Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (OSE: NAS), trading as Norwegian, is a low-cost carrier, the second-largest airline in Scandinavia. It offers a high-frequency domestic flight schedule within Scandinavia and to business destinations such as London, and a low-frequency service to international destinations, transporting 15.7 million people in 2011, with a turnover in excess of NOK 10.5 billion. Norwegian is not a member of any airline alliance.

As of January 2012, Norwegian operates 63 aircraft, all Boeing 737s, and is known for its distinctive livery of white with a red nose, with individual portraits of noteworthy Scandinavians on the tail fin. The airline has bases at Oslo-Gardermoen, Copenhagen, Stockholm-Arlanda, Helsinki-Vantaa, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger and Sandefjord.

Norwegian intends starting long-haul operations in 2013 using Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. The launch routes will be from the Scandinavian capitals to New York and Bangkok.

History[link]

The routes operated on behalf of Braathens in Western Norway during the 1990s

A Fokker 50 operated by Norwegian Air Shuttle

Regional airline - 1993-2002[link]

Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) was founded on 22 January 1993 to take over the regional airline services produced by Busy Bee for Braathens in Western Norway. Busy Bee, founded in 1966, was a subsidiary of Braathens that operated a fleet of Fokker 50 aircraft for charter. This included the network of regional services between cities on the West Coast operated on wet lease for the mother company. Following the bankruptcy, NAS took over three leased Fokker 50 aircraft, and started operating from Bergen Airport, Flesland to Haugesund Airport, Karmøy, as well as from Bergen to Molde Airport, Årø or Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget and onwards to Trondheim Airport, Værnes. The company was established and owned by former Busy Bee employees and initially had a workforce of fifty.^[1][2] It was based in Bergen, but later established a technical base in Stavanger.^[3]

From 1 April 1994, the airline also began service from Bergen to Ålesund Airport, Vigra.^[4] In 1995, the company received its fourth Fokker 50s, and had a revenue of NOK 86.6 million and a profit of NOK 2.9 million. It flew 50 daily services.^[5] In 1996, the airline bid for the public service obligation (PSO) rotues along the West Coast in cooperation with Tyrolean Airways, but lost the tender to the incumbent Widerøe.^[6] NAS wanted NOK 267 million for the routes, while Widerøe only bid NOK 113 million.^[7]

By 1999, the company had six Fokker 50s and flew 500,000 passengeres on 20,000 flights.^[3][8] The company had a revenue of NOK 172 million and a profit of NOK 13 million. NAS submitted a new bid for the PSO routes in 1999, but did not win any.^[9] On 2 June 2000, NAS bought the helicopter operator Lufttransport from Helikopter Service.^[8] In 2000, the NAS fleet was expanded to seven Fokker 50s. The same year, Braathens threatened to terminate their agreements with NAS from 2003, and purchase smaller aircraft themselves for the routes and others.^[3] From 2 January 2001, several Braathens routes were terminated, including the NAS-operated services from Kristiansund to Trondheim and Molde. The routes from Bergen to Haugesund were reduced from five to three round trips, and the Bergen–Molde–Trondheim route was reduced from four to three.^[10] The cuts forced the airline to retire one of its aircraft.^[11]

In October 2001, NAS failed in bidding for the PSO route from Bodø to Røst.^[12] On 2 November, NAS bought the Swedish helicopter operator Ostermann.^[13] On 7 January 2002, NAS took over the responsibility for the route from Stavanger to Newcastle, flying two round trips per day. This was the first route where the airline did not wet lease the aircraft to Braathens, but instead operated the flights on their own risk. On the same day, Widerøe started a single round trip on the route.^[14]

After Braathens was bought by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in November 2001, NAS attempted to negotiate a deal where they took over the operations on a permanent basis for their own risk. This was rejected by SAS, who wanted their subsidiary SAS Commuter or Widerøe to take over. NAS had a 18-month cancellation time on their arrangement.^[15]

Low-cost carrier - 2002 onwards[link]

Boeing 737-300 taxiing to the runway, with Henrik Ibsen fin

Norwegian previously operated seven McDonnell Douglas MD-80 inherited from FlyNordic

Following the decision of SAS and Braathens to merge, NAS announced in April 2002 that it was planning to start domestic scheduled services as a low-cost carrier on the most trafficked routes. The company stated that this was conditional that the authorities banned frequent-flyer programs and hindered SAS from cross-subsidizing routes to underbid Norwegian on those routes.^[16]

From 1 September 2002, the airline re-branded as Norwegian.^[17]

The airline opened their second hub at Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport in Poland, flying to Central European destinations. There were two Boeing 737 operating from Warsaw.^[18] The base was closed in 2010. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA announced 24 April 2007 that they had bought 100% of the Swedish low-cost airline FlyNordic; becoming the largest low-cost airline in Scandinavia. As part of the deal with the former owner, Finnair got a 5% stake in Norwegian.^[19]

On 23 August 2007, Norwegian announced that it would initiate scheduled operations from 18 February 2008 at the new Moss Airport, Rygge south of Oslo,^[20] with the military airport also opening for commercial traffic and located at about the same distance from Oslo as Gardermoen. Norwegian's initial 14 scheduled routes from Rygge were Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Belgrade, Bergen, Budapest, Istanbul, London, Málaga, Marrakech, Palanga/Klaipeda, Szczecin, Valencia and Warsaw. Norwegian claims flights from Rygge will generally be cheaper than those from Gardermoen.^[21] In February 2008 Norwegian announced their first destination outside Europe, non-stop to Dubai from Oslo-Gardermoen and Stockholm-Arlanda.

After the bankruptcy of competitor Sterling Airlines, Norwegian announced that they would open a new hub at Copenhagen Airport and service the most profitable routes. Flights to Aalborg and Stockholm as well as additional flights to Oslo would start immediately, with flights to London, Amsterdam and Rome to follow "shortly after".^{[citation needed]}

On 30 August 2007, Norwegian ordered 42 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with an option for 42 more, an order worth US$ 3.1 billion.^[22] The planes will enter the fleet between 2008 and 2014, approximately 10 each year. The first 737-800 arrived at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, Norway, on 26 January 2008. It was registered LN-NOB, and has a tail picture of the Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg. Norwegian Air Shuttle ordered winglets on the new aircraft, and it was said^{[by whom?]} the aircraft would be stationed at Moss Airport, though most of its flights operate out of Oslo. The plane made its first scheduled flight on 1 February. LN-NOC, which was the second 737-800 that was entering the fleet, was bought used from Air Europa. A milestone was achieved on April 17, 2009, when Norwegian received LN-NOL, the 6000th 737 ever built.^[23]

In April 2010, Norwegian started flights from Oslo-Gardermoen and Stockholm to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. During early 2011, Norwegian will have three aircraft stationed there and will introduce domestic flights to Oulu Airport and Rovaniemi Airport on 31 March 2011. Starting in May, additional flights will begin to nine additional international destinations.^[24][25]

In October 2009, Norwegian announced it intended to start flights from Oslo to New York and Bangkok, requiring new intercontinental aircraft. In 2010, it said it was considering up to 15 intercontinental destinations from Scandinavia, and would also consider services to South America and Africa.^[26] On 8 November 2010, Norwegian announced that it had contracted to lease two new Boeing 787 Dreamliners from International Lease Finance Corporation, with delivery in 2012, was negotiating the leasing of additional aircraft, and was hoping to order a total of seven Dreamliners.^[27]

On 25 January 2012, Norwegian announced the largest purchase of aircraft in European history. The order consists of 22 Boeing 737-800, a firm order for 100 Boeing 737-Max8 and an option for another 100 Max8, Commitment for 100 Airbus A320 and an option for another 50 Airbus A320neo.^[28]

Corporate affairs[link]

Bjørn Kjos, Norwegian's CEO and largest shareholder

Ownership, management and subsidiaries[link]

The company is headed by chief executive officer and largest shareholder Bjørn Kjos, and the board is chaired by Bjørn H. Kise.^[29] The airline is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

The company's head office is in Diamanten, an office building at Fornebu, Bærum outside Oslo.^[30] Previously, the airline had its head office functions inside other buildings in Fornebu,^[31] but in 2010 moved to Diamanten, which had been the former Braathens, and later SAS Norway, head office.^[30]

The Norwegian Group consists of the parent company Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, and the fully owned subsidiaries Norwegian Air Shuttle Polska Sp.zo.o and Norwegian Air Shuttle Sweden AB. All flights are operated by the parent company Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA; the subsidiaries manage personnel, sales and marketing within certain geographical areas.

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA also owns 100% of the telephone company Call Norwegian AS, 99.9% of NAS Asset Management, 100% of NAS Asset Management Norway AS and 20% of Norwegian Finans Holding ASA (Bank Norwegian AS).

Norwegian is a member of European Low Fares Airline Association.

Key business trends[link]

The key trends for Norwegian over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 December)^[32][33]:

Destinations[link]

Map of Norwegian's domestic routes in Norway

Norwegian serves Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for both business and leisure markets. In total the airline operates 300 routes to 115 destinations in 30 countries on three continents.

Domestic, intra-Scandinavian and typical European business destinations have the most frequencies. The busiest route in Norwegians network is the Oslo to Bergen operation with 13 daily round-trips followed by the Oslo to Trondheim route with 12 daily round-trips. Norwegian’s largest non-Scandinavian operation is to London Gatwick with up to 14 daily round-trips.

Typical leisure destinations in Southern Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East are typically served once a day or less. Norwegians longest route is from Oslo to Dubai, a distance of 5,133 kilometres, which is also the second longest scheduled 737 route in the world.

Domestic network[link]

Norwegian operates an extensive domestic network within Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

For topographic and demographic reasons, the domestic market in Norway is one of the largest air travel markets in the Nordic region, and is also significant in European terms. The destinations served by Norwegian are generally divided by mountain ranges, unsheltered plains and fjords. Road and railroad networks are scant because of rather unwelcoming geographical conditions, and connections are unpredictable due to weather during mid-winter. Combined with vast distances, air travel is by far the most efficient mode of transportation.

The Finnish and Swedish domestic markets are to a large extent characterized by equivalent properties to that of the Norwegian domestic market. Distances within Denmark are generally short and the landscape flat, but the country is divided by water making rail and road distances long and thus air transportation efficient.

International network[link]

Intra-Scandinavian routes, and in particular “the capital triangle” between Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen, is attractive due to extensive traffic both of business and leisure travellers. Other modes of transportation are generally inefficient and slow between these cities.^{[citation needed]}

Scandinavia’s geographical placing in the far north corner of Europe also makes air travel the most efficient mode of transportation to continental Europe. Traffic to continental Europe is further enhanced by the demographics in the Scandinavian market, with considerable international trade and an extensive tradition for leisure travel.

Fleet[link]

Boeing 737-800

Boeing 737-300

Current fleet[link]

As of March 2012, the Norwegian Air Shuttle fleet consists of 64 single-aisle jet aircraft with an average age of 6 years.^[34][35] The company has opted to modernize the fleet with state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft. A total of 74 such aircraft will be delivered from 2008 to 2014. The total order is for 78 aircraft of this type to be delivered by 2018, with a further 12 aircraft on purchase options. In addition, currently 23 such aircraft are held on lease contracts. On 25 January 2012, Norwegian announced that they had placed orders for 100 Airbus 320neo, 100 Boeing 737MAX and 22 Boeing 737-800 aircraft. It has also signed options for an additional 50 Airbus 320neo and 100 Boeing 737MAX aircraft.^[36][37]

The -800 are equipped with winglets and CFM 56-7B26 engines. All -800s have a longer range than the -300, allowing 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km; 2,800 mi). They are the only craft used to the Middle East, Africa and the Canary Islands; otherwise both types are used throughout the network, plus all domestic services in Sweden.^[39] In 2011, Norwegian Air Shuttle will receive 16 new Boeing -800. For 2012, 2013, and 2014 the corresponding figures are 13, 10, and 11, respectively.^[40]

Norwegian's aircraft livery is white with a signal red nose. The vertical tail plane feature portraits of historically distinctive Norwegians, Swedes and Danes which together with the red nose signals the airline's change-maker spirit.^[41] Norwegian has also operated a single aircraft in the an advertisement livery for the insurance company Silver.^[42]

Historic fleet[link]

A Fokker 50 at Trondheim Airport, Værnes in 1999

From 1993 to 2002, the company solely operated Fokker F-50 turbo-prop aircraft primarily as a commuter airline, having a total fleet of six in 2002. The company ceased all F-50 operations at the end of 2003 in order to focus on the Boeing 737-300 jet operations and sold the last three of the Fokker F-50 in early 2004. For a limited period in the early years of the 737 operation Norwegian operated a 737-500 as an interim solution while waiting for 737-300 deliveries. Following the acquisition of Swedish low cost airline FlyNordic in 2007, Norwegian inherited eight MD-80 aircraft. The last of the MD-80 aircraft was phased out two years later.

Operations and services[link]

Boeing 737-800 interior

All flight operations are performed under one single air operator's certificate (AOC) (ICAO airline designator NAX). The Group also held one Swedish AOC (ICAO airline designator NDC) up until 2009, but the double AOC operation was discontinued for efficiency purposes^{[citation needed]}. The main technical base is at Stavanger, although heavy maintenance (C/D checks) and engine maintenance are put out on tender.^{[citation needed]} Norwegian purchases all aircraft ground handling from third parties; in Norway, these are Røros Flyservice and Norport Handling.^{[citation needed]}

Norwegian, as a low-cost airline, operates aircraft with all-economy class seating. Surcharges are taken for on-board food and drinks, check-in baggage, payment by credit card and other non-core services.^[46]

The airline runs two frequent flyer programs: Norwegian Reward is for travellers, who earn cash point based on a percent of cash paid for tickets and the ticket class. Corporate Reward allows companies to redeem cash points on a similar basis. By law, frequent flyer points cannot be collected on domestic flights in Norway.^[47]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Norwegian Air Shuttle

	Norway portal
	Companies portal
	Aviation portal

• Official website
• Route Map

An air shuttle is a scheduled airline service that operates a frequent, regular service on short routes with a simplified fare and class structure. Although no exact specifications exist, frequency is normally once per hour or more often and travel time is typically an hour or less, although longer and less frequent services may still be considered shuttles. Network airlines may choose to operate shuttle services as one-class or no-frill services, operating similar to low-cost airlines.

Some shuttle services are established by governments, businesses, or organizations which require a high level of service in an otherwise thin corridor. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration's William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey operates an air shuttle to ferry FAA employees to and from Reagan National Airport (DCA) near Washington, DC four days a week.

Certain dense markets may support commercial shuttles. The pioneer service was the Eastern Air Shuttle, which offered no-frills, hourly flights connecting LaGuardia Airport in New York City with Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. Examples of present-day commercial air shuttle services include:

• US Airways Shuttle
• Delta Shuttle
• Horizon Air service between Seattle Tacoma International Airport and Portland International Airport
• Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways service between Tokyo (Tokyo International Airport, Narita International Airport) and Osaka (Osaka International Airport, Kansai International Airport, Kobe Airport) in Japan
• Air Canada RapidAir [1] service between Toronto and Montreal as well as Toronto and Ottawa in Canada
• TAM, GOL and Varig's Ponte Aérea (Air Bridge) service between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
• Iberia Puente Aéreo service between Madrid and Barcelona in Spain every 30 minutes.
• Air France La Navette service offers 80 flights a day from Paris-Orly Airport to Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, and Toulouse, with a flight every 30–60 minutes. This service is used by more than 5.6 million travellers every year.
• Qantas and QantasLink 'CityFlyer' service offers flights between major Australian capital cities on weekdays, with complimentary alcoholic afternoon drinks, newspapers, flexible fares and more frequent schedules.
• Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and other minor Korean airlines' service between Gimpo International Airport and Jeju International Airport. The busiest air route in Asia.^{[citation needed]}
• Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Silkair code-share a Kuala Lumpur- Singapore shuttle every hour.
• Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Norwegian Air Shuttle provide a shuttle service between the Norwegian airports of Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and Bergen Airport, Flesland; Trondheim Airport, Værnes and Stavanger Airport, Sola with up to 30-minute headways.
• SAS also provides an international shuttle on the triangular route between Oslo Airport, Gardermoen (Norway), Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (Sweden) and Copenhagen Airport (Denmark) with up to hourly headways.
• The routes between Hong Kong and Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China), and between Hong Kong and Bangkok, Thailand, are served by multiple carriers providing frequent service with frequency less than an hour during day time.

The busiest air routes in the world appear to involve pairs of large cities in close proximity, but which rely more on air transport due to a lack of High Speed Rail, and the distance is large enough to discourage car driving. Several of the involved airports are located on islands without road connection to the mainland.

See also[link]

• World's busiest passenger air routes