LONDON – Norwegian has today announced plans for its Summer 2022 schedule, with London Gatwick being the main focus in the UK and Irish scheduling.
In that period, there will be up to 142 weekly flights from the two countries, bringing the total European offering to 259 per week as a result “of travel restrictions and quarantine requirements easing and consequently demand for flights increasing”.
Norwegian CEO Happy About The Position The Airline Is In
Commenting on the news was Geir Karlsen, the CEO of Norwegian who expressed pleasure over this expansion:
“We are pleased to be able to present our flying schedule for the next summer season.”
“With this summer schedule, we will continue to deliver on our strategy of investing in Norway and the Nordic region. In recent months, we have noticed an increased demand from customers, and we look forward to welcoming them on board to their favorite Nordic destinations.”
“Norwegian is now well equipped to look ahead to 2022, although we will continue to some extent to be affected by the pandemic as the industry begins to recover.”
“We have considerable flexibility in the use of our aircraft, and after the restructuring, we have lower debt, an adapted fleet, and organization, and we have received new capital. It has been a tough time, but the result is that we are stronger now than before the pandemic.”
Route Breakdown
Below is a table created by AviationSource, outlining the breakdown of the 143 weekly flights:
| UK & IRE Destination | Origins | Frequency |
| London Gatwick | Oslo Stavanger Trondheim Bergen Helsinki Stockholm Copenhagen | 115 weekly flights |
| Manchester | Oslo Stavanger Bergen Stockholm | 8 weekly flights |
| Edinburgh | Oslo Stockholm Copenhagen | 15 weekly flights |
| Dublin | Oslo Copenhagen | 4 weekly flights |
Norwegian have placed a strong investment into these areas because it “expects that the ever-increasing vaccination rate will mean that the risk of new travel restrictions will be significantly lower in 2022”.
Good News?
For an airline like Norwegian, this is good news, following the tough 18 months it has had in the wake of restructuring.
With them not having to focus on the long-haul side anymore, it could be suggested that a reignition into short-haul is on the way, with London Gatwick still a continuing focus for the carrier.
It will be interesting to see how the carrier fares going into the next 12 months and whether any short-term pain on the way to Summer 2022 will be worth it if their schedules will be successful going forward.
