DALLAS — The Norwegian Group, encompassing both Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) and Widerøe (WF), kicked off the summer season on a high note, carrying over 2.2 million passengers in April.

Both carriers strategically increased their capacity for April compared to the same month last year. DY boosted its available seat kilometers (ASK) by 18%, while its regional subsidiary followed suit with a 13% increase.

This expansion successfully met growing customer demand. In April, DY carried 1,892,362 passengers, while WF had 315,495 passengers, totalling 2,207,857 passengers for the group, a 13% year-over-year growth.

“April marked a significant ramp-up in capacity and we had on average 14 more aircraft in operation compared to the same month last year. The passenger numbers show an increase of 13 percent compared to the same period last year. We are pleased that many customers now book their summer holiday with us and advise customers that have specific dates in mind to book early,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Slight Load Factor Dip Attributed to Early Easter

The overall load factor for the group was 80.3%, a slight decrease of 3 percent compared to April 2023. As reported by the group, this is attributed to the timing of Easter, which fell primarily in March this year, impacting short-haul travel numbers in April.

The group’s capacity (ASK) was 3,155 million seat kilometers, up 18% from the same period last year. Actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 2,533 million seat kilometers, an increase of 14% from April 2023.

While the group maintained a high regularity rate of 98.8% (scheduled flights taking off), some cancellations occurred due to air traffic control (ATC) issues and airspace closures across Europe and Norway. Punctuality, measured by flights departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, remained stable at 81.3%, showing a slight decrease from last year.

New Route Expansion, Look Ahead

Despite the operational challenges, April saw the exciting launch of nine new routes for the Norwegian group. These routes include popular destinations like Istanbul (IST) from Oslo (OSL) and Malaga (AGP) from Billund (BLL) in Denmark.

Widerøe also experienced positive growth with a 64.1% load factor, a significant 6 percent increase year-over-year.

The Norwegian Group anticipates a bustling summer season with a total of 47 new routes planned across its network. Denmark, the group's second-largest market, will benefit significantly from this expansion with 17 new connections, including routes to Valencia (VLC), Toulouse (TLS), Bilbao (BIO), and Milan (MXP).