Press release - 6 May 2011 07:02

Strong Passenger Growth for Norwegian in April

Norwegian’s passenger growth continues in April. More than 1.2 million passengers flew with the airline this month, an increase of over 416,000 passengers (53 percent) compared to the same period the previous year. Although the closing of European airspace in April 2010 affects the figures, April is a very good month for the company, as it experiences a considerable growth in passengers as well as increased load factor and capacity.

In April, 1,207,891 passengers flew with Norwegian, compared to 791,371 in the same month the previous year, an increase of 53 percent. Adjusted for the closed European airspace due to volcanic ash in April 2010, Norwegian still experienced a 22 percent RPK growth and a 17 percent ASK growth.

Improved yield and higher load
The load factor was 77 percent, up 6 percentage points compared to April last year. Adjusted for the closed airspace, the load factor was up 3 percentage points. The yield improved by 6 percent compared to April 2010; adjusted for the closed airspace, the yield is up 1 percent.

"Our April traffic figures are affected by last year's closure of the European airspace and the traditional Easter travel peak falling in different months in 2010 and 2011. We are very satisfied that we are able to continue to fill our planes even with a strong capacity increase," said CEO Bjørn Kjos at Norwegian.

Norwegian operated 99.9 percent of the scheduled flights, whereof 82.8 percent departed on time. The punctuality was influenced by the The Aviation Authorities' (Avinor) introduction of a new arrival route system at Oslo Airport Gardermoen.

Free in-flight WiFi a success
In February Norwegian introduced free in-flight WiFi on its aircraft. The reception among the passengers has been overwhelming, with more than half of our passengers going online on selected flights. By summer 2011, eleven aircraft will be equipped with the new technology and 21 aircraft will be equipped with the system by the end of the year. By the end of 2012, Norwegian plans to offer WiFi fleet-wide.

Please find more financial figures in the pdf attached.

Contacts:
SVP, Corporate Communications, Anne-Sissel Skånvik, phone +47 97 55 43 44
CFO, Frode Foss, phone +47 91 63 16 45

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 57 aircraft on 238 routes to about 100 destinations and employs approximately 2 500 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.