Norwegian carried 1.4 million passengers in November

In November, Norwegian had 1.4 million passengers, an increase of 37 percent compared to November last year. The load factor was 79.5 percent and routes to beach destinations in Southern Europe were particularly popular with a load factor of close to 90 percent from Norway.

“We are satisfied with this month’s traffic numbers and associated top-line, and glad to see that a total of 1.4 million passengers chose to travel with us. While we are now in the low-season, demand for air travel continues to be persistent, particularly to our many popular beach destinations. In November, the load factor on routes to sunnier destinations was close to 90 percent from Norway. I am particularly delighted about this month’s punctuality, proving to be the best so far this year and a result of the efforts of our many dedicated colleagues who are doing their utmost to serve our customers every day,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Norwegian had 1,374,828 passengers in November, up 37 percent from November last year. The load factor in November was 79.5 percent. The capacity (ASK) was 2,122 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 1,686 million seat kilometres. In November, Norwegian operated an average of 64 aircraft and 99.7 percent of the scheduled flights were completed. Punctuality, as measured by the number of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was at 90.3 percent in November.

Continued solid demand for air travel

“We are well positioned to respond to seasonal variations. We have adjusted our capacity to meet the lower demand during the winter season and have hedged a total of 15 percent of our estimated fuel consumption for 2023. Looking ahead, we continue to see a pent-up demand for air travel, especially to sunny beach destinations. We recently launched several new routes to destinations across Europe, and we are eager to welcome both passengers and new colleagues during what we expect to be a busy summer of 2023,” said Karlsen.

Norwegian is Norway’s largest airline and one of Europe’s leading low-cost carriers. Norwegian has 4,000 employees and is increasing its staff with additionally 750 employees across the company’s bases in the Nordics and in Europe for the summer of 2023. For the summer of 2023, Norwegian plans for a fleet increasing to 85 aircraft. This will allow Norwegian to offer more departures on the most popular routes, giving the customers even more flexibility as they plan their travels. Norwegian currently has 239 routes for sale in the summer period, running from March to October 2023.

Norwegian is extending the validity of CashPoints to those passengers who chose to be awarded these as a refund for cancelled flights during the pandemic in 2020.

Norwegian is extending the validity of CashPoints to those passengers who chose to be awarded these as a refund for cancelled flights during the pandemic in 2020. Passengers now have until the end of 2023 to spend these CashPoints.

“We are glad to announce that we have extended the validity of all CashPoints that were awarded to travellers who chose these as a refund for their cancelled flights in 2020. Although we experience that many of our passengers have returned to previous travel patterns, we acknowledge that not everyone might have had the opportunity to use their CashPoints as they would have liked. Now our passengers have until 31 December 2023 to spend these points”, says Christoffer Sundby, EVP Sales, Marketing & Customer Care in Norwegian.

Travellers may book their journey today and travel whenever and wherever they like. CashPoints may be used to pay for flight tickets (either partially or in full), checked baggage, seat reservations, pre-booked meals and more. There are no restrictions on the number of available seats per flight for those who want to use their earned points. This is the core of the Reward program's popularity and one of the main reasons it has been voted Loyalty Program of the Year in Europe & Africa, several times.

CashPoints are Norwegian’s digital currency. Norwegian Reward members earn CashPoints on flights, hotel bookings, rental cars and with other retail partners, then use them to get discounts on their future Norwegian flights.

Customers whose CashPoints will be extended will be contacted directly. Normal conditions apply to all other CashPoints.   Read more about Norwegian Reward here.

Norwegian had a load factor of 86% in October lastest figuers reveal.

Photo Norwegian

The European budget airline Norwegian scored a load fact of  86% during the month of October, the latest figures released from the carrier reveal. Over 15% of its flights left more than 15 minutes late and carried some 1.9 million passengers in what is considered a peak travel time. 

“We are satisfied with delivering yet another strong month in terms of traffic figures. Our passengers particularly appreciated the routes to our many popular holiday destinations. For instance, more than half a million Nordic travellers chose to fly with Norwegian to the Mediterranean. This shows that we have a product offering that our customers highly appreciate,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Norwegian had 1,885,606 passengers in October, up 57 percent from October last year. The load factor in October was 85.8 percent. The capacity (ASK) was 2,703 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 2,319 million seat kilometres. In October, Norwegian operated an average of 67 aircraft and 99.4 percent of the scheduled flights were completed. 

“Given the current macroeconomic environment, we acknowledge that demand will slow down in the winter season ahead. Thanks to good collaboration with colleagues and unions as well as flexible leasing terms, Norwegian is well-positioned to tackle this quieter period. In addition, we are confident that our product offering fits well with our travellers’ preferences and that this will contribute positively to capturing market share,” said Karlsen.

On domestic routes in Norway, business and leisure travellers now benefit from additional choice, flexibility and seamless travel as a result of the co-operation between Norwegian and Widerøe. Norwegian is currently recruiting 700 new colleagues for the summer 2023 season when Norwegian will offer both new routes and increased frequencies to attractive destinations.

Norwegian has reported its third quarter 2022 results...........

Norwegian has reported its third quarter 2022 results...........

The figures demonstrate Norwegian’s ability to deliver robust financial results and strong operations in the busiest travel season of the year. Business travel has picked up after the summer, and travellers in this segment are now back to 2019 levels on the most popular domestic routes in Norway.

Operating profit (EBIT) in the third quarter amounted to NOK 1,032 million, impacted positively by record-high unit revenue for the company, but negatively by the high fuel price and strong USD this quarter. Profit before tax (EBT) amounted to NOK 910 million. Continued liquidity discipline led the company to improve its cash position to NOK 8.2 billion. At quarter-end, Norwegian’s fleet comprised 69 aircraft.

Many customers have longed to travel to Norwegian’s holiday destinations, creating strong pent-up demand for the peak summer travel season and the third quarter as a whole. The load factor in July was close to 95 percent, the highest in many years, while the quarterly unit revenue reached a historic high. Norwegian had over 6 million passengers in the third quarter, and despite record-high congestion and industry challenges across European airports, nearly all scheduled flights were operated.

“This quarter has demonstrated that we are the reliable Nordic option for customers travelling on their holidays, to visit friends and family, or for business purposes. Many corporate customers choose to fly with Norwegian, and the number of business travellers is now on par with pre-pandemic levels for our most popular domestic business routes. Demand is expected to soften as we enter the winter trading period, but Norwegian is well prepared for this through flexible fleet arrangements, rigorous route planning and sound collaboration with our colleagues and unions,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

The co-operation agreement between Norwegian and Widerøe was finalised in September and will provide corporate and leisure travellers with additional choice and flexibility. Under this agreement the two companies will co-operate on key strategic initiatives, including ticket sales, enabling passengers to travel seamlessly across the entire route network of both airlines.

On 1 September, Norwegian celebrated its 20-year anniversary. The first Boeing 737 took off in 2002, marking the start of affordable flying in Norway. Since then, Norwegian has expanded to new markets, carried more than 300 million passengers, and received more than 60 awards and recognitions. In September, Skytrax named Norwegian the ‘Best Low-Cost Airline in Northern Europe’. At the Danish Travel Awards in October, the airline was voted ‘Best European Airline’.

1.9 million passengers flew with Norwegian in September...

Passenger numbers rise in September for Norwegian and 95% of flights arrived on time or within an hour of the scheduled arrival time.  Photo Norwegian.

Norwegian carried 1.9 million passengers in September, the budget airline has revealed in its latest figures. The airline also says it achieved a load factor of over 85%, a major step towards pre-pandemic levels.  

 Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian said: “September was another busy month for travel within, to and from the Nordics. Going into the autumn holiday season, we notice a particularly high demand for international destinations, both cities and beaches. Nordic passengers continue to have a strong urge to travel abroad. We are also delighted to see that the corporate market is returning after the summer season. The number of corporate travellers is now on par with pre-pandemic levels for our most frequented domestic business routes in Norway,” 

Norwegian had 1,873,850 passengers in September, compared to 977,719 in September 2021. The load factor in September was 85.2 percent. The capacity (ASK) was 2,618 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 2,230 million seat kilometres. In September, Norwegian operated an average of 67 aircraft and 98.9 percent of the scheduled flights were completed. Punctuality, as measured by the number of flights departing within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, was at 80.1 percent in September. However, 95 percent of all departed flights arrived on schedule or within one hour of the scheduled arrival time.

“We expect demand to soften into the winter season. Norwegian is well prepared to tackle this quieter period by rigorous route planning, flexible leasing terms through power-by-the-hour (PBH) agreements as well as sound agreements with our unions. We recently released our summer 2023 schedule with an improved offering to popular city and beach destinations across Europe. This means that we are currently recruiting 700 new colleagues across all our bases,” Karlsen advised. 

In September, Norwegian and Widerøe finalised their cooperation agreement on Norwegian domestic routes which will provide travellers with additional choice and flexibility. Norwegian’s recently released summer schedule will also allow for more departures on the most popular routes and provide customers with an increasing number of destinations.

Norwegian releases summer 2023 schedule

Photo by Sean Oulashin on Unsplash

European budget airline Norwegian said it will continue to focus on its core Nordic markets with improved offerings to popular city and beach destinations for its summer schedule for 2023. 

The airline's CEO Geir Karlsen said: "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."

Norwegian has gradually increased aircraft in its fleet as travel demand starts to increase and expects to have a fleet of 85 planes during the summer of 2023.   "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 travellers," 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. 

Two million people travelled with Norwegian in August

Photo Norwegian

In the final weeks of the summer holidays Norwegian flew two million passengers to their destinations. Regularity was almost 100 percent, and the load factor was close to 86 percent.

“August marks the end of summer and the month marked another strong performance for Norwegian. We operated our planned programme and flew close to all scheduled flights. We are particularly happy that bookings into autumn are encouraging and that business travellers are returning”, said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Norwegian flew 1,996,211 passengers in August, compared to 790,220 in August 2021. The load factor in August was 85.5 percent. The capacity (ASK) was 2,998 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 2,563 million seat kilometres. In August, Norwegian operated an average of 69 aircraft and 99.7 percent of scheduled flights were completed. Punctuality, as measured by the number of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was at 63 percent in August. However, as many as 96,5 percent of all flights arrived on schedule or no more than an hour late.

“The congestion at European airports has begun to improve, which is positive for our operations but also, importantly, to the travel experience of our customers. It is uplifting for the industry in general that we are continuing to return to normal operations after these extraordinary years for aviation,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

In August, Norwegian opened a new direct route between Trondheim and Manchester. Towards the end of August and into September, the company celebrated its 20th anniversary and launched a sale for flights this coming autumn and winter season.

NOK 1,248 million pre-tax profit in the second quarter 2022 for Norwegian

Norwegian has reported a large re-tax profit for the second quarter of the year, despite some difficult trading conditions.  The budget airline said its profit was NOK 1,248 and carried some 5 million passengers. 

“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.

Norwegian carried over 2.2 million passengers during 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 the 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.

Tie up between Norwegian & Norse Atlantic Airways

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.

‘This agreement is win-win for both our customers and Norwegian. Our customers throughout Europe can now connect to Norse routes across the USA. Likewise, inbound customers flying Norse from the USA can now seamlessly connect to the Norwegian network throughout Europe on one ticket’, said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

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.

Connecting flights can be purchased from today for travel in September. Customers can now search on https://connections.flynorse.com and will soon also be available on search engines like Finn.no and Google Flights.

Norwegian and Widerøe enter into close cooperation agreement

Norwegian and Widerøe enter into a close cooperation agreement

Norwegian and Widerøe signed a letter of intent today 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.

Norwegian’s CEO, Geir Karlsen said: ‘I am very pleased with the agreement we have entered into with Widerøe today. Our goal for this collaboration is to benefit both companies’ passengers and our employees. In many ways, this is a historic agreement bringing two Norwegian airlines together. A lot of detail is still being worked on but it’s clear from the past months’ discussions with Widerøe that there are many areas we both have a common interest to collaborate on’.

Widerøe’s CEO, Stein Nilsen said: ‘This is a day of joy for both Widerøe and our passengers who depend heavily on our flights to work and live in Norway. This agreement will allow customers of Norwegian and Widerøe to combine their flights with both airlines at home and abroad. The combination of Widerøe’s network along the coast and in northern Norway and Norwegian’s large European route network will create many new travel opportunities for our common customers. This new collaboration has been requested by our passengers for many years, so it is brilliant to share this news now. We still have a way to go before the agreement is final, but we work well together and have a common goal that this should be implemented as quickly as possible’. 

Norwegian sees passenger numbers rise in June

1,937,318 passengers flew with the budget airline Norwegian in June the company has reported today. These unaudited figures are 19 percent higher compared to the previous month and the highest number since the outbreak of the pandemic.

“I am very satisfied that we operated almost 100 percent of our 400 to 450 daily scheduled flights this month. It has been a challenge due to a strike amongst aircraft technicians in Norway and the constraints at certain airports in Europe,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

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.

“We are satisfied with the agreement reached with our cabin crew and the Norwegian Pilot Union and we are also happy to have our aircraft technicians back at work to ensure that our flights are operating as normal. This means that we can deliver on the routes we have promised our customers. We are currently experiencing high demand this summer, but seats are still available to many destinations in Europe”, said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

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 concludes agreement to purchase 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft

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. Today, Norwegian announced that the various closing conditions related to the 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.

“The agreement to purchase 50 brand-new and fuel-efficient aircraft constitutes a big leap forward in the strategy to solidify our market position in the Nordics,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Air101: Norwegian to buy 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.........

Air Models have a range of aircraft models, including some special 737 MAX models, including this one in the colours of flydubai.  

Other airlines featured include Air China,  Xiamen Air and China Southern 

Budget airline Norwegian's passenger numbers are going up.....

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.

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Norwegian to buy 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.........

Norwegian Air Shuttle is going to order 50 Boeing 737 MAX jets the budget airline confirmed this week. It has agreed in principle with planemaker Boeing to buy 50 and have options to buy a further 30 of the jets.

According to the deal, the 50 aircraft are due to be delivered between 2025 and 2028, at a schedule closely corresponding to current aircraft lease expirations. This is to ensure the airline can have limited growth in terms of aircraft numbers. 

The purchase agreement still has;t been finalised yet and there could be some changes along the way, before the deal is fully finalised which is not expected much before the end of June. The true financing of the deal has yet to be agreed and the firm is working on sale and leaseback deals as well as loans and other arrangements, which may prove to be difficult under present circumstances. 

Svein Harald Øygard, Chair of the Board of Norwegian said: “This is a landmark deal that sets out a path whereby Norwegian will own a large share of its fleet. This will result in lower all-in costs and increased financial robustness, enabling us to further solidify our Nordic stronghold. The deal also allows us to serve our customers with state-of-the-art aircraft that can run increasingly on sustainable aviation fuel,”

Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian, commented: “The overall terms achieved are attractive for Norwegian, and the deal fits well with our long-term fleet strategy and route program. It will enable us to serve our customers with modern fuel-efficient aircraft with the latest technology, significantly reducing our carbon footprint. The deal will also strengthen the company’s equity considerably, further solidifying Norwegian’s financial position,” 

 

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Budget airline Norwegian reports loss of NOK 849 million in the first quarter of the year.

The budget carrier Norwegian has just reported its first quarter results for 2022 showing an operating loss (EBIT) of NOK 849 million. The company has continued to safeguard its cash position at a high level, NOK 7.5 billion, demonstrating the ability to adjust to market demand and discipline in conserving liquidity.

In the first quarter of 2022, Norwegian had 2.2 million passengers, up from 0.2 million in the same period last year. Production (ASK) was 3.9 billion seat kilometres, while passenger traffic (RPK) was 3.0 billion seat kilometres. The load factor increased to 76.9 percent, up from 38.5 percent in the same period last year. Despite the strong growth in available seats and the high number of new routes through the quarter and into April, the company has maintained high load factor levels and has improved earnings.

“We have adapted to fluctuations in demand quickly and efficiently, and we have managed to protect our strong liquidity position even through a challenging period. The increase in bookings ahead of the summer season is significant, and we look forward to welcoming our customers on board the close to 280 routes we have for sale. I am pleased to note that our corporate travellers are starting to return to air travel. We know they place high value on our attractive route network and strong on-time performance record,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Punctuality, the share of flights departing on schedule, was 88.1 percent in the first quarter of 2022, up from 87.8 percent in the previous quarter.

During the quarter, Norwegian announced an agreement to lease 10 new and fuel-efficient 737 MAX 8 aircraft with delivery in the spring of 2023. In addition, Norwegian is in the process of leasing an additional five 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which will bring the fleet to 85 aircraft by the summer 2023 season.

 

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Significant increase in Norwegian’s passenger figures for April

Norwegian's traffic figures for April showed that Norwegian had 1.4 million passengers, approximately 50 percent more than the previous month.

“1.4 million passengers chose to fly with Norwegian in April. This is more than a doubling from two months ago, and I am pleased to see that the demand for air travel continues to grow. In a short period of time, we have increased capacity substantially, and at the same time we have improved our earnings,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Norwegian initiated the summer traffic programme by late March, and the production in April was more than 50 percent higher compared to March. Even though the number of new routes launched, the load factor remained high. Despite punctuality being slightly affected by capacity issues at several airports, Norwegian completed more than 99 percent of all scheduled flights. The booking figures for the summer are very positive and the company sees an increasing number of corporate travellers that wish to travel with Norwegian.

Norwegian had 1,400,396 passengers in April, compared with 59,431 in April 2021. The load factor was 78.7 percent. The capacity (ASK) was 2,242 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 1,764 million seat kilometres. In April, Norwegian operated an average of 60 aircraft, and 99.3 of the scheduled flights were completed. Punctuality was 82.6 percent.

 

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Budget airline Norwegian carried 940,149 passengers during March

Norwegian's traffic figures for March displayed a positive trend with growth in passenger numbers and a load factor of above 80 percent. The company recently reopened several bases and direct routes in Europe and will continue to increase capacity ahead of the summer.

“We are particularly pleased that the load factor has remained above 80 per cent despite the introduction of significantly more capacity in March. Booking figures have improved throughout recent weeks and we are pleased to see this continued upward trend in the market. We are seeing a busy Easter travel period with many travellers and several full flights. Towards the summer, we will reopen and introduce new destinations, and our customers can now choose from almost 280 routes in Europe,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Norwegian had 940,149 passengers in March, compared with 71,399 in March 2021. The load factor was 80.3 percent. The capacity (ASK) was 1,485 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 1,193 million seat kilometres. In March, Norwegian flew an average of 48 aircraft, and 99.4 per cent of scheduled flights were completed. Punctuality was 90.1 percent.

In the summer program, Norwegian will operate almost 280 routes to popular destinations in Europe, with a fleet of 70 aircraft. This week, the company removed the requirement to wear face masks on board all flights.

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Norwegian drops mask requirement

From the start of next week, the budget airline Norwegian will drop its requirement to wear face masks onboard its aircraft.

For the first time since June 17th 2020, the mandatory requirement of wearing a face mask will be lifted on every flight across the Norwegian network as a result of revised guidance across Europe. The move follows measures set by other airlines and means passengers can make individual choices to either continue to wear a mask or not.

However,  the airline says that all passengers should check the local requirements and guidance for their destination before travelling, including stops and connecting flights in Europe. It is the responsibility of the passenger to comply with local regulations and restrictions.

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Norwegian reopens Helsinki base and hunts for staff

Budget airline Norwegian has started recruitment of more than 150 aircrew that will be based at Helsinki Airport HEL. Approximately 100 cabin crew and 50 pilots will be ready to operate 27 of Europe’s most popular destinations that the company will service from Helsinki Airport during the summer season.

I am extremely pleased that we are able to reopen our base in Helsinki. With the 150 new people in Helsinki, we confirm yet again that we are back in Finland, and I know all of them are looking forward to welcoming our passengers on board, says Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian

The newly hired crew start working on a rolling basis over the coming months – March, April and May - as they undergo the necessary training before they can welcome the passengers onboard as part of their active duty. The 150 will be the first aircrew with Norwegian based in Helsinki since April 2020 when the pandemic hit the global aviation industry. Norwegian received almost 2000 applications for the open positions.

To be a member of our aircrew is a service-oriented job with big responsibilities. We are proud that we have received so many highly qualified applications, and it shows that Norwegian has a reputation as an attractive employer in the industry. Our crew play crucial roles when it comes to the safety of our passengers, our operations and to making sure that every passenger has a positive experience when they travel with us, says Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian

Since June 2021 and the first lifting of travel restrictions, the rate of employment has been high at Norwegian and the company has reopened bases in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim.

In March 2022, Norwegian services 14 routes from Helsinki HEL, including the two domestic routes to Oulo and Rovaniemi. During the summer season, Norwegian will gradually scale up almost doubling the number of available routes to a total of 27 of Europe’s most popular destinations directly from Helsinki Airport at the peak of the summer.

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