Traffic growth, international expansion and lower costs helped Europe’s third-largest budget carrier Norwegian cut first quarter losses.
Losses were cut to 160 million Norwegian krone from 397 million in the same period last year.
Total revenue rose by 23% as passenger numbers in the three months grew by 8% to 3.9 million.
This figures came as the carrier started a new base at Gatwick with the launch of 14 routes to destinations in the Mediterranean and European cities.
Chief executive Bjørn Kjos said: “We’re very satisfied with the first quarter results, particularly since in a seasonally weak quarter for many airlines we improved our result by 238 million krone.
“The load factor remains stable, even with a considerable capacity growth. At the same time we’re cutting our costs considerably, which is a crucial step to staying competitive in an international industry.
“Moreover, it is gratifying that our growth enables the creation of jobs in several markets, also outside of Scandinavia.
“Our strategy of cost reduction and international growth is also mandatory to secure all the jobs we’ve already created in Scandinavia.”