NOR A340

In the 1990s, NOR explored the prospects of expanding their Asian presence. In 1995, NOR announced plans to launch a new flight between Copenhagen and Taiwan via Bangkok. This route would take advantage of Fifth Freedom and bring passengers to two distant Asian destinations. However, NOR already operates a daily service between Copenhagen and Shanghai, in the People's Republic of China, which had banned all airlines serving any destinations within the country from operating flights to Taiwan. Not wanting to lose either routes, NOR, along with many other European airlines, established new subsidiaries registered in Taiwan. Nordlige Lufttjenester Asien, or 北歐亞洲航空公司, was established in 1995 with IATA code AN, ICAO code NAO, and callsign NORASIA. Branding wise, the airline used a livery similar to the parent companies, but the name ASIEN was used instead of the NOR. All flags were also removed from the 3 Airbus A340-300s assigned to ASIEN. These planes were not allowed to enter Chinese air space, and were never used on flights to mainland China, but did make occasional appearances in some other NOR destinations. As restrictions eased by the late 2000s, ASIEN's AOC was merged with NOR's, and all flights returned to using NOR's NO IATA code and NOR ICAO code, as well as the NOR callsign. ASIEN's A340 fleet was also reintegrated with NOR's fleet, and now could be flown to any destination within NOR's network, including occasional flights to China. However, the ASIEN branding was kept as it was considered an important part of the airline's history. When NOR's latest branding was introduced in 2011, a refreshed version of the ASIEN brand was also introduced, and painted on the same A340s that once belonged to the separate airline. Unfortunately, ASIEN became a part of history when NOR's last A340 was retired in 2021, and the airline elected not to use the branding on its A330 or A350 jets.

Aircraft Pictured:
OY-KJH, Airbus A340-300 "Sydney", delivered to NOR in 1994. Former ASIEN OY-KJH (1995-2009), re-joined NOR with ASIEN branding in 2009. Exited from fleet in 2020.