© Reuters. File photo: A Norwegian plane refuels at Oslo Gardermoen Airport on November 7, 2019. REUTERS / Lefteris Karagiannopoulos
Authors: Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouché
Oslo (Reuters)-Norwegian Airlines announced on Thursday that its third-quarter revenue increased by 68% as travel to Europe gradually recovered from the pandemic. The airline said it will continue to expand after bankruptcy has reduced its business.
The low-cost airline’s sales from July to September were 1.52 billion Norwegian kroner ($180 million), up from 905 million Norwegian kroner a year ago, when travel was still severely restricted by COVID-19.
Last year, the pandemic bankrupted debt-laden airlines https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/norwegian-air-saved-collapse-reinvents-regional-carrier-2021-05-26, forcing its end Before appearing in a streamlined version in May 2021, its transatlantic network.
“As the traditionally more difficult winter approaches, we are now financially sound,” Managing Director Gail Carlson said in a statement.
He added: “We are seeing positive trends in regular bookings month after month, and more and more passengers are choosing to use Norwegian Air for travel on our European network.”
Due to vaccinations and relaxation of travel restrictions, the number of bookings has increased. The company said that it expects its key capacity indicator, Available Seat Kilometers (ASK), to increase from 18.2 billion in 2020 to 29 billion in 2022.
As of the beginning of 2021, ASK is only 4.8 billion kilometers.
Norwegian Airlines’ court order reorganization was also supported by the Norwegian government. The airline’s fleet was reduced from about 160 aircraft to 51. However, the company said on Wednesday that it had agreed to lease 13 more aircraft to meet the growing growth. Demand. [L8N2RN6LR]
“Supported by the positive development of demand and a strong booking curve, the company intends to continue its production increase plan in the fourth quarter, so that the fleet will reach a peak of 50 short-haul aircraft by the end of 2021 and will increase to approximately 50% by 2022. 70 short-haul aircraft,” he said on Thursday.
After the creditors took over, Norwegian Air’s debt during the reconstruction period was reduced by about 80%, but the company is now facing new competition from Flyr on domestic routes to Norway and some overseas destinations.
The company has 7.6 billion Swedish kronor in cash and cash equivalents, and stated that cash consumption will be low during the winter, which is traditionally negative.
(1 USD = 8.4391 Norwegian Krone)