Press release - 31 March 2011 08:15

Norwegian’s Finnish base opens today

Scandinavia´s second largest airline, Norwegian, opens its new base at Helsinki Airport today and commences domestic flights from Helsinki to Oulu and Rovaniemi. Helsinki Airport will be serving two domestic and 11 international routes.

In addition to the direct flights to Oslo and Stockholm, launched in spring 2010, Norwegian will provide new domestic connections from Helsinki Airport to Oulu and Rovaniemi. During the spring, the airline will add nine international routes to its weekly schedule. Norwegian flies to 98 destinations in Europe and North Africa from bases in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Helsinki Airport will be Norwegian´s seventh hub, serving 13 domestic and international routes.

"Opening a base here in Helsinki is a milestone for Norwegian. We´ve had tremendous response in the Finnish market in terms of ticket sales and are humble to the warm welcome our Finnish customers have given us. As a growing airline, we believe that the Finnish market is ready for more competition where both the business and leisure travelers may benefit from fares that everyone can afford," said CEO Bjorn Kjos of Norwegian.

"Helsinki Airport welcomes Norwegian and its three base aircraft to Finland. Their establishing a base here is very important for our airport. Two domestic and 11 international routes mean a significant improvement for the airport's connections and more choices for Finnish business and leisure travelers," said Airport Director Juha-Pekka Pystynen.

"Norwegian's new route to Oulu provides an affordable and competitive choice to customers whilst the route to Rovaniemi enhances connections to Lapland Airports and supports the local tourism industry ," said Kimmo Ruotsalainen, Senior Vice President of Finavia.

Four daily flights will serve the Helsinki-Oulu route and one daily flight will operate between Helsinki and Rovaniemi. The first flights depart on March 31, 2011.

More information:
Kimmo Holopainen, Developing Manager, Finavia +358 400995528
Åsa Larsson, Press officer, Norwegian + 46 735 22 22 42

Topics

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, commercially branded “Norwegian,” is a public low-cost airline noted on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The company is the second largest airline in Scandinavia, and has a route portfolio that stretches across Europe into North Africa and the Middle East. With competitive prices and customer friendly solutions and service, the company has experienced significant growth over the previous years. With more than 13 million passengers in 2010, Norwegian is the 3rd largest low-cost airline in Europe. Norwegian currently operates 54 aircraft on 238 routes to 98 destinations and employs approximately 2 000 people.

Contacts

For journalists only

Press contact Norwegian Press Office press@norwegian.com +47 815 11 816

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.