Norwegian’s flying with 14 per cent passenger growth for September
Low cost airline Norwegian carried nearly 2.8m passengers in September – an increase of 14 per cent on the same month last year.
A total of 2,778,806 passengers flew with the airline last month, while total traffic growth increased by 21 per cent and capacity growth was up 19 per cent.
Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos said: “September’s figures show that our positive development continues across all markets, both with more passengers and a high load factor. It is also satisfying to see that more customers are choosing Norwegian when they are flying between the US and Europe and Europe and Asia.”
The airline’s fleet renewal programme has been continuing throughout this year with the delivery of 21 new aircraft.
Kjos has praised the virtues of budget airlines. He noted in the mid-2000s that when fuel prices soared and competition from Ryanair and EasyJet became fierce, his airline would have to buy fuel-efficient planes and wanted to expand to new locations. It launched UK flights in 2003.
The airline drew attention last month for a tongue-in-cheek advert, which it ran after Angelina Jolie announced she had filed for divorce from Brad Pitt. One of the adverts simply said: “Brad is single”, along with the information that a one-way ticket to Los Angeles cost £160.
Love the #reactivity . Kuddo to @Fly_Norwegian 👏👏👏👍👍👍😂😂😂 may be 50% discount to all the #jennifers!!! #Brangelina pic.twitter.com/lGG6RYzmqm
— prototype (@youssefmamou) September 23, 2016
A Norwegian spokesperson said: “We used a playful advert to simply highlight our flights to Los Angeles and to mirror the conversations that people throughout the UK are having about a high-profile media story. We are pleased that the vast majority of feedback has been positive and people have read the advert with the humour it was intended.”