Restructured Norwegian ends 2021 flying 48 aircraft

Restructured low-cost carrier Norwegian ended 2021 operating an average of 48 aircraft during December, though its passenger numbers for the full-year remained below even 2020 levels. Norwegian, which has undertaken a major restructuring including ending its long-haul operations and during which it entered what it dubbed a ”hibernation mode”, had gradually stepped up its activity over the second half of the year. On average, it operated just under 50 aircraft during Q4 of the year, compared with just 15 aircraft deployed in June. The airline carried 930,000 passengers in December. While this far exceeded December 2020 levels, when it was operating minimal capacity, it does represent a drop on the the more than a million passenger it flew in both October and November. That reflects the the impact of fresh travel restrictions imposed following the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Norwegian CE Geir Karlsen says: ”I am pleased that we have efficiently balanced the planning and implementation of our route network and production for December. Lower demand was factored into our schedules during Christmas and the New Year weekend, therefore I am pleased to report that load factors are good for December as well.” Norwegian recorded a load factor of 71.3% for December. That figure though is five points down on November load factor of 76.6%. European low-cost operators Ryanair and Wizz Air have also disclosed similar drop in load factors between November and December as a result of travel restrictions.<br/>