Nordic Seaplanes has signed a MoU for five Elfly Group Noemi (No Emissions) all-electric seaplanes with options for an additional 10. The companies have agreed wider collaboration to explore new coastal markets beyond Scandinavia. Nordic’s ops team will work closely with Elfly, sharing their experience of water operations flying De Havilland Twin Otter floatplanes since 2016. The expected order value is US$150 million to be delivered over the coming decade.

The agreement was confirmed and signed by Ole Christiansen, chairman of the board and CEO of Nordic Seaplanes, and Eric Lithun, CEO and founder of Elfly, during its debut Nordic Horizons – Toward Future Flight event at Langelinie Pavilion, Copenhagen, attended by international industry peers and media.

“We have a very successful operation with our Twin Otters, but we are excited to embrace a future into 2030 that is electric,” says Christiansen. “With Elfly’s Noemi in a nine seat configuration, we are making an investment in clean technology and sustainability, which will assure our business well into the future, not just for Denmark but as we look to expand into other coastal markets too.”

“We are delighted to partner with Nordic Seaplanes,” adds Lithun. “At the outset of our programme we said we would build and operate the aircraft, establishing our own AOC. However, collaborating with this well positioned European partner, with its wealth of operational experience here and overseas, makes a lot of sense. We can learn much from it about operating in a challenging environment and together we aim to tap seaplane markets beyond Scandinavia. The renaissance of the seaplane is coming.”

Nordic Seaplanes co-founder Lasse Rungholm welcomed the new collaboration, saying this will secure the goal of no emission seaplane travel. Rungholm and co-owner Lars Erik Nielsen are passionate about seaplanes. Rungholm previously flew as a captain for Maldivian Air Taxi and Trans Maldivian Airways, which merged in 2013 to create the world's largest seaplane operator, with a 65-strong Twin Otter fleet. Nielsen was still the managing director of Trans Maldivian when the duo brought seaplanes to their home country eight years ago.

Nordic Seaplanes is said to be Europe's only scheduled operator flying floatplanes on scheduled services and charter. Its amphibian DHC6-300 Twin Otters have been operating between Copenhagen and Aarhus every weekday, a 45-minute connection between Denmark’s two biggest cities, since May, 2016. Since that time‚ demand has grown and its schedule now supports up to 168 passengers per day on its main route.

The airline also offers sightseeing flights on a daily basis, carrying up to 16 passengers.