Iceland airline bullish about Winnipeg
Intrigued by rights museum's tourism potential
By: Geoff Kirbyson
If Winnipeg is going to be the next Bilbao, the CEO of Iceland Express wants in on the ground floor.Matthias Imsland, head of the Reykjavik-based carrier, said he's looking to expand the airline's transatlantic service to Winnipeg even before it has begun. The first of Iceland Express's twice-weekly flights from Winnipeg to London, which include a fuel stop in Iceland, will depart on June 5.
He said while the airline has a built-in market in Manitoba because of the large Icelandic population, that alone isn't enough to sustain daily flights between Winnipeg and Iceland during the busy June to September tourist season, a scenario he envisions in the next three to four years.
Imsland said he is intrigued by the tourism potential presented by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which is under construction at The Forks and scheduled to open in 2012.
"We saw what happened in BiIbao, Spain (after the Guggenheim Museum opened in 1997). There could be a fast-growing tourism industry in Winnipeg. We definitely feel we could sell a lot of tickets from Europe to Winnipeg. This is a long-term investment for us. We want to be in the pole position," he said.
Even during the off-season, Imsland said Iceland Express could maintain one or two flights per week out of Winnipeg in a few years.
Imsland was in town Thursday to meet with officials at the Winnipeg Airports Authority, travel agencies and Premier Greg Selinger. His visit comes weeks after Go Travel Flights, an Ottawa-based tour operator, went out of business. Go Travel had been advertising seats on Iceland Express flights out of Winnipeg.
Imsland said the airline is doing everything it can to accommodate Winnipeggers who booked through Go Travel so they aren't left high and dry this summer.
"A lot of people thought because the tour operator shut down that (Iceland Express's) flights would not go. That's strange," he said.
Barry Rempel, president and CEO of the WAA, said Imsland's confidence in the Winnipeg market could have far-reaching potential and help the city become a "centre of transportation excellence."
"Winnipeg used to have very regular non-stop, wide-body service between Winnipeg and the U.K. This is an affirmation that others also believe the market is there and this community is capable of sustaining that kind of growth," he said.
Rempel said he and Imsland also discussed the possibility of shipping cargo back and forth between Manitoba and Iceland and exchanging ideas and technologies around sustainable development, an area where both jurisdictions are strong.
As a potential trailblazer, Imsland said he anticipates larger carriers will follow his lead if Winnipeg's tourism potential is realized.
Iceland Express has a fleet of five 757s, which carry 200 passengers each. Using Iceland as a hub, it offers 23 weekly flights to Europe plus four to New York.
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 12, 2010 A11