Norwegian Group, which includes budget carrier Norwegian and regional airline Widerøe, has reported its latest performance for October 2024. The group carriers saw passenger numbers rise alongside a boost in passenger load factors, with the two airlines seeing strong forward sales for the forthcoming holiday season at the end of 2024.
In October 2024, Norwegian carried 2,197,751 passengers while Widerøe transported 372,757 passengers, giving a group total of 2,570,508 for the month. Capacity for Norwegian, measured in available seat kilometers (ASKs) increased by 10% over the same month in 2023, while the load factor reached almost 87% overall. This number represents a record load factor for the low-cost airline excluding the peak summer month of July 2024.
Norwegian’s capacity (ASK) was 3,437 million seat kilometers, while revenue passenger traffic (RPK) reached 2,982 million seat kilometers, representing an increase of 11% over October 2023. The load factor increased by 0.6 percentage points from the same period in 2023 to 86.8% overall. In October 2024, Norwegian operated with a flight completion rate of 99.3%. On-time punctuality reached 81.8% percent, down 3.2% from October 2023, but higher than in the previous months of 2024.
Norwegian operated an average of 85 aircraft during October. The current fleet consists of 63 186-seat Boeing 737-800s plus 22 189-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
“This October has been solid, and I am pleased that we have delivered increased unit revenue and load factor, while at the same time delivering double-digit capacity growth,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian. “With the winter season and Christmas holidays approaching, we are excited to see a strong booking momentum for both Norwegian and Widerøe. For those traveling for Christmas, we advise booking early to secure their plans.”
“We have just opened our new base in Gran Canaria, which, in addition to the new and exciting leisure routes, will support our operations in the upcoming winter season,” he added.
On the regional side, in October 2023, Widerøe continued on an upward trajectory seen throughout 2024 by flying 372,757 passengers throughout the month. “This was the result of a solid load factor while at the same time increasing capacity,” said the carrier in a statement.
“Widerøe continues to go from strength to strength, and I’m impressed to see the good work our colleagues are doing to make sure the product offering appeals to a record number of growing passengers,” said Karlsen.
For Widerøe, the capacity (ASK) in October was 192 million seat kilometers, up 5% over October 2023. The actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 141 million seat kilometers, while the carrier’s overall load factor reached 73.6%, an increase of 5.2 percentage points from October 2023.
During the month, Widerøe operated a fleet of 50 aircraft. This was made up of 47 De Havilland Canda DHC-8 turboprops of various sizes plus three Embraer ERJ-190 regional jets. The operator flies on 122 routes to 52 destinations across 10 countries.