Press release -
Norwegian Group had 1.6 million passengers in January
In January, Norwegian had 1,273,809 passengers, while Widerøe had 294,066 passengers, totalling 1,567,875 for the group. The number of passengers increased by 12 percent for Norwegian and 19 percent for Widerøe compared to January 2024. Norwegian had a capacity increase of 23 percent compared to last year.
“It is encouraging to see our passenger numbers continue to increase into the new year. We have added significantly to our capacity and this has, as we expected, impacted our load factor. While 2024 was marked with solid capacity growth, particularly in recent winter months, we will dedicate 2025 to cost initiatives and improved utilisation of capacity. It is good to see that we are strengthening our position as the leading airline group in Norway. Combined, Norwegian and Widerøe grew by over 1.7 million passengers according to Avinor’s numbers for 2024. This represents more than 70 percent of net growth in air travel in Norway, resulting in an overall market share of 50 percent” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.
Norwegian’s capacity (ASK) in January was 2,247 million seat kilometres, up 23 percent from last year. Actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 1,844 million seat kilometres, up 22 percent, while the load factor was 82.1 percent, down one percentage point from the same period last year. During January, Norwegian’s punctuality, meaning share of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, saw a decline of 2.6 percentage points from last year, and ended at 71.3 percent. This was mainly due to winter weather conditions early in the month with the second half of January delivered a punctuality of 85.5 percent. Regularity, meaning share of scheduled flights taking place, was 98.6 percent, down 0.2 percentage points. Norwegian operated an average of 72 aircraft during January.
For Widerøe, the capacity (ASK) in January was 158 million seat kilometres, up four percent from last year. The actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 108 million seat kilometres, while the load factor was 68.4 percent, up 6.1 percentage points from January last year.
Looking ahead to spring and summer
Norwegian received delivery of two new aircraft during January, which will be put to good use during the busy summer programme. The programme begins at the end of March and consists of 344 routes to over 120 destinations.
“I am very encouraged to see that Boeing seems to be successfully ramping up their production resulting in two brand new MAX 8 aircraft deliveries to our Copenhagen base in January. We are experiencing high demand for the Easter holidays, and we advise those planning to travel during this period to book early. Our preparations for the busy summer have begun, and we see that customers are eager to book early. We have added 17 new and exciting routes to Norwegian’s summer programme with some highlights including Tangier from Copenhagen, Toulouse from Oslo, Bilbao from Stockholm and Malta from Helsinki,” said Geir Karlsen.
Today, Norwegian released its winter programme 2025/2026 for sale. The winter programme starts at the end of October 2025.
A separate press release on Widerøe’s traffic figures can be 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.
