Norse Atlantic Airways is to lease more aircraft to help Indian carrier IndiGo introduce long-haul routes.
The carrier has agreed to lease out an additional three of its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners to IndiGo after agreeing a deal for one earlier this month.
The extra three aircraft are expected to start operations from second half of the year serving long-haul routes out of India.
The expanded lease deal came as Norse Atlantic reported that losses in the quarter to December had been cut by $30 million year-on-year to $35 million.
The long-haul low cost carrier said it achieved a profit for the month of December.
Revenue for the final quarter of 2024 rose by 30% to £123.1 million, supported by more aircraft being leasing out or on charter agreements.
Norse Atlantic plans to run a fleet of 11 aircraft on its own scheduled network this summer, including transatlantic routes from Gatwick.
However, the fleet will reduce to eight B787s operating the Norse scheduled network and four leased out under longer-term ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) lease plans.
“We believe this represents a good balance between securing year-round fixed revenue from ACMI and maximising the possibilities in our scheduled network,” Norse Atlantic said.
The initial six month term of the agreement with IndiGo can be extended to up to 18 months, subject to regulatory approvals.
“Both parties remain committed to explore opportunities to further extend this period, subject to regulatory approvals,” Norse Atlantic said.
“The delivery of the first aircraft is on track and scheduled to start wet lease operations from 1st March servicing IndiGo’s Delhi–Bangkok route.”
Norse and Indigo “continue exploring opportunities to increase their collaboration further”.
IndiGo, which carried more than 113 million passengers in 2024, is in the process of expanding its global reach by adding long-haul services.
Norse Atlantic saw passenger numbers rise by 46% to 337,564 in the fourth quarter of 2024, with the number of flights operated up 21% to 1,196. The land factor rose by 22 percentage points to a record high of 92%.
Founder and chief executive Bjorn Tore Larsen confirmed that Norse Atlantic has developed ACMI and charter into a separate business area complementary to the operations of its own scheduled network.
He said: “The new ACMI contracts leaves Norse with a fleet of 11 aircraft operating its own scheduled network during the summer ahead, whereas the longer-term fleet allocation under secured contracts will be eight aircraft in own scheduled network and four aircraft on longer-term ACMI.
“We believe this represents a good balance between securing year-round fixed revenue from ACMI and maximising the possibilities in our scheduled network.”