Chief Executive Stein Nilsen in an interview.

He stated, “To think outside of the box, we decided to create a new business with the primary goal to find this path to become more sustainable (business)”

Wideroe Zero will also look for new markets, he said, as the industry of airlines, which in 2018 accounted for 2.5% global CO2 emissions, faces pressure to become more sustainable.

Nilsen mentioned that disruptive technologies are also impacting the industry. Wideroe hopes to benefit from the rapid technological change brought about by the emergence electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL).

Nilsen said, “As an airline that flies short-haul, this is very exciting for us.” We need to prepare for anything more disruptive on the market for our niche.

The timing of the planned switch is coincident with significant disruptions to the Nordic airlines sector, including major carriers Norwegian Air and SAS undergoing restructuring operations and newcomers Flyr and Play being launched following the outbreak.