In May 2014, Norwegian opted for
another variant of the Dreamliner when it
signed lease deals for three 787-9s. Two will
enter service in 2016 and the third in 2017.
On November 11, ight DY631 from
Bergen to Oslo became Norwegian’s rst
service to use a mixture of biofuel and
conventional fuel. It led to a reduction in
emissions of more than 40% compared
with a similar ight using regular fuel. A
spokesperson for the airline said: “Norwegian
currently don’t use biofuel as it is not
commercially available at a competitive price
but the ight in November 2014 demonstrates
the future capabilities and the industry’s
shared commitment to make sustainable
biofuel more easily available for airlines.”
Norwegian achieved the self-imposed
goal of a 30% reduction in CO2 from 2008
to 2015. The biggest contribution to that
success came from new aircraft to its
eet, which produce fewer emissions. An
airline press release stated: “Through the
development of new technologies and
frameworks, Norwegian wants to help make
aviation carbon neutral by 2050.”
The last full-year nancial results
available are for 2014, when Norwegian
posted a net loss of NOK 1,050m (£80.6m)
on revenues of NOK 19.5bn (£1.5bn),
compared with a net pro t of NOK 322m
(£24.7m) the previous year.
In the seven years up to 2014, the
company had made a pro t – so why the
downturn? Major investments for future
expansion and the signi cant cost of NOK
459m (£35.2m) of fuel hedging for 2015
had a big impact on the gures, though
Norwegian says it had strong revenue and
capacity growth. The average load factor in
2014 was 81% (up 3% on the previous 12
months) and the airline carried 24m people,
up 16%.
Last year was another busy period of
expansion for the airline, though it also
faced a major problem. On February 28 an
11-day strike began, involving Norwegian’s
Scandinavian pilots, which led to thecancellation of almost 2,000 ights.
The dispute was over concerns that
employment terms in Norway, Denmark and
Sweden would be amended in a bid to cut
costs and bring conditions more into line
with what the airline was offering elsewhere
in Europe. The pilots wanted terms agreed
with the parent group rather than their
employers, the subsidiary Norwegian Air
Norway. Eventually a deal was hammered
out, still with the subsidiary, but with some
concessions to the pilots.
Norwegian said in a press release
on March 10: “With the new collective
agreement, the company has established
a contributory pension (innskuddspensjon)
for the pilots, a reduced Loss of Licence
insurance, as well as a more exible work
schedule.“The Scandinavian pilots’ collective
agreement has some of the best terms in the
industry. The agreement has been signed
with the Scandinavian pilot companies in
which they are hired.
“In addition, the Norwegian Group
has given an extraordinary guarantee of
employment for all the pilots employed in
Scandinavia. Such a guarantee is unique
in Scandinavia, especially in a competitive
industry like aviation. This guarantee is valid
until October 2017.”
After this temporary setback the carrier
pushed on with its growth. Last October
it started domestic Spanish services with
ights from Madrid to Gran Canaria and
Tenerife North; and from Barcelona, ights to
the same two airports in the Canary Islands
plus Fuerteventura. Malaga has a link to
Gran Canaria and Tenerife South.
Speaking in Madrid on July 9, Kjos
emphasised the importance of Spain to
the company: “Figures speak volumes –
Norwegian offers 133 routes in and out of 15
Spanish airports, of which six are operating
bases, and employs almost 900 people in
the country.
“One- fth of our entire eet is based
here. The launch of this rst batch of seven
domestic routes makes our commitment to
Spain all the more evident.”
On October 22, Norwegian announced an
order for 19 more 787-9s (plus ten options),
which will bring its total of 787-8s and -9s to
38.
In November the airline was granted a
UK Air Operator Certi cate (AOC), which,
it says, opens up “bilateral traffic rights to
a series of potential new routes including
Asia, South America and South Africa”. This
British arm of the company will operate
under the name Norwegian UK from the rst
quarter of this year.
As well as Gatwick (where the carrier has
ten aircraft based), the airline also ies from
Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester,
and in 2014 ew 3.9m UK passengers to 34
destinations.http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 61A close-up of the tail on Boeing 737-800,
LN-DYC. Since 2010 Norwegian has been
painting notable Nordic gures on the tails
of its aircraft. AirTeamImages.com/Danish
Aviation PhotoNorwegian supports the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – sending,
for example, a Boeing 737-800 loaded with school supplies and emergency aid
from Copenhagen to Amman on November 2 to help Syrian refugee children.
Its backing is illustrated by the extra titles on this Boeing 737-300. Norwegian58-62_norwegiansDC.mfDC.mf.indd 61 07/01/2016 11:46