The carrier in preparation for the inaugural flight, had been conducting multiple proving runs around the West with representatives from the Federal Aviation Authority on board to ensure federal requirements are met. It’s flown its Boeing 757-200s from Anchorage to Moses Lake, Washington., and Ontario, California, where the company has its maintenance hangar. FLOAT Alaska LLC, which bought some of Ravn’s assets during bankruptcy, is the parent company of Northern Pacific Airways.
The 757-200, which is a narrow-body aircraft can operate with a lower cost per mile, has a flight range of 4,000 miles, and can accommodate up to 200 passengers. The airline will be based in Anchorage, with Anchorage eventually serving as the one-stop fueling stopover to Asia.
As part of its launch, the airline has leased an area of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport’s North Terminal to serve as a passenger lounge and has invested $6 million into the lounge project.
As a new long-haul airline, Northern Pacific Airways plans to offer flights between a range of points in the United States and select cities in East Asia through Anchorage, Alaska. The airline plans to serve cities in the states of New York, Florida, California, and Nevada, with direct flights to cities in Japan and Korea through Anchorage over the Northern route.