The financially troubled Norwegian reported recently that its second-quarter results were positive and showed significant signs of improvement as the carrier implements its restructuring and improvement plan.
Of course, like almost all airlines, its operations in the quarter have been impacted by the continuing coronavirus pandemic, however, the budget firm has seen demand increasing in recent weeks. The airline has also seen the successful completion of a reconstruction process and the subsequent NOK 6 billion equity raised to help finance the firm as it reestablishes itself as a short-haul only airline.
Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian, said: “The H1 financial report and Q2 results mark a clear improvement in both the financial situation, due to lower operating costs and the successful completion of the reconstruction process of the company, and the gradual ramp-up of our operations in response to increased passenger demand.”
In the second quarter of 2021, the company successfully exited the examinership and reconstruction process which improved equity by NOK 10.7 billion.
Norwegian has committed to be a price leader in the Nordic markets, offering affordable fares and a reliable service to more than 250 routes across its European network. The company value simplicity when travelling and thanks to the Norwegian Travel Assistant app and the award-winning loyalty programme ‘Norwegian Reward’, which counts over four million members, passengers can easily control every aspect of their journey. Onboard, Norwegian continues to offer a modern and comfortable flying experience with free WiFi available for all passengers.
"The results continue to be heavily impacted by international travel restrictions. However, Norwegian is now in a much stronger financial position and is able to plan for the future with renewed confidence and focus. Forward bookings continue to increase in response to the relaxation of travel restrictions and the rollout of international vaccination programmes. We expect to see this trend continue in the remaining months in 2021 and through 2022," Karlsen continued.
August......
Norwegian's traffic figures for August show a continued increase in the number of passengers. The number of future bookings has also continued to increase in line with Norwegian's expanding route network as more people are fully vaccinated and EU / EEA countries accept international COVID certificates for travel.
Due to increased demand, Norwegian has further expanded the autumn season route offering.
“We are pleased with the positive increase in passenger numbers and demand. Everybody at Norwegian has worked incredibly hard to achieve these results and we will continue to deliver good customer experiences while running our business as efficiently as possible”. Karlsen said.
In August, Norwegian carried 790 220 passengers, one and a half times more than at the same time last year. Compared with August 2020, the total capacity (ASK) has increased by 129 per cent and passenger traffic (RPK) up 168 per cent. Furthermore, the load factor in August was 72.6 per cent, an increase of 10 percentage points compared with last year.
Based on demand, Norwegian has opened new routes to destinations in Europe this Autumn. From Bergen, passengers can fly direct to Berlin, Krakow, Malaga, Alicante, Antalya, Chania, Copenhagen and London. From Ålesund, there is a now direct route to Alicante.
“We have reopened several routes that have been suspended since the pandemic started. It is now possible again to travel to several cities in Europe, such as Pisa, Edinburgh, Munich, Prague and Vienna. We know that the pandemic can still affect people's ability to travel, however, we will continue to adapt our network to the positive trend in passenger demand,” continued Karlsen.
Norwegian had an average of 38 aircraft in operation in August. A total of 99.8 per cent of the planned flights were operated in August, of which 91.9 per cent departed on time.
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