Scandinavian long-haul carrier Norse Atlantic Airways has named former SAS chief commercial officer Eivind Roald as its new chief executive.

Roald succeeds founder Bjorn Tore Larsen with immediate effect.

Larsen will continue supporting the airline’s development through the role of board chair.

“This is a result of a process to further strengthen the organisation and our leadership to execute our strategy for building a profitable long-haul airline offering affordable fares,” says the carrier.

Norse points out that Larsen will “remain in an active role” and “make sure Norse executes well on [its] strategy”.

Roald served with SAS for five years, initially as executive vice-president of sales and marketing from 2012 before becoming chief commercial officer in 2014.

His management career has also included leadership roles at Hewlett-Packard, software and technology firm QNTM Group, and he is the founder of marketing technology company CRST Advisory.

“We have been searching for someone who understands the aviation industry, knows how to commercialise businesses, and brings technological insight – combined with the ability to be a strong team-leader and builder,” says Larsen.

Norse has been struggling to become profitable as a long-haul budget carrier and, about a year ago, opted to pursue a dual-activity strategy – cutting back its scheduled flight network to concentrate on the strongest routes, while introducing wet-lease operations to offset seasonality.

This effort is still gaining traction, with half of Norse’s fleet of a dozen Boeing 787-9s being transferred to Indian budget carrier IndiGo.

“Norse holds a unique position with a modern fleet, an attractive product, and a balanced business model with long term charters as well as attractive own scheduled flights,” says Roald.