Norse Atlantic 2024 Annual Report: Situation Betters but Still in The Red

Most airlines at this time of the year are reporting their Q1 earnings, however, some as Norse and others based in the UK are reporting their full 2024 fiscal year report as it came to an end with March. What the results show is the airline’s situation getting better but still not enough to turn a profit and become sustainable on the long run.

The Good News: Revenue Up Over 2023 With More Passengers Carried

Let’s kick things off covering what the good news is that has come out of the Norse Atlantic 2024FY report. There a few key pieces of information that can be looked at in a positive light.

First of all the airline carried more passengers over the prior year. In the entirety of 2024FY Norse carried 1,460,245 passengers. That marks a 46% increase over the prior year when that figure stopped shy of the 1 million mark at 979,913. Norse Atlantic was more efficient also in filling its planes, with load factor jumping up by 10 p.p. from 74% to 84%.

In turn that increase of passengers also brought along an increase in overall revenue which was up by 34% in 2024 over the prior fiscal year. The raw figure for 2024 saw the airline generate revenue for 588.1 million USD

Looking at the fleet the airline also worked on reducing costs and generating additional streams of revenue. How did that is by further streamlining its fleet, getting rid of the 787-8 and maintaining a simplified all 787-9 fleet, also it wet-leased some of its planes to Neos for the 2024 winter season and then later to Indigo on a long term agreement.

But There’s Some Bad News Too From Norse Atlantic 2024FY Report

Despite having worked to straighten the course of the operation, there still much to be addressed. The airline is still burning through cash, having wrapped up its 2024FY with a 210.6 million USD loss.

Although passengers and load factor were both up in 2024 over 2023, the airline was able to extract less from each paying passenger. In 2023 Norse achieved a 393 USD revenue per passenger which, however, dropped by a significant margin in 2024 to 375 USD. Both airfares and ancillary revenue are accountable for the decrease, which airfares dropping faster.

During 2024 the nordic carrier raised extra equity of 14.3 million USD and also took out a shareholder loan worth 20 million USD which strengthened the carrier’s overall position, but will have to eventually have to be repaid.

Therefore the path to profitability is still long, once again confirming that sustainable long haul low cost operations are far from an easy undertaking. Something Norwegian Air Shuttle knows something about.