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Press release -

Norwegian Leaps Forward as Largest Non-North American Airline to Serve New York City in 2018

Norwegian, the World’s Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline, was the largest non-North American airline to serve the New York and New Jersey area in 2018, according to the latest Port Authority of New York data, with 2,004,896 passengers carried in 2018. Ahead of all other European carriers and overtaking British Airways, Norwegian became the leading airline in transatlantic traffic in a record-breaking year for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who surpassed 50 million international travelers for the first time.

“Norwegian has continued its growth in passenger numbers in a fiercely competitive and critical market across the Atlantic to the New York City area. We see this as a positive indicator that passengers on both sides of the Atlantic continue to embrace and support our award-winning service and our disruptive model on transatlantic routes. Being the number one European airline to serve the New York City Area is a tremendous achievement and we will continue to offer high a quality product, inflight service and value fares moving forward.” said Bjørn Kjos, Chief Executive Officer.

According to the 2018 year-end report issued by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which collects traffic data from Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, Stewart International, Teterboro, and other regional airports -Norwegian carried the most passengers to and from Europe as the leading non-North American airline positioned above competitors including Emirates, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa. The airline was approximately 50,000 passengers short of being tied or surpassing Air Canada to become the leading international airline to serve New York City.

Norwegian currently offers 13 European nonstop destinations from three New York City airports: JFK, Newark and Stewart. Last week, the airline announced a new service to Athens from New York, which will launch on July 2.

Overall, Norwegian offers more than 55 nonstop routes from Europe to 17 airports in the United States. On March 31, the airline will add two new nonstop routes from Rome and Madrid to Boston Logan International Airport and from July 7 a new service will operate from Barcelona to Chicago O’Hare.

Norwegian’s lowest fares to the US can be found on its low fare calendar, which displays the lowest available fares on all of the airline’s routes. Passengers on all of Norwegian’s routes are eligible to join Norwegian Reward, the airline’s award-winning frequent flyer program, and can earn CashPoints every time they fly.

Norwegian operates up to three flights a day between London Gatwick to New York JFK with fares starting from £149.90 one way including taxes. Fares from Ireland to New York Stewart International Airport start from €119 one way including taxes.

Norwegian is now one of the world’s most awarded low-cost airlines following previous accolades in 2018: Most Fuel-Efficient Airline on Transatlantic Routes by the ICCT; World’s Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline for the fourth consecutive year and Europe’s Best Low-Cost Airline for the sixth consecutive year by Skytrax and Europe’s Leading Low-Cost Airline 2018 at the World Travel Awards.

Topics


Norwegian in the UK and Ireland:

  • Norwegian carries almost 6 million UK passengers each year from London Gatwick, Edinburgh and Manchester Airports to 30 destinations worldwide
  • Norwegian is the third largest airline at London Gatwick, with 4.6 million yearly passengers, and with more than 1,000 UK-based pilots and cabin crew
  • In 2014, Norwegian introduced the UK’s first low-cost, long haul flights to the U.S. - the airline now flies to 12 U.S destinations, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro from London Gatwick
  • In 2017, Norwegian also launched affordable transatlantic flights from Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Shannon to the US East Coast, using the brand new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft
  • Norwegian is the only airline to offer free inflight WiFi on UK flights to more than 30 European destinations
  • The airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world with an average age of 3.7 years, including next-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing 737 MAX and Boeing 737-800s
  • Norwegian has been voted ‘Europe’s best low-cost carrier’ by passengers for six consecutive years at SkyTrax World Airline Awards from 2013-2018, along with being awarded the ‘World's best low-cost long-haul airline’ in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018
  • Norwegian Reward is the airline's free to join award-winning loyalty programme offering members CashPoints and Rewards that reduce the cost of Norwegian flights

Contacts

For journalists only

For journalists only

Press contact Norwegian Press Office +47 815 11 816
Marketing/sponsorhip requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Marketing/sponsorhip requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Press contact Marketing/sponsorship requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Norwegian.com

The Norwegian group is a leading Nordic aviation company, headquartered at Fornebu outside Oslo, Norway. The company has over 8,200 employees and owns two of the prominent airlines in the Nordics: Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe’s Flyveselskap. Widerøe was acquired by Norwegian in 2024, aiming to facilitate seamless air travel across the two airline’s networks.

Norwegian Air Shuttle, the largest Norwegian airline with around 4,700 employees, operates an extensive route network connecting Nordic countries to key European destinations. In 2023, Norwegian carried over 20 million passengers and maintained a fleet of 87 Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Widerøe’s Flyveselskap, Norway’s oldest airline, is Scandinavia’s largest regional carrier. The airline has more than 3,500 employees. Mainly operating the short-runway airports in rural Norway, Widerøe operates several state contract routes (PSO routes) in addition to its own commercial network. In 2023, the airline had 3.3 million passengers and a fleet of 48 aircraft, including 45 Bombardier Dash 8’s and three Embraer E190-E2's. Widerøe Ground Handling provides ground handling services at 41 Norwegian airports.

The Norwegian group has sustainability as a key priority and has committed to significantly reducing carbon emissions from its operations. Among numerous initiatives, the most noteworthy is the investment in production and use of fossil-free aviation fuel (SAF). Norwegian strives to become the sustainable choice for its passengers, actively contributing to the transformation of the aviation industry.

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