Norwegian Air Shuttle

Norwegian's orders make it a candidate for first LCC to join a global alliance - or a Gulf carrier

In a distorted and fast changing airline world where partnerships and mergers are key to future survival, Nordic LCC, Norwegian is fast making itself one of the most attractive unattached propositions in the market.

Norwegian’s steady move towards becoming a long-haul Boeing 787 operator, alongside a growing European short-haul distribution system, promises to make it a serious low-cost network airline. The carrier’s recent deal to lock in access to a large fleet of 222 fuel-efficient short-haul aircraft over the second half of the decade (and at opportunistic prices) will transform a successful local LCC into a global force.

The order announcement therefore does a lot more than promise a bigger airline. Its potentially strong position now propels it into a new sphere where it becomes a candidate to be the first LCC member of one of the big three global alliances – until now the exclusive realm of legacy network airlines.

Norwegian Air Shuttle reports its strongest quarterly result with bigger target on corporate sector

Norwegian Air Shuttle reported a strong third quarter (three months to 30-Sep-2011) result, bolstered by strong gains in revenue, passenger numbers and careful cost control. The result for the third quarter, seasonally the carrier’s strongest, was Norwegian’s strongest ever quarterly result as the LCC continues to expand at breakneck pace in the Northern Europe region in which it now claims bases in all four major Nordic markets. The carrier is targeting a greater share of the corporate sector but will soon have to defend itself from full-service competitor SAS, who it has taken market share from.

Norwegian, the first European carrier of the third-quarter reporting season reported a stellar result amid a concerning quarter for the continent's airlines, which was characterised by downward revisions to earnings by many major carriers, although LCCs are faring much better.

European airline traffic and load factors up in Sep-2011, but outlook mixed for major carriers

European carriers continued to post year-on-year gains in passenger numbers and load factors across their short-haul networks in Sep-2011, with a few exceptions. Europe has posted surprisingly strong traffic results throughout 2011, in spite of weaker local business and consumer conditions. IATA (which represents only full-service carriers) noted in Aug-2011 that “cross-border travel within Europe has held up remarkably well”.

The good times continued to roll for most short-haul carriers in Sep-2011. On the earnings side, however, the outlook is mixed, with several European airlines expanding on their short-term expectations over the past month.

Intra-Europe traffic trends in the right direction, but outlook darkens for Europe’s carriers

European airlines continued to report positive passenger traffic results in Aug-2011, the final month of the summer peak travel period, when European airlines make the bulk of their revenue. Almost all of the major airlines reported year-on-year increases in load factor and passenger numbers, despite the increasingly worrying economic backdrop affecting business and consumer confidence across the region. If such uncertainty continues, European carriers may be in for a bumpy end to 2011.

European airlines post healthy traffic gains in Jul-2010. Will the summer be strong enough?

European airlines have been quite liberal with their capacity in 2011, even in the face of economic uncertainty and high fuel prices. The trend continued this summer and carriers have, on the whole, enjoyed strong traffic and load factor gains. But will it convert into profitability?

Icelandair Group sees strong organic growth in profitable second quarter

Icelandair Group reported strong organic growth in a profitable second quarter (three months ended 30-Jun-2011) despite a 49% year-on-year increase in fuel costs. The carrier stated the outlook looks “generally good” and it is “well positioned” to address challenges ahead, aided by a “sound” balance sheet, “very positive” liquidity and a “strong” competitive position in the market.