Category Archives: Norwegian Air Shuttle

Norwegian releases its summer 2023 schedule plans

Norwegian Air Shuttle released this information:

A continued strong focus on the core Nordic markets and an improved offering on popular city and beach destinations across Europe are key elements in Norwegian’s summer schedule for 2023. As part of the programme which runs from March to October 2023, Norwegian has put up 239 routes for sale.

– We are pleased to present our flying schedule for the coming summer season. The new schedule contributes to strengthening our position as a leading carrier in the Nordics with many high frequency routes in and between the Nordic countries and to popular destinations across Europe. We look forward to a good and busy summer season and to welcoming our passengers onboard, says Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

During the last couple of years, Norwegian has gradually increased its’ fleet as demand for air travel returned. Norwegian expects to operate 85 aircraft during the summer of 2023 which is an increase of 15 aircraft compared to the summer season 2022. This will allow Norwegian to offer more departures on the most popular routes, giving the customers even more flexibility as they plan their travels.

– I am happy that we have been able to gradually increase our capacity to match the demand in the market. During the coming summer season, we expect to increase the capacity even further to the benefit of our travelers, says Geir Karlsen.

The schedule that is already for sale now at norwegian.com contains 239 routes split across markets as follows:

Norway: 131 routes

Denmark: 51 routes

Sweden: 51 routes

Finland: 17 routes

The markets do not sum to 239 due to the fact that routes going between two markets are counted in both.

Norwegian aircraft photo gallery (Norway):

 

Norwegian celebrates its 20th anniversary and more than 300 million passengers 

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) on September 1, 2022 celebrated 20 years since the airline’s very first flight. More than 300 million passengers have travelled with Norwegian since 2002.

On September 1, at 14.00 CET in 2002, the very first Boeing 737 flight with Norwegian from Oslo to Bergen took off, marking the birth of the new airline. During the past 20 years, Norwegian has welcomed more than 300 million passengers on board. On the Oslo-Bergen route alone, the airline has carried 15 million passengers.

Norwegian is Norway’s largest airline with 4,000 employees, and with the Nordics as Norwegian’s main market, the airline today offers a large route network across Europe. In 2002, Norwegian operated four domestic routes in Norway, and by the summer season of 2022 the company operated 280 routes and 108 destinations across Norway, the Nordics and Europe.

In 2002, Norwegian operated seven aircraft with about 300 employees. The following year, which was the first full year of operation, more than 1.2 million passengers travelled with Norwegian. In comparison, the company carried about 2.2 million passengers in July 2022 only.

The 20th birthday was celebrated at Oslo airport in connection with the anniversary flight to Bergen, exactly 20 years after Norwegian’s very first flight. Norwegian’s founder Bjørn Kjos, State Secretary Jacob Bjelland from the Norwegian Ministry of Transport, and CEO Abraham Foss from the airport operator Avinor, were present to take part in the celebration.

From left: Norwegian’s founder Bjørn Kjos and CEO Geir Karlsen attended the 20th anniversary at Oslo Gardermoen Airport.

The crew members are wearing the same uniform that was used in 2002. Here together with CEO Geir Karlsen.

All passengers on board the anniversary flight from Oslo to Bergen received a gift card. CEO Geir Karlsen is talking to passengers.

 

Norwegian aircraft photo gallery:

Norwegian to reestablish its Barcelona base next summer

Norwegian Air Shuttle is gradually reopening its old bases outside of Norway and Sweden.

The company will restablish a base at Barcelona, Spain for next summer with two based Boeing 737-800s.

Norwegian reports a profit before tax of NOK 1,248 million in the second quarter 2022

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) reported its results for the second quarter and first half of 2022, characterised by increasing demand for air travel, higher fuel prices and gain from aircraft order. The figures demonstrate Norwegian’s ability to increase capacity for the busy summer travel season and deliver robust operational performance. Amidst capacity constraints at European airports and aircraft technician strike, close to all scheduled flights were operated.

Profit before tax (EBT) in the second quarter amounted to NOK 1,248 million ($129,810), impacted both by the reinstatement of aircraft order prepayments and the high fuel price this quarter. Cash and cash equivalents was unchanged from the previous quarter at NOK 7.5 billion. At quarter-end, Norwegian’s total operational fleet comprised 65 aircraft.

“This quarter has demonstrated our ability to rapidly ramp up capacity and effectively meet the strong demand for air travel. The results have been made possible thanks to our dedicated colleagues that put our customers at the heart of our operations. I am particularly pleased that we deliver market-leading regularity in times with capacity constraints across European airports and a technician strike in Norway,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

The summer program has been well received among customers across markets. Many customers have longed to travel to Norwegian’s key destinations, creating strong pent-up demand with increasing traffic and bookings through the quarter and into the busy summer season. Production (ASK) was close to double from the previous quarter, while the number of passengers increased with 124 percent. Load factor improved through the quarter to 85 percent in June and increased further into July.

This quarter, Norwegian announced a landmark deal with the purchase of 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, due to be delivered between 2025 and 2028. The delivery schedule closely corresponds to current aircraft lease expirations, entailing a limited net increase of the current fleet. The agreement also includes options for an additional 30 aircraft. Following the conclusion of the agreement, on 22 June, Norwegian reinstated a previously impaired pre-delivery payments (PDP) of NOK 2,099 million in the quarter.

“The aircraft deal with Boeing is key for Norwegian’s next chapter. It will enable us to serve our customers with modern fuel-efficient aircraft, significantly reducing our carbon footprint. In addition, it sets the stage for us to own a large share of our fleet, enabling us to solidify our Nordic stronghold,” said Karlsen.

In June, aircraft technicians went on strike after the Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries (NHO Luftfart) and the Norwegian Aircraft Technician Organisation (NFO) failed to reach an agreement. Strong dedication and effort from the Norwegian organisation ensured that disruptions and cancellations were kept to a minimum. The strike was concluded after ten days on 28 June through forced arbitration.

In the second quarter of 2022, Norwegian had 5.0 million passengers, up from 0.4 million in the same period last year and 2.2 million passengers in the previous quarter. Production (ASK) was 7.6 billion, while passenger traffic (RPK) was 6.2 billion. The load factor increased to 81.2 percent, up from 57.4 percent in the same period last year and 76.9 percent in the previous quarter.

Punctuality was heavily impacted by capacity constraints at European airports this quarter. Share of flights departing on schedule was 78.8 percent, compared to 95.4 percent in the same period last year and 88.1 percent in the previous quarter. Regularity, share of flights taking place, was however 99.4 percent.

Looking ahead to a solid autumn and winter “Looking ahead, Norwegian is well positioned to solidify the position as a leading Nordic airline. Our customers assign high value on Norwegians offering, including the attractive route network, the award-winning Norwegian Reward loyalty programme, and market-leading operational performance. Agreements entered into with Widerøe and Norse Atlantic Airways in July will serve to further increase the attractiveness of our offering,” said Geir Karlsen.

Current booking trends are encouraging with many customers booking their autumn holidays. For the upcoming winter, Norwegian will utilise the fleet flexibility made possible through power-by-the-hour agreements to optimise production to fluctuations in demand. For the current year, Norwegian is increasing its fleet to 70 aircraft. For the summer of 2023, 15 additional aircraft will be added, bringing the total fleet to 85 aircraft.

Norwegian aircraft photo gallery:

 

Norwegian with strong passenger growth in July

Norwegian Air Shuttle issued this traffic report for July:

Norwegian had over 2.2 million passengers in July, the highest number since the outbreak of the pandemic. Norwegian operated 99.7 percent of its scheduled flights with a load factor of close to 95 percent, the highest in several years.

”This has been a great summer for Norwegian. In July, we had the highest load factor in many years, and we operated close to all scheduled flights despite the many demanding challenges the industry has faced. These results have been made possible thanks to our dedicated colleagues who are putting our customers at the heart of our operations”, said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Norwegian flew 2,206,424 passengers in July, compared to 695,830 in July 2021. The load factor in July was 94.5 percent. The capacity (ASK) was 3,322 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 3,139 million seat kilometres, an increase of 27 percent from June. Punctuality, as measured by the number of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was at 62.2 percent in July. However, as many as 93 percent of all flights arrived on schedule or no more than an hour late. In July, Norwegian operated an average of 70 aircraft and 99.7 percent of scheduled flights were completed.

Norwegian entered into agreements with Widerøe and Norse Atlantic Airways in July with the aim to establish ticketing co-operation and simplify travel for our customers.

Norwegian aircraft photo gallery:

Norwegian and Norse Atlantic Airways agree to closer cooperation

Norwegian Air Shuttle and Norse Atlantic Airways have entered into an agreement that will allow customers to purchase tickets with connecting flights on both airlines in one transaction.

The Islandic software company, DoHop, is providing the platform to facilitate the close integration between Norse and Norwegian’s flight itineraries. Norwegian operated flights throughout the Nordics and Europe will efficiently connect with Norse’s transatlantic flights.

Norse Atlantic Airways is a new long-haul airline headquartered in Norway. It was founded in March 2021 and commenced operations in June 2022. Today, Norse operates affordable, long-haul flights to New York, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Orlando, Oslo, Berlin and London with continued expansion expected.

In 2022, Norwegian celebrates its 20th anniversary. Norwegian operates domestic flights in Norway and the Nordics and connects the Nordics to 104 destinations throughout Europe on 450 flights each day.

Norse Atlantic aircraft photo gallery:

Norwegian and Widerøe enter into a close cooperation, Norwegian redesigns its tails

Norwegian and Widerøe signed a letter of intent on July 12 that will see the two airlines closely cooperate in a number of areas in the future. This means, among other initiatives, the two companies will cooperate on tickets sales, enabling passengers to seamlessly travel the entire route network of both airlines under a interline agreement.

The objectives of the agreement will provide a better service to passengers and create synergies and operational efficiencies. Norway is an extremely important market for both companies. Widerøe flies throughout the regional network in Norway while Norwegian is a major player in the main route network. A large proportion of passengers in Norway depend on both Norwegian and Widerøe to reach their destination.

In other news, Norwegian is simplifying its famous people tail design. SE-RXD (pictured above) is the first aircraft to see the new design.

Norwegian aircraft photo gallery:

 

Norwegian reports the highest number of passengers since the outbreak of the pandemic

Norwegian’s traffic figures for June show that Norwegian had 1,937,318 passengers, an increase of 19 percent compared to the previous month and the highest number since the outbreak of the pandemic.

In June, Norwegian signed a new two-year collective bargaining agreement with the union representing the Norwegian cabin crew members and the Norwegian Pilot Union. The strike action amongst aircraft technicians and the following lockout was ended when the Minister of Labour announced compulsory arbitration.

Norwegian flew 1,937,318 passengers in June, compared to 225,509 in June 2021. The load factor was 84.9 percent. The capacity (ASK) was 2,924 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 2,482 million seat kilometres. Punctuality, as measured by the number of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was at 70 percent in June. As many as 93 percent of all flights arrived on schedule or no more than an hour late. In June, Norwegian operated an average of 68 aircraft and 99.1 percent of scheduled flights were completed.

Norwegian aircraft photo gallery:

Norwegian concludes agreement to purchase 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft

In May, Norwegian and Boeing announced an agreement in principle for the purchase of 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with options for another 30 aircraft.

Norwegian announced that the various closing conditions related to agreement have been met.

Following this, Norwegian estimates that it will record a net gain of approximately NOK 2 billion in the second quarter of 2022.

Additionally, Boeing and Norwegian have filed to settle all outstanding legal disputes.

Norwegian sees continued passenger growth, up 16% in May

Norwegian Air Shuttle issued this statement:

Norwegian’s traffic figures for May showed that Norwegian had 1.6 million passengers, an increase of 16 percent compared to the previous month.

“As we approach the busy summer months, we continue to ramp up production as planned to meet the increasing demand. Despite capacity constraints at certain airports, we manage to complete almost a 100 percent of our 400 daily scheduled flights with high punctuality,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Punctuality, as measured by the number of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was at 84.9 percent in May, an increase from 82.6 percent in April. As many as 97 percent of all flights arrived on schedule or no more than an hour late.

The number of passengers increases month by month, and the company notes that bookings for the summer period continue to grow. A lot of people have already booked tickets to sun and sand destinations and recently Norwegian has seen growth in the city destinations as well. During May, the company opened several new routes to serve the growing demand.

Norwegian had 1,628,040 passengers in May, as compared to 96,909 in May 2021. The load factor was 79.2 percent. The capacity (ASK) was 2,459 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 1,947 million seat kilometres. In May, Norwegian operated an average of 64 aircraft and 99.7 percent of scheduled flights were completed.

Norwegian has significantly increased its fleet as planned in 2022 and will operate 70 aircraft during the summer. Recently, Norwegian signed an agreement in principle with Boeing that will ensure delivery of new 737 MAX 8 aircraft in the years to come. A continued fleet renewal will give passengers an even more comfortable on-board experience in modern and fuel-efficient aircraft.

Norwegian aircraft photo gallery: