Norwegian Air will gain a one-off cash injection of almost £60 million after attracting investment in a joint loyalty company.
The off-shoot was established in June in partnership with Strawberry, formerly Nordic Choice Hotels.
Scandinavian credit market company Avida Finans is to become preferred financial partner, developing next generation financial services to more than seven million members.
Norwegian Air and Strawberry will hold equal ownership in the loyalty company, while Avida will acquire a stake of close to 2%.
More: Norwegian Air sees strong July amid late booking surge
“Norwegian expects to record an associated non-recurring gain of approximately NOK800 million (£59 million) upon final closing, expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2023,” the airline disclosed.
“Together with Norwegian’s recently announced agreement to acquire [Nordic regional airline] Widerøe, these new partnerships will contribute to offering even better and seamless travel experiences.”
The planned acquisition of Widerøe, which is subject to approval by the Norwegian Competition Authority, is expected by the end of 2023.
The loyalty scheme deal came as the carrier reported a second quarter pre-tax profit of NOK538 million (£40 million) due to a strong operational performance while ramping-up into summer travel peak with a fleet of 81 aircraft.
Quarterly passenger carryings grew by 600,000 year-on-year to reach 5.6 million as capacity was expanded. The load factor improved from 81.2% to 84.4%.
Global aviation consultancy Cirium named Norwegian Air the most on-time European airline in May. It finished among the top three European airlines n April, June and July.
A partnership was announced in April to build the world’s first full scale e-fuel plant in Norway to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The deal is estimated to secure approximately 20% of Norwegian Air’s total demand for SAF by 2030. The airline is to invest more than NOK50 million (£3.7 million) for a minority equity stake in the company.
The airline also won an exclusive contract with the Norwegian Armed Forces.
Chief executive Geir Karlsen said: “This quarter has demonstrated our ability to ramp up capacity and deliver a superb operational performance to become one of the top airlines in Europe.
“These results have been made possible thanks to over 4,700 of our colleagues working tirelessly to ensure our passengers arrive at their destinations as smoothly as possible.
“By solely flying with our own aircraft and crew, we can deliver ‘the Norwegian way’ to all our customers. Our seamless customer experience has made us one of the most loved airlines in the Nordics.”
He added: “The summer season of 2023 will be one of the best in our history, and I am happy that forward bookings remain strong with business travel returning and others planning their autumn holidays.”
More: Norwegian Air sees strong July amid late booking surge