Norwegian Air reports ‘robust’ summer bookings after winter losses cut

The Norwegian Group of airlines cut first quarter losses as a “signifiant growth” in passenger numbers was reported.

 

The owner of Norwegian Air and regional carrier Wideroe reported a “robust booking momentum” for the summer with bookings up over last year.

 

This came as year-on-year operating losses for the first three months of the year were reduced by NOK 152 million (£11 million) to NOK 611 million (£44.3 million).

 

The improvement was down to efficiency gains and initiatives implemented during the quarter, including the purchase of 10 previously leased Boeing 737-800s.

 

A strengthening of the Norwegian krone agains the US dollar also helped the figures.

 

The aircraft acquisition was initially financed with the group’s available cash, giving the Norwegian Group a total of 140 aircraft - 89 with Norwegian and 51 at Wideroe. 

 

Norwegian said it was in the process of securing long-term financing for all 10 aircraft.

 

Overall passenger numbers in the three months topped five million, with Norwegian Air contributing 4.2 million.

 

Norwegian Air’s quarterly load factor was down 2.3 percentage points from the same time last year to 82.5%, mainly due to the timing of Easter into April as well as a significant capacity increase. 

 

Punctuality, the share of flights departing within 15 minutes of schedule, was 81.9% for Norwegian Air and 79.3% for Wideroe.

 

The group has seen a major ramp up of services for its summer schedule from March 30, with almost 20 new routes to give a total of 350 to 129 destinations to Europe and beyond. 

 

The group described the current booking trend for the summer season as being “robust and encouraging” with more tickets sold than at the same period last year.

 

Chief executive Geir Karlsen said: “We continue on a positive trajectory in the year’s first quarter, and it is encouraging to see that our initiatives are yielding results on the cost side. 

 

“The acquisition of ten previously leased aircraft impacts our results this quarter positively and provides recurring savings and more flexibility going forward. 

 

“Wideroe is on a positive heading and delivered daily passenger records twice in April.”

 

He added: “The summer programme is well on its way. We have ramped up the production and onboarded all the colleagues needed for the busy peak season. 

 

“In other words, we are ready for a great summer, and we can already see that our customers are ready to travel as well. The booking trend looks good across both Norwegian and Wideroe, with June selling well ahead of last year.”