An interview with Øyvind Hasaas, Airport Director, Oslo Airport, by Marta Dimitrova.
Øyvind Hasaas, Airport Director, Oslo Airport: “We want to deliver a top European airport experience in all parts of the value chain. If we succeed, we expect growth to be a consequence that will benefit all parts of our business.”
The new Oslo Airport was officially opened on 27 April 2017. Today, the airport boasts one of the most modern, customer and environmentally friendly facilities in Europe, with the capacity to handle up to 32 million passengers per year.
“Our aim is to be one of the top 10 airports in Europe, and this aim inspires us every day,” says Øyvind Hasaas, Airport Director, Oslo Airport.
Passenger numbers grew by 7.6% to 27.5 million last year, driven by the improving Norwegian economy and Oslo’s attractiveness as both a leisure and business destination.
“We don’t measure our success in growth alone. We measure our success in the daily feedback from the passengers, airlines and commercial partners,” Hasaas explains. “We want to deliver a top European airport experience in all parts of the value chain. If we succeed, we expect growth to be a consequence that will benefit all parts of our business. This holistic thinking gives every partner at the airport an incentive to deliver a great product every day, as we are all dependant on each other to produce the best possible result. If we succeed together, we are rewarded together.”
Indeed, one year on from the opening of the new terminal, the airport has seen a rise in every area of customer satisfaction, and in April 2018 it was pronounced the best airport in the Nordic countries in the ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey.
This year, Oslo is expecting to reach about 29 million passengers, driven by its strategy to create a great customer experience for airlines, commercial partners, and passengers.
Serving the Norwegian economy
Oslo Airport’s primary focus is to serve the Norwegian economy with top international connectivity. Among its main targets is to cater for strong demand for connectivity to Asia and the US. Interest in Norway as a holiday destination has increased among South Korean travellers. Compared to 2016, there was a 36.7% growth in South Koreans’ overnight stays in Norway in 2017. As a result, Asiana Airlines is launching a summer charter route on 10 July with flights on Tuesdays and Saturdays between Seoul and Oslo Airport until 29 August. Additionally, Korean Air is increasing the number of its charter flights between Seoul and Oslo from eight in 2017 to 11 in 2018.
Over the last few years, Oslo Airport has become a major hub for air cargo airlines in the Nordic region. Moreover, an important factor for Norway is its seafood exports. Oslo Airport saw a huge increase in air cargo in 2017, the biggest volumes of which were exports of fresh Norwegian seafood. Several new cargo airlines, including Atlas Air, CAL, Turkish Cargo and DHL, added Oslo Airport to their networks last year, reducing the onward journey length of Norwegian seafood and significantly increasing capacity.
“Apart from working tirelessly to become one of the best airports in Europe, we have several projects that are important for us and for the value creation of Norway. We have plans of developing a top modern seafood centre that will improve the way we industrialise logistics with the seafood transportation, making sure Norwegian seafood can reach international markets fresher and better than ever before.”
Hasaas concludes: “We are continuously working to identify aspects of our business that make us relevant for Norwegian business. We are the main airport of Norway and hub to all the fantastic leisure and business opportunities that exist in the cities all across our 45-airport network.”
