310,000 passengers traveled with Widerøe in September. It is a new record. Only switched off in May this year, when 308,000 took the trip with the green and white planes on the short-haul network. Nevertheless, there is not only jubilation at the Norwegian airline. According to Widerøe themselves, the market prospects for the autumn and winter are so bad that they will now cut the offer. Corresponding to one flight from October onwards, which means fewer departures on selected routes. – We are not satisfied with what we see in the market going forward. The cooling in the Norwegian economy is very effective, and not surprisingly this also has an effect on the demand for air travel, says commercial director at Widerøe, Christian Skaug. These routes will be affected Widerøe has an agreement with the state which means that they are obliged to fly a certain amount on so-called foot routes. Commercial director in Widerøe, Christian Skaug. Photo: Widerøe AS This is to provide a good offer to those who live in rural areas, where the flight offer is very important for daily operations. Skaug says that these will be touched to a small extent. – It is primarily commercial routes that are affected. We can make some adjustments on certain tender routes, but we of course adhere to the tender requirements which state how much we will fly. These Widerøe routes will have fewer departures this winter Tromsø – Bodø Tromsø – Kirkenes Trondheim – Aalesund Trondheim – Tromsø Trondheim – Evenes Sandefjord – Copenhagen Trondheim – Kristiansand Widerøe believed that the market would approach 2019 levels after a long period of pandemic. War, rising prices for most things, and not least fuel, have meant that the company is still 5–7 per cent behind this level, says Skaug. – In addition, we have returned to normal tax levels from July, and the prices in the market are simply too low due to excess capacity with the other airlines as well. This ultimately leads to us choosing to cut some routes and some production. Expert: – Not surprisingly, Hans Jørgen Elnæs is a flight analyst at Winair, and estimates that this is something more airlines will do in the future. – There is no surprise or drama in this here, for us who follow the market closely. That the airlines should reduce capacity towards autumn and winter in the situation we are in makes sense. – Why are they doing it now? – It is assumed that we have just finished a comprehensive pandemic, the worst period the airlines have ever had. We have war in Europe, pressure on prices and pressure on people’s private finances. This means that demand is falling, and we have excess capacity in the Norwegian market. Elnæs says that there is a failure in the leisure and business market within aviation. The companies then choose to reduce capacity accordingly. Among other things, the newly started company Norse Atlantic Airways has also announced that they will greatly reduce the offer from Oslo to the USA. – This is also a result of declining demand. I expect that SAS, Norwegian and Flyr will make similar cuts in the future, says Elnæs. Hans Jørgen Elnæs, flight analyst at Winair, which he himself started. Photo: Marit Sirum-Eikre / news Norwegian agreement ready But even if Widerøe cuts its own flights, its customers will have more options from 25 October. Travel with Widerøe will then be able to be combined with Norwegian’s flights, an agreement that was concluded in July. – This is brilliant news for all those who depend on flights to be able to live and live in District Norway, says CEO Stein Nilsen in Widerøe. Overnight, our customers get far more options when traveling around Norway, and soon this will also apply to Norwegian’s many destinations abroad, he concludes.
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Widerøe cuts the offer despite passenger records – news Nordland
