Our Story
Our Story
The Norwegian story began almost three decades ago - we were founded in 1993 but only began operating as a low-cost carrier with Boeing 737 aircraft in 2002. Our core values have remained the same since the beginning – to offer affordable fares for all and to allow customers to travel the smart way by offering value and choice throughout their journey.
The Norwegian brand expanded across the globe as the airline launched short haul services across Europe and then entered the long-haul sector serving the US, Asia and South America. In 2018 the company changed course to focus on core destinations and the right sizing of the airline in response to customer demand and global industry trends.
The rapid global spread of COVID-19 throughout 2020 and into 2021 accelerated this process and in January 2021 the company announced a simplified business structure and a dedicated short haul only network concentrating on a broad range of domestic routes in Norway, across the Nordics and to key European destinations.
Today, Norwegian still stands for excellent service and great value
Our route network focuses on connecting a broad range of domestic routes in Norway, across the Nordics and key European destinations. We will explore new ancillaries that provide our customers with greater choice and flexibility to allow them to travel at a cost and service level that suits their individual needs.
We will continue to support jobs, tourism and the wider economies in the destinations that we serve by providing vital air links that will benefit the leisure, business and trade industries. We will fortify the Nordics as the cornerstone of the Norwegian business strategy.
Sustainability is at the heart of everything that we do
We operate a modern and fuel-efficient fleet consisting of Boeing 737 series aircraft across our short haul network.
Flying brings people together and is of great value to society. But flying also comes at a cost to our environment. At Norwegian we fly smart, with one of the newest fleets in the industry.
Our low-cost business model reduces fuel and resource consumption – cutting both ticket prices and carbon emissions at the same time.
We were the first airline in the world to join the UN Climate Secretariat’s climate action-initiative in 2019, pledging to work systematically to become carbon neutral by 2050.
We currently offset over 40 % of our total CO2-emissions through the EU Emission Trading System.
In 2019 we also launched a voluntary offsetting option for our customers with our partner CHOOOSE to make it easy for customers to offset their carbon footprint when buying a ticket.
We use the latest weather information from AVTECH which provides Norwegian’s pilots with advanced data, enabling them to optimize the flight paths for improved fuel efficiency reducing CO2 emissions.
In 2019 Norwegian implemented SkyBreathe which is another fuel and emission reducing tool. The SkyBreathe application leverages Big Data algorithms developed through an EU-funded Clean Sky Project.
We aim to become the most carbon and resource efficient airline in the world by adopting new technology when commercially available.
We continue to win best in class awards
We have an impressive track record of winning coveted customer awards across the world. From being voted for six consecutive years as Europe’s Best Low-Cost airline by Skytrax to winning Airline Program of the Year Europe & Africa for the fourth consecutive year at the 2020 Freddie Awards.
In total Norwegian has won over 55 awards for our service, product and innovation in the industry since 2012.
When you choose Norwegian you can rest assured that you are travelling with a best in class airline recognized by customers and industry peers alike.
A service and product designed for the customer
Our customers want value, choice and flexibility. We have designed our services and products to provide low fares while offering the highest standards. Passengers can choose different fare types to suit their requirements and add on board meals, luggage and preferred seating if they wish to do so.
Our short haul aircraft have a modern and spacious cabin equipped with free Wi-Fi allowing you to stay connected for leisure or business from gate to gate.
Fun Facts
- Our aircraft are referred to as "Red Nose" because the front (the "nose") is painted red
- The tail fins on our aircraft feature a portrait of a hero that has challenged the established and inspired others
- We taught Norway’s air travellers to book their flights online
- In 2021, Norwegian customers ranked us as the most sustainable brand amongst airlines in the Europen brand survey, Sustainable Brand Index
