Budget airline Norwegian to lease six Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft as passenger numbers jump in January

The European budget airline Norwegian has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Air Lease Corporation ALC to lease six Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft which are in addition to the three 737 MAX 8 aircraft the carrier has already agreed to lease from ALC.

The aircraft are to be delivered in a short time to Norwegian, in good time ahead of the summer 2023 season, the final agreement is subject to certain closing conditions.

“The addition of these modern and fuel-efficient aircraft fits well with our fleet strategy. It will also help counteract delays from Boeing for other aircraft that were due to be delivered to Norwegian this spring,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

In January, Norwegian had 1.1 million passengers, an increase of 78 percent from this month last year.

“People traditionally travel less in January, instead using this time of year to book their next travels. Nevertheless, we had close to full flights to warmer destinations this month. Our New Year’s sales campaign resulted in more than one million sold seats, a satisfying start to this year’s ticket sales. We see that the positive booking trend continues also after this sale. Many of our passengers are currently planning their travels for this year’s school breaks and long weekends in May”, said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

This year’s summer program comprises 300 routes to 114 destinations, including several new destinations. With an expanded route network and new aircraft, Norwegian continues to recruit new colleagues.

“The past week has been very particular for the Nordic aviation sector, marked by Flyr’s bankruptcy. I strongly sympathise with the employees, customers and others affected by the situation. We would like to make sure stranded passengers reach their destinations, provided we have free seats available. We also invite employees that have been affected by the bankruptcy to apply to job vacancies at Norwegian”, said Karlsen.

Norwegian had 1,131,474 passengers in January, up 78 percent from January 2022. The load factor in January was 78 percent. The capacity (ASK) was 1,870 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 1,453 million seat kilometres. In January, Norwegian operated an average of 62 aircraft and 99.5 percent of the scheduled flights were completed. Punctuality, as measured by the number of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was at 85.0 percent in January.

Sleeper seats from Thomas Cook

Image Thomas Cook

The UK's Thomas Cook Airlines has taken a leaf out of Air New Zealand and introduced its own version of the sky couch, which it is calling its Sleeper Seats!

Thomas Cook Airlines’ long-haul routes such as New York and San Francisco will now get a Sleeper Seat which basically transforms a row of three seats into a bed of sorts, designed to allow passengers to start their holiday in a relaxed mode, or indeed come home refreshed!.

The Sleeper Seat is basically a comfy mattress that sits across a row of three seats tucked away at the back of the aircraft, cleverly crafted into a sweet space to stretch out and relax. Of course, just because its called a sleeper seat, you don't have to sleep to use it!  Thomas Cook says it will allow passengers to use the Sleeper Seat how they wish – to sleep, read, watch a film, listen to a podcast or simply sit back, rest and stretch out.

Henry Sunley, Commercial Director at Thomas Cook Airlines says, “We always look for ways to innovate for our customers and Sleeper Seat is a UK first that we are really proud of. It is a fantastic way to transform your flying experience and enjoy some extra comfort when flying in Economy.”

The airline announced the introduction of the Sleeper Seats a week ago and I'm told interest from passengers in the new offering from the airline has been pleasing to them.  It's not known at this stage if the sleeper seats will be introduced on all the Thomas Cook airlines. 

Bombardier deliver first Challenger 350 to Luxaviation

Bombardier issued image

Bombardier Business Aircraft announced today that the Luxaviation Group, one of the largest business aircraft operators worldwide, now operates the first Challenger 350 aircraft delivered to a customer in Belgium. This new addition to the Benelux market joins Bombardier’s robust business aircraft fleet in Europe. Bombardier’s more than 600 aircraft in service in the region represents the largest share of the industry’s total European fleet.

“We are very pleased that Bombardier’s best-selling Challenger 350 business jet has joined Luxaviation’s fleet of aircraft,” said Christophe Degoumois, Vice President, Sales, Europe, Russia and CIS, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “With its impressive high-performance features, superior economics, unmatched cabin comfort and entertainment technology, the Challenger 350 aircraft is ideally suited for the European market.”