Norwegian Air establishes a UK base at London Gatwick

• One of Europe’s fastest growing airlines bases aircraft at Gatwick
• Norwegian has increased flights from Gatwick by over a third since 2009
• Twelve new leisure routes and increased Scandinavian services offer greater choice for leisure and business travellers

2013-04-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — Norwegian Air Shuttle, one of Europe’s fastest-growing airlines, has chosen to establish a UK base at Gatwick and will launch 12 new short haul routes this month. The move comes as Norwegian continues to excel at Gatwick; the airline has increased weekly flights from 198 in 2009 and will offer 320 by the end of summer 2013.

Basing three aircraft at Gatwick enables Norwegian to offer more frequent services, as planes can be turned around from London several times a day. It also enables the airline to tap into the dynamic London market and Gatwick’s wide catchment area, which have helped ensure high load factors on Norwegian Air services to date.

The new routes, which include many of Europe’s major holiday hotspots, offer passengers more choice in terms of flight times and prices to popular destinations including the Canary Islands, Spain, the Balearic Islands, Italy, Croatia, Portugal and France.

The airline has also increased the volume of its daily flights to key Scandinavian business destinations. Critically, flights to Stockholm in Sweden and Oslo in Norway – key trading partners of the UK – now offer more choice in the first morning wave when business passengers prefer to travel.

Norwegian Air, which is now the third largest low-cost carrier in Europe, has seen rapid growth in recent years. Since 2005, the airline has added over 300 new routes and 85 new destinations, with its aircraft fleet increasing from 13 to 74 in the same time period. The airline, which flew 17.7 million passengers in 2012, has over 270 new aircraft on order – showing the scale of its ambition.

As well as offering an excellent range of destinations, served by one of Europe’s most environmentally-friendly fleets, Norwegian Air is the first airline to offer free in-flight WiFi on flights within Europe as well as video on demand, which allows passengers to rent movies and TV shows directly to their personal devices.

Gatwick and Norwegian Air have worked closely together since the airline started services from the airport in 2009, introducing innovative concepts such as Norwegian’s self-service baggage drop machines into its South Terminal check-in area. Making the whole check-in process fully automated and more efficient, more than 70 per cent of passengers travelling with the airline use the service.

Stewart Wingate, CEO, London Gatwick, said: “We are delighted that Norwegian Air has now established London Gatwick as its UK base, demonstrating the strength of what Gatwick has to offer its airlines. Starting with just a few routes into Gatwick in 2009, Norwegian Air has rapidly expanded, now offering a wide choice of business and leisure destinations to passengers. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Norwegian as it continues to open new routes to Europe and beyond.”

Bjørn Kjos, CEO, Norwegian Air, said: “We are very happy with the relationship we have with Gatwick since we moved all our London routes to the airport and see a major passenger potential in London and surrounding areas.

“By establishing a base in London, Norwegian will be positioned to meet future competition on short-haul routes within Europe. It will also enable us to better meet the head-on competition from Asian and European carriers in the long-haul market, which we are entering this spring. Growth and volumes are necessary to stay competitive in the airline industry.”

Notes to Editors

• Gatwick has a catchment area of 12 million people within an hour’s drive. It is also London’s best-connected airport to the rail network, linking it directly with 120 locations including London Victoria.
• Norwegian has increased its flights from London Gatwick to Stockholm from three to five daily and from London Gatwick to Oslo from three to four daily.
• Norwegian operates 145 direct flights from Gatwick to 21 destinations.
• New routes operated by Norwegian from London Gatwick from this month include: Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Tenerife (Canary Islands); Malaga, Alicante, Barcelona (Spain); Majorca (Balearic Islands); Dubrovnik, Split (Croatia); Faro (Portugal); Rome (Italy); Nice (France); Tromso (Norway)

Trade with Scandinavia

• According to the UK’s Office of National Statistics, in 2011 Sweden was the UK’s 10^th largest export market, with total exports to Sweden of around £6.3bn, Conversely, Sweden was the UK’s 12^th largest source of imports, amounting to around £7.7bn.
• According to the UKTI, Norway was the fourth largest European exporter to the UK in 2012 and the 11^th largest European export market for the UK in 2012.

About Norwegian Air Shuttle

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, commercially branded “Norwegian,” is a public low-cost airline noted on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The company is the second largest airline in Scandinavia, and has a route portfolio that stretches across Europe into North Africa and the Middle East. With competitive prices and customer friendly solutions and service, the company has experienced significant growth over the previous years. With 17.7 million passengers in 2012, Norwegian is the third largest low-cost airline in Europe. Norwegian currently operates 74 aircraft on 359 routes to more than 121 destinations.

• For media enquiries please contact + 47 815 11 816 or email post@norwegian.com

About Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the busiest single-runway airport in the world. It serves around 200 destinations in 90 countries for around 34 million passengers a year on short- and long-haul point-to-point services. It is also a major economic driver for the South-East region, generating around 23,000 on-airport jobs and a further 13,000 jobs through related activities. The airport is 28 miles south of London with excellent public transport links, including the Gatwick Express. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.

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