Bitcoin payments is expected to be implemented for low-cost airline Norwegian Air this year, according to Coin Telegraph. The airline's co-founders are also setting up their own cryptocurrency exchange, in which the payments will be used. A local newspaper reported that the Kjos family intended to launch the trading on their own NBX exchange this coming August.
The Kjoses, already known to be heavily invested in bitcoin, is planning to expand into neighboring countries and will also integrate the crypto payments as regular options within Norwegian Air's payment options, the report continued.
It also said that the NBX exchange was already public knowledge, but there remained no exact date and the type of crypto payment they intended to use. The acceptance of crypto payments is a renewed commitment to the bitcoin industry from the family.
Bjorn Kjos is the patriarch of the family, with children working as senior executives in various corporations. He is worth $459 million and has a son, Lars Ola Kjos, who invested approximately $446,000 in bitcoin. The confirmation of information, as well as the plans to use crypto payments, came from one of the family, Stig A. Kjos-Mathisen, who will lead NBX and will sit on the board of NBK Holdings as well.
Norwegian Air, the budget airliner started by the Kjos family, operates with a fleet of 195 aircraft and services over 500 routes. With the world becoming even smaller through budget air fare, the Norway firm enjoyed being labeled as Europe's third-largest airline service, Bitcoinist reported. This didn't help how, in the fiscal year 2018, the airliner reported profit losses.
The airliner was reported to have given up $170 million in profits last year. The statistics followed an increase in machinery expenses, fuel hedge loss, as well as giving up competitiveness to other rival airliners.
This prompted the owners to explore other avenues of doing business, and soon ventured into bitcoin after a promise of a better fiscal year. The cryptocurrency, having lost 80% of its valuation last year as well, seemed like a perfect match after it made news becoming one of this year's better assets.
This announcement isn't the first in the world. American travel company Expedia already accepts bitcoin through Coinbase for booking hotel accommodations and flight. CheapAir, another popular budget agency, also enabled bitcoin payments on its platform.
It definitely is an exciting time for bitcoin. With these implementations by hotel, air, and other industries, bitcoin may soon become seriously taken as a form of payment.
