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Low-cost airline Norwegian reports record high traffic figures in 2016

Xinhua, January 6, 2017 Adjust font size:

Low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle reported on Thursday its highest ever passenger figures in a single year with almost 30 million passengers and a load factor of 88 percent in 2016.

The launch of 34 new routes and a substantial increase of intercontinental traffic contributed considerably to the growth, the company said in a statement.

The company carried almost 30 million passengers in 2016, 3.6 million more than the previous year. It also launched 34 new routes, mainly in the United States, Spain and Britain.

"The traffic figures show that our global strategy works and our competitiveness is strengthened. It is gratifying to see that more and more people choose to fly with us," Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos was quoted as saying.

December 2016 was also characterised by passenger growth and a solid load factor. Norwegian carried 2,145,043 passengers in December, up 20 percent from the same month last year.

"December has been a busy travel month in particularly in Scandinavia, Europe and the U.S.. Our Caribbean routes have been very well received, especially amongst American travellers who are flying from Boston, New York and Baltimore/Washington to the French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe," Kjos said.

Norwegian also received several international customer awards in 2016, including two SkyTrax Awards: "Europe's best low-cost carrier" for the fourth consecutive year and the "World's best low-cost long-haul airline" for the second year in a row, according to the statement. Endit