Norwegian Air chief expects rising demand for ‘coolcations’

The Norwegian Group of airlines is expecting rising demand for ‘coolcations’ to Nordic destinations this summer.

The boss of the parent company of Norwegian Air and regional arm Wideroe made the prediction while reporting 2.8 million passenger carryings in June.

Chief executive Geir Karlsen said: "We are preparing for the busiest month of the year and are seeing overall satisfactory demand for beach and city vacations from the Nordic countries.

“As in recent summer seasons, we are also expecting increasing demand from other European countries for ‘coolcations’ to Nordic destinations. 

“With more than 500 daily flights and very few cancellations, our passengers can be sure to reach their holiday destinations.”

Reflecting on last month’s performance, he said: "I am pleased to see that we manage to increase the numbers of passengers across both airlines in June. 

“We have a solid 8% capacity increase in Norwegian, while Wideroe has set a new passenger record, the first month in history with more than 400,000 passengers. 

“While the load factor for Norwegian is a bit lower than expected for June, we are operating several new routes this summer, and are looking forward to a very busy July.”