Norwegian Air January traffic yield up

OSLO, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle (NWC.OL) said on Feb. 6 that it carried 5.2 percent more passengers in January than it did a year ago and its yield, an indicator of average fare levels, also rose.

Norwegian Air, a rival of Scandinavian airline SAS (SAS.ST) (SAS.CO) (SASNOK.OL), said that the total number of passengers it carried in its Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Polish operations rose to 648,302 from 616,524.

The number of passengers fell in its Swedish hub, while it grew in the rest of its business. In 2008 the company carried 9.14 million passengers, a 32 percent increase on 2007.

“The increase in passenger traffic, production and passengers is related to the company’s expansion in established markets and to the introduction of new routes from February 2008 to January 2009,” the company said in a statement. It added that it also had made “adjustments in production capacity” and seen a “steady increase in passengers.”

Source: Reuters.com