After it successfully completed its first flight, Northern Pacific Airways was hit by a mechanical issue, forcing the return flight to be delayed by more than 24 hours.
The airline’s second-ever flight was scheduled to depart on July 16, 2023, but plans were derailed after the airline experienced an issue with its sole active Boeing 757. Instead, the aircraft departed from Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) to Ontario International Airport (ONT) on July 17, 2023, using flight code, 7H9628, rather than its typical LAS to ONT flight code, 7H888.
Northern Pacific Airways operated its first flight on July 14, 2023, with flight 7H777 taking the airline’s inaugural passengers from ONT to LAS, a short 40-minute hop across state borders within the United States (US).
The Boeing 757, registered as N628NP, has remained on the ground at ONT since landing.
“The outbound NPA flight, last Sunday, from LAS to ONT was cancelled due to a minor mechanical issue with the aircraft. All pax have either been refunded or accommodated on other flights or alternate transportation,” said a Northern Pacific Airways spokesperson in an email to AeroTime. According to them, “these are the unfortunate issues that come with starting a new airline”.
It was previously forced to delay its inaugural flight date while it completed the final steps in the regulatory process with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“Northern Pacific Airways airline apologizes for any inconvenience that was caused to our valuable customers. We look forward to seeing passengers on board the next scheduled flight which will be this upcoming Friday from ONT to LAS as the airline resumes normal operations,” continued the carrier’s representative.
The airline describes its business model on its website 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.”
However, Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions resulted in US-based airlines being unable to use the aggressor’s airspace, putting a halt to the carrier’s plans. As such, it chose to begin operations by flying from ONT, California to LAS, Nevada.
Northern Pacific Airways currently has a fleet of four Boeing 757s, which were all initially ordered by US Airways, according to ch-aviation.com data.
After US Airways merged with American Airlines in 2013, the latter operated the quartet until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the carrier to adjust the size of its fleet.
“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,” said Nothern Pacific Airways’ spokesperson, referring to the airline’s first flight on July 14, 2023.