Tag Archives: Norwegian.com

Norwegian to make London Gatwick and Alicante new operational bases

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) is upgrading its presence at both London (Gatwick) and Alicante to operational bases. The company issued this statement (translated from Norwegian):

In the spring of 2013 Norwegian establishes an additional European base, this time in London. The company will also establish a base in Alicante, Spain. From the base in London, Norwegian will offer a range of direct services to popular destinations around the Mediterranean and in the North. With the new base in England, the company will be well positioned to meet the competition from Asian and European airlines in the long distance market.

The new base is established at London Gatwick, where Norwegian is already a significant player. With more than 100 flights a week, is the company’s largest destination outside the Nordic region. Norwegian see a large passenger potential of several million travelers from London and surrounding areas. The base in Alicante will serve an important part of Norwegian’s Spanish production, similar to the already established bases in Malaga and Las Palmas.

The Company will place three Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the London base of the start-up phase, and then expand to four in the latter part of 2013. The first flights are planned for the summer 2013 program that starts at the beginning of april. Pilots and cabin crew recruited locally.

The background to the establishment is to position Norwegian facing future competition both on short-haul intra-European and long-haul market. Growth and volume necessary to be competitive in today’s international aviation industry. Growth must also be outside the region. While it is expected that the largest growth in traffic and tourist flows in the future come from Asia into Europe. Should we as a Scandinavian airlines remain competitive and at the same time take advantage of the huge traffic growth must now position itself in Europe and Asia, said Norwegian’s CEO Bjorn Kjos.

Norwegian currently has operational bases in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Spain. A new base for Norwegian long-distance companies are being established in Bangkok.

On the financial side, the company issued this statement:

Norwegian reported a profit before tax of close to NOK 900 million. This is the company’s best quarterly results ever and an improvement of 187 million compared to the same period last year. New aircraft have saved the company 28 million NOK in fuel costs compared to the same quarter last year. The savings company itself offset by an extra bill of NOK 25 million as a result of a shortage of air traffic controllers in Norwegian Avinor.

In the third quarter, flew Norwegian nearly 5.2 million passengers. That’s 580,000 more than last year and also a new record for the company. The quarter was also characterized by a high load factor of 82 percent. Any passengers flew on average longer which is reflected in passenger traffic (RPK) increased by 17 percent in the third quarter, seat capacity (ASK) increased by 20 percent.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton. Boeing 737-8JP LN-NOZ (msn 39420) arrives at London (Gatwick).

Norwegian Air Shuttle:ย 

Norwegian takes delivery of its 50th new Boeing 737-800, dedicates the aircraft to UNICEF

Norwegian Air Shuttleย (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) continues to phase in brand new aircraft. The airline has taken delivery of its 50th new Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The aircraft is painted in the children’s rights organization UNICEF’s colors and logo to mark the Norwegian’s signature and UNICEF partnership.

Boeing 737-8JP LN-NGE (msn 39050) in the UNICEF livery and named “Commemorative Air”, was handed over yesterday (October 1) and landed at Gardermoen in Oslo today dedicated to UNICEF. Norwegian has been working with UNICEF since 2007. In connection with the Norwegian’s 10th anniversary on September 1, Norwegian gave ย NOK 1 million to UNICEF. ย The aircraft will fly throughout the Norwegian’s European route network.

Copyright Photo: Norwegian Air Shuttle.

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Norwegian has its best month ever in July

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) recorded its best month ever for the number of passengers carried.ย More than 1.8 million passengers flew with Norwegian, an increase of 14 percent compared to same month last year and the highest figure for any single month ever.

The load factor was 87 percent in July, down two percentage points from July 2011.

According to the airline, “the decrease in passenger load factor was compensated fully by the positive development of unit revenues. RASK increased by 2 percent to 0.51 while the yield rose 5 percent to 0.59.”

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best. Boeing 737-86Q LN-NOO (msn 30289) with the likeness of Gustav Vigeland on the tail climbs away from the runway at London (Gatwick). Click on the photo for the size image.

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Norwegian to add 10 new routes to Las Palmas for the winter season

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) isย launching 10 new direct flights to Las Palmas (Canary Islands) from the end of October and early November.

Passengers will now have the chance to fly directly to Las Palmas from ร…lesund, Evenes, Haugesund, Rygge and Tromsรธ.

Norwegian can also offer sun seeking Swedes three new direct routes to Las Palmas this winter from Karlstad, Malmรถ and Umeรฅ. In addition, Norwegian has decided to launch weekly flights to Las Palmas from Billund in Denmark and Oulu in Finland.

In addition to the new routes, Norwegian will also increase its existing flights with one more weekly departure to Las Palmas from Torp, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger, totaling up to two direct flights weekly. Norwegian will also increase its direct flights from Oslo, by offering eight weekly departures from the capital. Stockholm will see an increase from three to four weekly flights, while Copenhagen will have an increase from three to five weekly flights to Las Palmas.

Norwegian will use its new, more environmentally friendly Boeing 737-800 aircraft with free WiFi on the Las Palmas routes.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. New arrival. Newly-assembled Boeing 737-8JP LN-NGB (msn 39015) was delivered to Norwegian on July 2, 2012. Arriving at Amsterdam, LN-NGB carries the tail image of Geirr Tveitt. ย According to Wikipedia,ย Geirr Tveitt, was born Nils Tveit (October 19, 1908 โ€“ February 1, 1981) and was aย Norwegianย composerย andย pianist. Tveitt was a central figure of the national movement in Norwegian cultural life during the 1930s.ย 

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Norwegian adds two more based Boeing 737s in Copenhagen, passenger traffic grows by 11% in April

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo) is basing two additional Boeing 737s at Copenhagen and adding additional flights to holiday destination in the wake of the Cimber Sterling (Copenhagen) collapse.

The Norwegian carrier saw its traffic grow to over 1.3 million passengers in April, which is 137,400 (11 percent) more passengers in April than the same month last year. However Norwegian’s traffic figures for April were affected by Easter, the biggest travel weekend. Easter occurred in the last weekend in March 2011.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton.

Norwegian Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Boeing to move 787-9 tail production to Salt Lake City, will maintain the Norwegian 787s

Boeing (Chicago) will move the production of theย horizontal tailย of its 787-9 Dreamliners from Seattle toย Salt Lake City, Utah according to this Reuters report. Alenia Aermacchi will also take over production.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Video:

In other news, Boeing today announced ย that Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo), the third largest low-cost airline in Europe, is the newest GoldCare customer, with a 12-year agreement that covers the airline’s future 787 Dreamliner fleet. Norwegian has three 787-8s on firm order, with commitments to lease three additional 787s.

Norwegian has selected GoldCare Enterprise, which encompasses the complete parts, engineering, and maintenance solution. Norwegian also is the first customer to select the line maintenance option through the GoldCare MRO network, in which Boeing manages scheduled and minor maintenance that is conducted between flights and overnight. Norwegian will maintain active control responsibility over all engineering and maintenance activities.

GoldCare is Boeing’s flexible lifecycle solution that provides maintenance, engineering and material management as a multi-year service managed by Boeing. GoldCare utilizes Boeing’s advanced global e-enabling technologies.

Top Copyright Photo: James Helbock. Boeing 787-8 N787BX (msn 40692)ย 787 arrived on March 12 at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field, continuing its six-month worldwide Dream Tour. The airplane will be in San Diego for a limited time for partners, media and Boeing andย Goodrich employees to experience the revolutionary technology and passenger experience firsthand.

Goodrich’sย Aerostructuresย business, headquartered in Chula Vista, California, is responsible for the design and manufacture of the nacelles and thrust reversers for the Boeing 787.

Goodrich has a broad range of technology on the innovative aircraft. In addition to the nacelles and thrust reversers, Goodrich also supplies the flight deck lighting system and cabin attendant seating as well as: the cargo system; wheels and electric braking system; exterior lighting; proximity sensing system; and the fuel quantity indicating system and fuel management software. In addition, Goodrich was selected by Rolls-Royce to provide the engine control system and sensor suite for the Trent 1000 engine, an engine option for the 787.

The airplane, ZA003, was originally used for flight testing but has been elegantly refurbished to showcase the standard capabilities and features of the 787.

Norwegian Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Bottom Image: Norwegian Air Shuttle.

Norwegian increases its flights to Barcelona and Budapest

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) is increasing number of flights to Barcelona from both Stockholm (Arlanda) and Copenhagen from five to ten flights a week due to the recent failure of Spanair.

From Arlanda, Norwegian will fly every day and with two flights a day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. From Copenhagen Norwegian will operate every day and two flights a day on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

The number of flights to Budapest from both Stockholm (Arlanda) and Copenhagen (Kastrup) will increase from three to six times a week, which means daily departures, with the exception of Saturdays. This is due to the recent failure of MALEV.

In Oslo, the company is also increasing the number of flights to Prague from Oslo (Gardermoen). Norwegian will fly 10 flights a week to Prague.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren.

Norwegian Photo Gallery: CLICK HERE

Norwegian finalizes large Boeing order, becomes a new Airbus customer with another large order

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo) has announced a firm order for 100 fuel-efficient 737-800 MAX airplanes and 22 Next-Generation 737-800s. The total order is valued at $11.4 billion at list prices and represents the largest-ever Boeing order from a European airline.

Norwegian is the first European carrier to finalize an order for the 737 MAX. The order supports Norwegian’s plans to build on the success provided by its fleet of Next-Generation 737-800s for its rapidly expanding operations.

The 737 MAX is the new-engine variant of the world’s best-selling airplane and builds on the strengths of today’s Next-Generation 737. The airplane will be powered by CFM International LEAP-1B engines which will reduce fuel burn and CO2 emissions by an additional 10-12 percent over today’s most fuel-efficient single-aisle airplane. The 737 MAX will have the lowest operating costs in the single-aisle segment with a 7 percent advantage per seat over tomorrow’s competition.

This order continues the momentum for the 737 MAX. With the Norwegian order, the 737 MAX has orders and commitments for more than 1,000 airplanes from 15 customers and the Next-Generation 737 family has orders for more than 6,300 airplanes.

Norwegian becomes first in Europe to receive the new Boeing 737 MAX8 delivered and thus becomes the launch customer for Boeing in Europe. The aircraft has been including a redesigned engine that produces 10-12 percent less fuel than today’s 737-800. Compared to a 737-800 from 2001 is 15-20 percent fuel savings, a huge environmental benefit and a significant cost reduction for the company.

Norwegian now has 150 purchase rights, and a total of 277 aircraft on order that have not yet been delivered. Included in the 277’s 55 previous purchases of the Boeing 737-800. In addition, Norwegian has secured delivery of six Boeing 787 Dreamliner for its long-range effort.

Norwegian has also signed an agreement with Airbus to purchase 100 Airbus A320neo aircraft. Norwegian has also secured purchase rights for an additional 150 aircraft from the two aircraft manufacturers.

Norwegian’s agreement to purchase 222 aircraft is the largest aircraft order ever made in Europe. The order is also the single largest investment a company in mainland Norway has done and is on par with the biggest Norwegian investments in the oil and gas.

Airbus A320neo is a completely new aircraft for the Norwegian.

Top Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems.

Bottom Image: Airbus.

 

Norwegian Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Boeing delivers the 200th Sky Interior to Norwegian

Boeing (Chicago) delivered brand new 737-8JP LN-DYW (msn 39010) to Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo). This delivery of the Boeing Sky Interior marked its 200th milestone.

Since the first 737 Boeing Sky Interior was delivered in October 2010, 65 airlines and leasing companies have ordered the new interior. Norwegian Air Shuttle was one of the launch customers and the first airline in Europe to introduce the Boeing Sky Interior to its passengers.

Top Copyright Photo: Joe G. Walker. LN-DYW departs from an overcast Boeing Field in Seattle on its delivery flight minus the tail image which will be added later by the carrier.

Norwegian Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Bottom Copyright Photo: Boeing. This photo shows Norwegian Air Shuttleโ€™s Boeing Sky Interior. This is the airline’s 18th Next-Generation 737-800 with the new interior, making it the largest operating fleet.

Norwegian to launch four new routes from the Oslo hub

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Oslo) will introduce four new routes from the Oslo (Gardermoen) hub in the summer season: Cologne (March 25), Kefallinia (June 28), Mahon (June 27) and Preveza (June 24) according to Airline Route.

The airline has hubs at Oslo-Gardermoen, Copenhagen, Stockholm-Arlanda, Helsinki-Vantaa, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger and Sandefjord.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems.

Norwegian Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Route from the Gardermoen hub (click map for larger view):