Press release -
The summer programme continues for Norwegian group with 2.5 million passengers in May
In May, Norwegian had 2,138,484 passengers, while Widerøe had 333,492 passengers, totalling 2,472,976 for the group. Capacity for Norwegian was up 19 percent compared to May last year, while the load factor was down 2 percentage points to 82 percent. The airline operated an average of 84 aircraft this month, as the summer programme is approaching cruising speed. For Norwegian, May also brought a solid 12 percent increase in passengers compared to last year.
“I’m satisfied with the passenger numbers in May. About 650,000 of our passengers travelled to southern Europe destinations in May. The average flying distance increased 7 percent, demonstrating our significant capacity growth to beach destinations. Our capacity has been significantly increased overall for the summer season, and we look forward to welcoming even more passengers through the busy summer holidays,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.
The capacity (ASK) was 3,466 million seat kilometres, up 19 percent from the same period last year. Actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 2,843 seat kilometres, an increase of 16 percent from May 2023. In May, Norwegian operated with a regularity, meaning share of scheduled flights taking place, of 99.5 percent. The punctuality, meaning share of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was 86.1 percent, up 1.2 percentage points from May last year.
Widerøe delivering good numbers
Widerøe’s results in May show an increase almost across the board. While the airline keeps similar capacity as previous months, and identical to May last year, they have flown over 10 percent more passengers this year.
“I am very pleased to see Widerøe continuing to deliver good results. The load factor increased an impressive 7 percent, with the majority of the improvement coming on the commercial network. I want to thank the Widerøe team for the great work they are doing”, said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.
For Widerøe the capacity (ASK) in May remained unchanged at 179 million seat kilometres. The actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 124 million seat kilometres, an increase of 10 percent from May last year. Load factor ended at 69.4 percent.
Separate press release on Widerøe’s traffic figures is found at the Widerøe media centre (In Norwegian only).
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About Norwegian
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.
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.
