Norwegian has hit another benchmark on its path to recovery: 1 million passengers (again). The carrier notched just over a million passengers in November, the second consecutive month it has done so. Norwegian has made significant gains since last winter, which saw only 15% of the passenger capacity as this year. Let's take a closer look a the data.

Norwegian has restarted operations as a short-haul-focused airline, primarily based in its home region. Photo: Norwegian

Benchmark

In positive news for the carrier, Norwegian Air Shuttle reported monthly passenger figures above one million. To be specific, 1,005,380 passengers took to the skies with the airline in November. This is a slight dip from the 1.2 million who did so the month before but still represents a strong showing in the usually slower winter months for European airlines.

Compared to last year, November's statistics look particularly appealing. Norwegian has increased capacity by 541% year-on-year (in terms of ASKs), and revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) have increased by a whopping 1,007%. While these do look impressive, it's important to remember that much of Europe was in lockdown last year, and Norwegian was battling bankruptcy.

Norwegian has come a long way since the pandemic started and is now looking to chart out a new path to profitability. Photo: Norwegian

Load factors stood at 76.6% last month, a 6% drop compared to October. However, as CEO Geir Karlsen notes, the market has shifted to specific leisure routes now, saying,

"The result shows that we have done well in adapting capacity to customers' travel needs. Spain is one of the markets where we have seen a good development in bookings. In the last month, we have made it even easier for customers to book with confidence by extending the possibility of one fee-free change even on the most restricted tickets."

To Christmas or not?

December is usually a strong month for airlines, with millions of passengers crisscrossing the continent to get home for Christmas. However, COVID threatens to play spoilsport for the second year in a row, with the new Omicron variant bringing in a host of new restrictions by countries.

As cases increase across Europe, many countries have gone into partial or total lockdowns, hampering travel demand significantly. The new variant, which is thought to be more transmissible, could push more countries to shut down and restrict travel, a blow to Norwegian.

Norwegian 737 MAX
While December travel is important, Norwegian has its eye set on Summer 2022 to boost its recovery. Photo: Norwegian

For now, airlines will be closely watching the global response to the pandemic and how it will affect flights. Currently, countries have not snapped their borders shut to most countries except southern Africa. However, things change rapidly, and the outlook will likely be different 20 days from now.

Basics

As a part of its restructuring, Norwegian is back to its low-cost roots. The airline is exclusively flying the trusty Boeing 737-800, with the fleet size of 51 jets. However, as travel rebounds, the airline is looking to reinduct a lost partner, the 737 MAX. The MAX will make a return next summer as travel demand is set to surge, putting the airline back on expansion.

What do you think about Norwegian's performance? Let us know in the comments!