The airline, which flies from Gatwick to the US, Cape Town and – starting later this year – Bangkok, is cutting the number of aircraft it operates in a bid to become profitable. It will operate eight aircraft this year instead of its full fleet of 15.
Chief executive Bjorn Tore Larsen said: “That impacts our schedule network – we will keep the eight best lines of flying [routes],” he said, but gave no details. However, routes from Gatwick to Los Angeles and Miami do not currently appear in Norse’s winter schedules.
A Norse spokesperson told TTG: "Our UK route schedule for summer and winter, as listed on our website, is set up to serve our travellers’ needs.
"Like all airlines, we assess our route network to ensure it meets the needs of our passengers and market demands."
Norse on Wednesday (26 February) revealed it made a pre-tax loss of $135 million (£106.7 million) last year. This followed deficits of £131 million in 2023 and £136 million in 2022.
However, Tore Larsen insisted: “We have definitely turned the tide in many ways,” adding the carrier had made its first winter month profit in December. He stressed: “We are bound for a good 2025, we expect it to be profitable.”
Tore Larsen said he expected average load factors of around 90% “every month this year”, but not at the expense of discounting. Norse’s average fare in the last quarter of 2024 was £212, with ancillary sales of £58.
Norse’s chief announced four aircraft have been leased to India’s IndiGo, which plans to use them to launch long-haul routes, including to the UK. However these deals do not start until the second half of this year.
The agreement is for a minimum of six months, and can be extended to 18 months. Tore Larsen said: “We think it is going to be well beyond the six-month period.”
Another three Boeing 787s have already been returned to leasing companies. Norse had hoped to lease out another two aircraft, but Tore Larsen said this could not be counted on.
Tore Larsen said 2025 sales and load factors were “well ahead of last year”, with the number of tickets sold up by 38% and average ticket price up by 13%.
Norse hopes to achieve annual savings of $40 million by the autumn, including through the closure of some crew bases. Tore Larsen claimed the airline already had “the lowest costs in the industry”.
