Norwegian Air Shuttle

History

Norwegian Air Shuttle was founded on 22 January 1993 to take over regional feeder routes in western Norway for Braathens SAFE, initially flying leased Fokker 50s out of Bergen. After a management buyout in 2002, it relaunched as a low-cost carrier, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2003, and expanded aggressively across Scandinavia, acquiring Swedish carrier FlyNordic in 2007 to become the region's largest budget airline. In 2013 it took a bold gamble on long-haul low-cost flying with Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Bangkok and New York, a strategy that drove rapid growth but also heavy debt. The 2019 Boeing 737 MAX grounding and the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the airline into severe crisis, forcing it to exit long-haul flying entirely, cut thousands of jobs, and undergo restructuring proceedings in Ireland and the United States before re-emerging in May 2021 as a slimmed-down, all-Boeing 737 short-haul carrier. Today it remains an independent, publicly listed Norwegian airline with the Norwegian state and aircraft lessors AerCap and BOC Aviation among its largest shareholders.

Current Operations

Norwegian now operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet (a mix of 737-800s and newer 737 MAX 8s) with further MAX aircraft on order, focused exclusively on short- and medium-haul routes across Scandinavia, Europe, and North Africa. The airline serves roughly 100 destinations from bases including Oslo, Stockholm Arlanda, Copenhagen, Bergen, and Helsinki, with London Gatwick as its largest base outside Scandinavia. It remains the largest airline based in Scandinavia by passenger numbers, having rebuilt profitability since its 2021 restructuring through a leaner, point-to-point low-cost model. Recent years have seen continued fleet renewal with MAX deliveries and a steady focus on core Nordic and European leisure and business markets rather than a return to long-haul flying.

Last verified 2026-08-22· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.

Serves These Profiled Airports48

Sample Routes8