Norwegian and Widerøe Report 10% Passenger Growth in August 2024

Low-cost carrier Norwegian has announced impressive passenger figures for August 2024, carrying nearly 2.7 million travelers. The airline flew 2,369,469 passengers, while its regional affiliate, Widerøe, contributed 340,955 passengers, totaling 2,710,424 passengers for the group.

This marks a 10% increase in passenger numbers compared to August 2023, continuing a positive growth trend for the Oslo-based airline. Norwegian’s load factor also improved, despite an 11% increase in capacity compared to the same month last year.

The airline’s capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs), reached 3,899 million seat kilometers, up 11% from August 2023. Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKs), reflecting actual passenger traffic, also grew by 11%, reaching 3,341 million seat kilometers.

Norwegian’s network load factor rose to 85.7%, a 0.4 percentage point increase from August 2023. The airline achieved a high completion rate of 99.5%, indicating that nearly all scheduled flights were operated. However, punctuality, defined as departures within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, decreased to 76.5%, down 5.9% from the previous year. Despite this, 95.9% of flights arrived within 60 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.

In August, Norwegian operated an average fleet of 86 aircraft, including 22 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and the remainder being 737-800s.

“I am pleased with our continued positive trend from July to August,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian. “We saw significant capacity increases year-on-year, coupled with improved load factors and yields. I also want to thank our dedicated staff for their hard work throughout the summer.”

Looking ahead, Norwegian is experiencing strong booking momentum for the autumn and winter seasons of 2024/25. The launch of new routes and successful autumn sales campaigns are expected to keep the momentum going.

“Our autumn sales campaign has been well received, and bookings are strong for both popular routes and new destinations,” Karlsen added. “The upcoming autumn school holiday weeks are already showing high demand, with many destinations filling up quickly.”

Widerøe, the regional carrier, also saw a robust performance in August 2024, with an 8% increase in passengers compared to August 2023. The airline reported solid booking momentum for the coming months across its network.

Widerøe’s capacity for August was 194 million ASKs, with actual passenger traffic at 148 million RPKs. The airline’s load factor increased to 76.5%, a 3.9 percentage point rise from the previous year.

Currently, Widerøe operates a fleet of 46 De Havilland Canada DHC-8 turboprops and three 110-seat Embraer E190-E2 regional jets.