Norwegian Air reported a ramping up in Boeing aircraft deliveries ahead of an expanded summer schedule by the Scandinavian carrier.
The airline saw passenger carryings rise by 12% in January to almost 1.3 million while regional arm Wideroe saw numbers rise 19% to almost 300,000.
This came as the group increased capacity by 23% over the same month last year.
The figures came as Norwegian Air opened the sale of tickets for the next winter with flights from Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin to various Nordic destinations.
The airline will continue seasonal routes to Tromso and Rovaniemi, as well as flights to Scandinavian capitals and other regional cities.
Norwegian Air will continue direct flights from Gatwick to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Trondheim, Bergen and Stavanger; as well as Manchester to Copenhagen, Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen and Tromso.
The airline will also operate direct routes between Edinburgh and Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo and Dublin-Oslo.
London was the most popular destination across Norwegian’s network outside the Nordic countries in 2024, the airline reported.
Chief executive Geir Karlsen said: “It is encouraging to see our passenger numbers continue to increase into the new year. We have added significantly to our capacity and this has, as we expected, impacted our load factor.
“While 2024 was marked with solid capacity growth, particularly in recent winter months, we will dedicate 2025 to cost initiatives and improved utilisation of capacity.”
Norwegian received delivery of two new aircraft during January, which will be deployed as part of expanded summer flying programme of 344 routes to more than 120 destinations.
“I am very encouraged to see that Boeing seems to be successfully ramping up their production resulting in two brand new Max 8 aircraft deliveries to our Copenhagen base in January,” Karlsen said.
“We are experiencing high demand for the Easter holidays, and we advise those planning to travel during this period to book early. Our preparations for the busy summer have begun, and we see that customers are eager to book early.
“We have added 17 new and exciting routes to Norwegian’s summer programme.”