LONDON – Norwegian low-cost carrier is now witnessing growth in passenger levels, thanks to the uptick in demand and relaxation of border restrictions.
In May of this year, the airline recorded 1.6 million passenger movements, which is an increase of 16% compared to the levels recorded last the previous month.
The airline is expected to record further growth as it approaches the summer season.
Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian is optimistic that the carrier will carry more passengers in the summer season. He stated:
“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 100 per cent of our 400 daily scheduled flights with high punctuality.”
Norwegian Airlines has a total of 67 aircraft as of the time of writing, including its subsidiary. The majority of the fleet consists of Boeing 737-800s and Boeing 737 MAXs.
The airline hopes to raise its total fleet to 70 just in time for the summer season. Not long ago in late May, the airline signed an agreement with American plane manufacturer Boeing to secure new 50 Boeing 737MAXs deliveries in the upcoming future.
The airline sees this step as a major milestone in achieving growth in an environmentally friendly way and also helping the airline in reducing emissions by 45% by 2030.
The airline, being a nordic brand upholds its pride of being punctual. Norwegian always has and has been on time.
Being on time in this context, are flights departing and arriving within 15 minutes of scheduled time pegged at 84.9 per cent in May, an improvement of 82.6 per cent in April.
Impressively as nearly as 97 per cent of Norwegian flights arrived on schedule not more than an hour late.
The airline transported 1,628,040 passengers in May. This number is a far-cry improvement from the same period last year. Only a shy 96,909 passengers were carried in May 2021.
The airline had a load factor of 79.2 %, whilst the capacity (ASK) stood at 2,459,000 seats per kilometre. Actual passenger traffic (RPK) stood at 1,947,000 seats per kilometres.
These figures show how impressive how passenger traffic increased significantly from last year, surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
With us leaving the pandemic behind, Norwegian Airlines flights became longer on average, with an increase of 108% in an average flying distance.
With the introduction of the new MAX aircraft, the airline is set to also offset its carbon emissions per seat while maintaining fleet and traffic growth. 81 grams per RPK were emitted as a result of thereof, resulting in 40% carbon dioxide reduction.
This meant, that in May of last year, the airline emitted 135 grams of Co2.
Norwegian is finally growing, but not yet out of the woods, as the airline industry faces steep prices in commodities. Nevertheless, an increase in passenger levels, and the introduction of more 737MAXs, will better position the airline for smarter growth.
