Scandinavian low-cost carrier Norwegian saw profits drop in the third quarter despite rising passenger numbers.
The carrier blamed a combination of a weak Norwegian krone, delayed approval from the US Department of Transportation for transatlantic flights and costs associated with flight delays.
Wet-leasing replacement aircraft due to technical issues with new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, extra fuel, as well as accommodation, food and drink for delayed passengers also created extra costs.
The costs associated with the “long overdue” application before the US DoT for a foreign air carrier permit for Norwegian’s Irish subsidiary, Norwegian Air International, were also “considerable”.
As a result, the airline’s pre-tax profit for the three months was down to 505 million krone, from 604 million krone in the same quarter last year.
Norwegian carried 7.1 million passengers in the quarter with operations at Gatwick showing the strongest passenger growth.
Chief executive Bjørn Kjos said: “We’re very satisfied that throughout our worldwide route network, an increasing number of new passengers choose Norwegian.
“However, we have also experienced some turbulence this quarter. Our results are affected by additional costs related to the pending US permit for our subsidiary in Dublin, consequently reducing our ability to optimise our fleet of aircraft.
“Even though technical difficulties with our Boeing 787 Dreamliners have also caused additional costs, our long-haul operation now consists of more aircraft and improved reliability.
“Looking into 2015, we will see a year of consolidation and lower growth. Next year, our fleet of short-haul aircraft will consist exclusively of Boeing 737-800s as older Boeing 737-300s will be phased out.”