Norwegian reported 2,526,093 passengers and Widerøe 331,035, bringing the group’s total to 2,857,128. For Norwegian, this marks a 9 percent increase in passengers compared to July of the previous year and the highest passenger volume since 2019.
“I am very pleased with the incredible job all our colleagues have been doing during the busiest travel month of the year. Their hard work is reflected across all our numbers, including a record high number of passengers who have chosen to travel with the group. For Norwegian, I am particularly pleased that we that we delivered an improved load factor versus last year while at the same time increasing capacity by 10 percent. We are excited to see a solid booking momentum for August and further into the autumn season,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.
Norwegian’s capacity (ASK) was 4,068 million seat kilometres, up 10 percent from the same period last year. Actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 3,763 million seat kilometres, an increase of 10 percent from July 2023. Load factor increased by 0.1 percentage point from July 2023 to 92.5 percent, an increase of more than 8 percentage points from the previous month.
In July, Norwegian operated with a regularity, meaning share of scheduled flights taking place, of 99.5 percent. The punctuality, meaning share of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was 67.6 percent, down 5.6 percentage points from July last year. However, 93 percent of all flights arrived within 60 minutes of scheduled arrival time. During July, European air space was heavily congested with several air traffic control (ATC) restrictions. This resulted in a lower than usual punctuality across European airlines. The airline operated an average of 87 aircraft in July.
Strong month for Widerøe
Widerøe delivered strong traffic numbers for the month of July with a significant improvement from last year. Load factor for the regional airline increased by 4 percentage points compared to July last year, resulting in a load factor of 83.5 percent.
“We are pleased with Widerøe’s continuing positive performance. This July Widerøe had a record high load factor for the month of July. This demonstrates that passengers appreciate the consistent high level of service our Widerøe colleagues are delivering. We look forward to continuously improving the travel experience across the entire Norwegian group for all our passengers”, said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.