Norwegian Air Shuttle's Passenger Numbers Rose on Year in December
Tuesday, Jan 7, 2025 2:49 am ET
SHPH --
Norwegian Air Shuttle, the Scandinavian airline, reported a significant increase in passenger numbers for December 2024, marking a strong end to the year. The airline carried a total of approximately 1.77 million passengers during the month, with Norwegian accounting for 1.48 million and Widerøe for 293,257. This represented a 13% increase compared to the same month last year, demonstrating the airline's resilience and growth in the face of operational challenges.

The increase in passenger numbers can be attributed to several factors, including the successful acquisition of Widerøe in January 2024, the addition of new routes and destinations throughout the year, and the continuous improvement in the group's product offering to customers. The acquisition of Widerøe allowed Norwegian to expand its route network and attract new passengers, contributing to the group's overall growth and success.
In December 2024, Norwegian's capacity (ASK) increased by 24 percent compared to the same period last year, while the actual passenger traffic (RPK) increased by 22 percent. The load factor was 82.2 percent, down 1.4 percentage points from the same period last year. Despite the slight decrease in load factor, the airline managed to attract over two million new passengers during 2024, demonstrating the continuous improvement and relevance in their product.
Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian, stated, "We are pleased to close out the year with a solid December performance for the group. We kicked off 2024 with the very successful acquisition of Widerøe and continued with significant capacity growth throughout the year by adding new routes and destinations. I am proud that Norwegian has managed to attract over two million new passengers during 2024, demonstrating the continuous improvement and relevance in our product. Over ten percent customer growth for both Norwegian and Widerøe is substantial, and I want to thank all my colleagues for their great work in achieving this."
The airline faced several operational challenges in December 2024, mainly due to weather and operational issues at airports throughout Europe and the Nordics. However, Norwegian remains optimistic about its future prospects, with a target capacity of 29 billion ASKs for the upcoming year. The airline expects to achieve this growth profitably, with signs of improvement in fares and a load factor of about 80% in October 2024.
In conclusion, Norwegian Air Shuttle's passenger numbers rose on the year in December 2024, driven by the successful acquisition of Widerøe, the addition of new routes and destinations, and the continuous improvement in the group's product offering. Despite operational challenges, the airline remains confident in its ability to achieve future growth and success.