Press release - 6 February 2009 10:04

The passenger growth continues entering 2009

Oslo/Fornebu, 6 February 2009: A total of 648,302 passengers traveled with Norwegian in January, which is an increase of 5 percent compared to the equivalent period last year. The passenger traffic (RPK) for Norwegian.no increased by 20% and for Norwegian.se by 61%.
“We are very satisfied with the traffic growth entering the New Year as we carried close to 650,000 passengers through our network in January. During 2008 we made significant changes within Norwegian and to the route portfolio in order to adjust to the market situation. These changes have so far had positive effects, and we are happy to offer low fares to so many passengers during these challenging times,” says CEO Bjorn Kjos.

During the winter season Norwegian has started to operate several new domestic routes out of Rygge airport. As expected the start-up routes have affected the load factor. So far the domestic traffic has remained strong, and better than what could be expected taking into consideration the turbulent times.

Norwegian.no (Norwegian, Danish and Polish network) produced a total capacity of 734 million ASK (+ 26%), passenger traffic was 520 million RPK (+ 20%). The domestic increase in passenger traffic was 30% while international passenger traffic was up 16%.

The load factor for Norwegian.no was 71% in January which is a decrease of 3 percentage points. The 16% increase in yield more than offset the decrease in load factor. The net effect is positive as the unit revenue (RASK) is up.

Norwegian.se (Swedish network) produced a total capacity of 147 million ASK (+44%), passenger traffic was 111 million RPK (+61%)

The load factor for Norwegian.se was 75% in January which is an increase of 8 percentage points. The yield is estimated at NOK 0.48 for the period (-37%). The development in yield and load factor is to a large extent due to changes in the route portfolio, with new routes and 55% longer average flying distance.

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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.