Norwegian Air swings to profit after restructuring

Norwegian Air reported on Friday a full-year profit for 2021 in a turnaround from losses suffered the previous year, and said booking trends point to busier travel ahead for Europe as COVID lockdown restrictions are lifted. The budget carrier's net result swung to a profit of 1.88b Norwegian crowns ($211.4m) last year from a loss of 23b crowns in 2020. Q4 revenue rose almost fourfold to 2.55b crowns from 670m the year before even as the Omicron outbreak affected business in late 2021. "We are looking forward to welcoming more customers on board heading into the busier spring and summer seasons," Norwegian Air CEO Geir Karlsen said. "Booking trends show customers are planning and booking earlier in anticipation that the positive recent developments in regards to COVID-19 vaccinations and restrictions will continue in the long term," the company said in its earnings report. This year, the company plans to increase the number of aircraft in its fleet to 70 from 51 at the end of 2021. At its pre-pandemic peak, Norwegian Air had more than 160 planes. In Q4, 3.1m passengers travelled with Norwegian Air, up from 2.5m in the third and far more than the 600,000 that flew with the airline in the final quarter of 2020.<br/>