Norwegian Air Shuttle, which has been pouring hefty sums into new planes and new routes for the past several years surprised the industry Thursday by announcing that it had turned a €31.7 million profit in the second quarter. Industry observers had expected a loss of around €45 million.
Industry assumptions that Norwegian was losing money even as it has gained market share in the trans-Atlantic market had led to speculation that it might be for sale, and British Airways parent IAG actually made two bids to buy the discount airline.
Now Europe’s third-largest discount airline, and practically the inventor of low-cost trans-Atlantic non-stops, Norwegian saw revenue grow by 31.5% over last year, and carried 10 million passengers, up 16% over the same quarter last year.
Bjørn Kjos, CEO, took a victory lap over the results, saying that the airline would do even better as its growth drive flattens out, leading to lower start-up costs. “Going forward, the growth will slow down and we will reap what we have sown for the benefit of our customers, staff and shareholders.” he said.
Kos also said that Norwegian’s capital investment plans are scaling down a bit to match; investment targets of $1.9 billion this year and $2.6 billion the next will be lowered to $1.75 and $2.2 billion. Among immediate plans, the airline is staffing up a new hub at Copenhagen, with 80 new pilots to be added as the airline schedules more long- and short-distance flights from Denmark.
