Norwegian soars: 1.3M December passengers, expansion In 2024

Saturday, January 6, 2024

During December, Norwegian experienced a surge in passenger numbers, exceeding 1.3 million travelers with a robust load factor of 83.6%, marking a significant 6 percentage point rise from December 2022. Throughout the entirety of 2023, Norwegian accommodated over 20 million passengers, showcasing a notable 16% surge from the previous year.

Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian, expressed satisfaction with the airline’s performance, stating, “We served 1.3 million passengers in December, contributing to a total of over 20 million travelers choosing to fly with us in 2023. Our load factor witnessed a substantial boost compared to December 2022, and I am delighted by these impressive outcomes. Furthermore, the continued positive trend in bookings extending into 2024 is a promising indicator. Many of our customers are actively planning and booking their upcoming travel adventures, availing themselves of our recently launched New Year’s sale.”

In December, Norwegian catered to 1,308,441 passengers, a figure closely aligned with December 2022 numbers. The airline’s capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), experienced a 5% decrease, reaching 2,013 million seat kilometers compared to the same period the prior year. Meanwhile, actual passenger traffic (RPK) stood at 1,684 million seat kilometers. Throughout December, Norwegian operated an average of 65 aircraft with a regularity rate of 99.5%, denoting the share of scheduled flights successfully conducted. Despite winter storm Pia affecting punctuality, approximately 70.4% of flights departed within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. However, an impressive 93% of all flights that took off arrived on schedule or within an hour of the scheduled arrival time.

For the entirety of 2023, Norwegian witnessed a passenger influx of 20.6 million, marking a 16% increase from the previous year. The airline’s capacity soared by 18%, while the load factor also rose by 2 percentage points, reaching 84.7%.

“Winter storm Pia challenged our operations a few days prior to Christmas, but thanks to the relentless effort and meticulous planning by colleagues across the business, we managed to add several extra flights and get passengers home in time for their Christmas celebrations,” said Karlsen.

December also saw the Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) greenlight Norwegian’s acquisition of Widerøe, scheduled for implementation later that month. The merger promises improved route options and streamlined travel experiences for customers within Norway and internationally.

Furthermore, Norwegian introduced new routes from Norwegian cities to Rhodes, Palma de Mallorca, Edinburgh, and Istanbul in December. Looking ahead to the summer of 2024, the flight schedule boasts over 330 routes spanning more than 120 destinations.

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