Norwegian Eyes Aggressive Fleet Growth After Posting Record Profit
Oslo, Norway — Norwegian Air Shuttle says it could expand its fleet faster than planned in the years ahead, pointing to built-in flexibility around its aging Boeing 737-800 leases as a tool for accelerating growth if demand warrants it.
Chief Executive Geir Karlsen made the remarks on Feb. 13 as the Scandinavian low-cost carrier unveiled its strongest financial performance in company history, reporting a full-year operating profit of NKr3.73 billion ($389 million) and an EBIT margin of 9.9 percent for 2025.
“We still have quite a few 737NGs — most of them are leased,” Karlsen told analysts during the earnings presentation. The airline retains the option to extend those lease agreements rather than returning the aircraft as newer jets arrive. “That’s an optionality we like.”
Norwegian expects to fly 95 aircraft this summer — 36 Boeing 737 Max 8s alongside 59 737-800s — with current projections calling for 104 jets by summer 2028, comprising 65 Max 8s and 39 older-generation narrowbodies. But Karlsen signaled the carrier isn’t locked into those numbers.
“We have the flexibility of potentially extending the leased aircraft, if we should wish, so we could grow more aggressively,” he said.
Record Earnings and a First Dividend
The growth talk comes at a time of considerable financial strength for the Oslo-based group. Norwegian swung to a NKr21 million profit in the fourth quarter, reversing a NKr93 million loss in the same period a year earlier. Full-year net profit hit NKr2.81 billion, roughly double the 2024 figure, driven by what management described as disciplined cost control and consistently strong operations. The airline group, which also includes regional carrier Widerøe following its 2024 acquisition, carried 27.3 million passengers in 2025 — up from 26.4 million the previous year. Fourth-quarter load factor climbed to 86 percent, a gain of nearly two percentage points year over year.
Revenue for the quarter rose 4 percent to NKr8.5 billion, while punctuality improved as well, with more than 83 percent of flights departing within 15 minutes of schedule. Perhaps most notably, the board proposed a dividend of NKr8.80 per share — totaling NKr844 million — marking the first time the airline has returned cash to shareholders in its history. Chief Financial Officer Hans-Jørgen Wibstad underscored the group’s balance sheet position, noting that Norwegian is essentially debt-free outside of aircraft financing. It ended the year with NKr10.1 billion in liquidity.
Fleet Renewal Picks Up Speed
Norwegian took delivery of its first Boeing 737 Max 8 from a direct order of 80 aircraft in October 2025 — an airframe registered SE-NAD that also became the first to carry the carrier’s refreshed branding. The airline originally ordered 50 Max 8s in 2022 and exercised options for 30 more in September 2025, with all deliveries slated for completion by 2031. The newer jets offer roughly 16 percent lower fuel consumption compared to the 737-800, a stat that’s central to Norwegian’s goal of cutting carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030. Karlsen has described the all-Max transition as essential to meeting that target, particularly when paired with a 20 percent sustainable aviation fuel blend.
In parallel, the airline has been buying up its own leased 737-800s where economically attractive. Norwegian purchased 13 such aircraft in 2025 and remains open to more of the same. “If opportunities come up on a similar basis we are more than welcoming that,” Karlsen said, noting the financial advantages of fleet ownership over leasing.
The Nordic Battlefield
The positive results come against a backdrop of intensifying competition across Scandinavia. SAS, Norwegian’s chief rival, recently won the Grand Travel Awards’ European Airline of the Year title and continues to invest heavily in its Copenhagen hub operation under its new ownership by Air France-KLM’s SkyTeam partner consortium. Karlsen acknowledged the dynamic directly. “SAS is our main competitor, and it’s a constant fight between the two airlines,” he said. Neither carrier is growing domestically in Norway at the moment, he noted, partly because rising airport and air traffic control charges from state operator Avinor are squeezing margins.
But Norwegian sees differentiation in its point-to-point network model. While SAS channels passengers through Copenhagen, Norwegian positions itself as the carrier offering the most direct routes from the Nordics to European destinations — close to 500 routes across both airlines in 2026. Corporate travel, which remains roughly 40 percent below pre-pandemic levels industry-wide, represents another frontier Norwegian is actively pursuing through its Spenn platform and Norwegian Reward loyalty program.
For 2026, Norwegian is guiding roughly 3 percent capacity growth, with seasonal variation: a 5 percent pullback in the first quarter offset by mid-single-digit increases through the rest of the year. Unit costs excluding fuel are expected to rise by a low single-digit percentage.
It’s a measured trajectory for an airline that once nearly collapsed under the weight of its own ambition on transatlantic routes. Whether the “optionality” Karlsen keeps emphasizing eventually translates into a bolder fleet push may depend less on the airline’s appetite for growth and more on whether Scandinavia’s travel market can absorb it.
Photo Credit: Niklas Jonasson
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