Norse Atlantic Airways reported record passenger loads in the second quarter but flagged softer transatlantic yields.
In the three months to June 30, the carrier achieved a 97% load factor—an increase of 15 percentage points year on year—and carried 553,000 passengers, up 36%. Despite the growth, average revenue per passenger slipped to $372 from $380 a year earlier, reflecting fare bundling changes for hand luggage and weaker pricing across the Atlantic.
“Going into the 2025 summer season, there has been some softness in the transatlantic market,” CEO Bjørn Tore Larsen said, adding that demand remains strong for Asia and Africa services during the fall and winter.
In recent weeks, Norse announced new long-haul services designed to capture that demand: Manchester, England–Bangkok flights starting Nov. 26, as well as Oslo–Phuket, Thailand, and Stockholm–Phuket routes beginning in early December. Each will operate weekly.
From early 2026, Norse plans to operate six Boeing 787-9s in its own scheduled network while placing another six under ACMI contracts with IndiGo. Larsen told investors that retained routes generate “twice as high” a cash contribution as those being dropped.
“We are obviously keeping the most lucrative routes—the most profitable routes,” Larsen said. “The charter business is profitable for us, and it is more profitable than the least profitable routes we have been flying ourselves.”
Analysis of OAG Schedules Analyser data shows that routes being suspended during the winter 2025-26 season include Paris Charles de Gaulle–New York John F. Kennedy and London Gatwick–Miami.
Larsen said the airline expects the business model changes to result in higher utilization of its 787-9 fleet, targeting 16 hr. per day on average by next year. He described that as “close to world-leading utilization.”
Related Content
