Nobody can say that the guys at Norwegian’s Oslo base are sitting back and taking things easy.
Fleet expansion within Europe, which started some few years ago, has picked up tremendously and the carrier has made a name for itself in the scheduled and leisure market.
Now, the long-haul routes get a further boost for both passenger and cargo traffic.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the future flagship
Norwegian already operates eight of the smaller Boeing 787-8 aircraft on long-haul routes from their main base in Oslo and from London Gatwick Airport. Four new Boeing 787-9 aircraft will join
their fleet this year. This version can fly longer distances.
Norwegian has a total of 26 B787s on order, a good few of which are delivered already. The carrier is recently said to have stated that if London Gatwick were to receive a second runway, then
Norwegian could possibly see itself doubling their order for this long-haul variant, to 50 aircraft.
Gatwick has become another important hub for Norwegian.
Cargo capacity is boosted with new aircraft
Bjorn Erik Barman-Jenssen who is Head of Norwegian Cargo is seemingly very happy with this development.
The carrier recently moved ten electric Buddy cars and six Buddy bikes from Oslo to Toronto in the belly of one of their 787-8 Dreamliners on their Oslo - New York sector. The cars and bikes,
which will be featured in an upcoming Hollywood thriller, were then trucked from New York to Toronto.
The carrier now boasts a total of 38 direct long-haul routes with more to be added as the 787 fleet grows.
Recently, a report by the International Council on Clean Transportation rated Norwegian as being the most fuel-efficient airline operating on transatlantic routes.
The potential for Norwegian’s cargo business is growing.
The London Gatwick hub also offers long-haul flights to Boston and will add a new Gatwick-San Francisco (Oakland) as of May this year.
Oslo to Las Vegas operations will also start at the end of this year.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has, depending on sector length, capacity to carry between 15 - 20 tonnes of cargo each flight.
The Norwegian Cargo department is presently offering long-haul cargo space on flights to Bangkok, New York, Orlando, Oakland, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale.
Freight capacity is also being sold on all Scandinavian destinations and to a range of European cities.
If the airline were to add another 26 wide-body Boeings to their fleet then they will become a major air freight player.
John Mc Donagh
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