Norwegian Reports Passenger Growth and Improved On-Time Performance in April
Norwegian carried more than 3.1 million passengers in April, an increase of three percent compared to the same month in 2018. The figures for April are not directly comparable with the same month last year due to the Easter effect. However, the combined development for March and April, is positive.
A total of 3,137,608 passengers chose to fly with Norwegian in April; 88,359 more than the same period last year. The total traffic (RPK) increased by 11 percent, while the capacity growth (ASK) was seven percent. The load factor was 86.1 percent, up 3.1 percentage points.
The Easter traffic will always influence the figures positively. This year, Easter was in April, which means that the revenue per available seat-kilometer (RASK) compared to last year, was higher. The combined March and April figures for 2019 compared to last year show an increased load factor of 1.8 percentage points and an increased yield of 6.9 percent. The number of passengers was up by four percent, the ASK increased by nine percent and the RASK increased by eight percent. The demand was also higher the last week of April due to a competitors’ pilot strike in Scandinavia.
Norwegian operated 98.9 percent of the scheduled flights in April. Despite the temporary suspension of the company’s Boeing 737 MAX fleet, the passenger impact was limited. The airline combined flights and offered passengers alternative departures. In April, 83.4 percent of Norwegian’s flights departed on time.
“I’m very pleased with the positive development in April, as well as the last two months as a whole; both in terms of passenger numbers, revenue and on-time performance. Going forward, we will continue to work on returning to profitability and at the same time offer our customers a high-quality product at a low fare, and, not least, operating the industry's newest and most environmentally friendly aircraft fleet,” said CEO of Norwegian, Bjørn Kjos.
The company took delivery of one Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in April. Norwegian overtook established competitors to become the number one foreign airline to serve the New York City region, as per the recent traffic report from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
