Norwegian reports new passenger record

Norwegian’s (NAS) passenger growth continued in July, resulting in one of the best months in the company’s history. More than 1.8 million passengers flew with Norwegian in July, up 14 percent from the same month last year and the highest ever passenger figure. The airline flew 1,820,158 passengers in July, an increase of 14 percent compared to July 2011. The load factor was 87 percent, down 2 percentage points from July 2011. The reduced load is more than offset by the positive development in unit revenue. The unit revenue (RASK) increased by 2 percent to 0.51, while the yield improved by 5 percent to 0.59. The total passenger traffic (RPK) increased by 15 percent and the total capacity (ASK) increased by 18 percent. “I am very pleased with July’s traffic figures. The development is positive in all of the Nordic countries in which Norwegian operates. The new passenger record shows that the combination of brand new, more environmentally friendly aircraft and a good route network is appreciated by our passengers,” said Norwegian’s CEO Bjørn Kjos. The company operated 99.9 percent of its scheduled flights this month, whereof 78.8 percent departed on time. The on-time figures are heavily influenced by Norway’s civil aviation authorities’ (Avinor) inability to staff a sufficient number of air traffic controllers during the busiest holiday season. “Unfortunately, Avinor’s lacking ability to provide enough air traffic controllers in July has affected our otherwise world-class on-time performance,” said Kjos. From norwegian