Bryan Giardinelli/Northern Pacific Airways
- Northern Pacific Airways launched its first revenue flight between California and Las Vegas on Friday.
- Despite a successful outbound, the airline had to cancel the return due to a "minor maintenance issue."
- NPA was initially created to offer low fares between the US and Asia, but its plans have faced unexpected hurdles.
Startup airline Northern Pacific Airways is struggling to take off — both figuratively and literally.
On Friday, the new discount carrier finally launched its first-ever revenue flight between Ontario, California, and Las Vegas, officially entering the US market — albeit over a month late after delaying the inaugural initially scheduled for June 2.
And, it has already faced another hiccup. After the first flight, passengers going back to California on the weekly route Sunday were left without a plane after Northern Pacific canceled the return leg due to a "minor mechanic issue" on its 28-year-old Boeing 757-200, the carrier confirmed to Insider on Tuesday.
Because it is the only active plane in the fleet, the carrier explained that all passengers were either refunded or accommodated on another airline. It noted the struggles of being a startup carrier but apologized for the inconvenience and said normal operations will continue this weekend.
"We were so happy with the positive reaction we received on the outbound flight and that the airline was the most tracked flight in the world on FlightRadar24 during this mission," a Northern Pacific spokesperson told Insider.
Brady MacDonald/Insider
Northern Pacific hasn't had great luck since its inception.
The airline was born in May 2021 with the goal of being a transpacific carrier flying from places like Orlando and New York City to cities in Asia with a stopover at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska.
The strategy is similar to Icelandair's network between the US and Europe via Reykjavik, and Northern Pacific says its one-stop routes can save customers up to 20% on airfare.
However, sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine scorched the airline's plan as it could no longer fly over Russia. The Cold War-era problem effectively put flights to Tokyo and Seoul on hold because it added another layer to certification that Northern Pacific didn't initially plan for.
Because the Russian airspace closure will force the airline's 757s to cross water instead of land, the airline had to get a special aircraft rating known as ETOPS. This certifies the twin-engine plane can safely fly over large bodies of water for hours on one engine before needing to land.
ETOPS is required when crossing oceans like the Pacific as there are very few diversion airports easily accessible in the case of an emergency.
However, regulators required Northern Pacific to start flying before it could apply for ETOPS — igniting a mad dash for its operating certificate and a new first route.
The carrier ping-ponged around the US with different network ideas before landing on the heavily-trafficked corridor between Southern California and Las Vegas. Other possibilities included California to Mexico and the US commonwealth island Saipan to Australia and the Philippines.
On July 9, Northern Pacific got the official green light to launch flights, with CEO Rob McKinney sharing the news on Twitter.
—Rob McKinney (@RobLMcKinney) July 9, 2023
Despite the turbulent first two years of business and a shaky inaugural, Northern Pacific is still planning to eventually fly to Asia. But, in the meantime, it will continue domestic service and dabble in charter flights, which start at $14,000 per hour.