Norwegian reports record figures for July and in June SAS turned several years of poor results into profit.
There are many indications that Nordic aviation is now taking off, says Hans Jørgen Elnæs, aviation analyst at Winair.
Flight embarrassment, extreme heat and fires in Rhodes, among other places, have not deterred Scandinavians from heading to more southern latitudes during the airlines' important month of July.
”It is in our DNA as Scandinavians to travel to Mediterranean countries during the summer,” notes aviation analyst Hans Jørgen Elnæs.
He says that it will take a lot for Scandinavians to change their travel patterns and give up flying to Southern Europe.
”It is dark in the winter and the holiday season is normally in July. That is when many people plan to travel to warmer areas around the Mediterranean.”
Over 3.2 million passengers flew through state-owned Swedavia's airports in July. This was an increase of 14 percent compared to the same month last year. Hans Jørgen Elnæs predicts that SAS and Finnair, like Norwegian, will report good figures for July.
”"I am absolutely certain that SAS will report very good figures."”
Flights to Scandinavia have also been well-booked, but Hans Jørgen Elnæs does not believe that this has anything to do with tourists escaping the heat in warmer parts of the world. That type of tourism is likely to take a while, he says.
”"It is far too early to draw any conclusions about whether the changing climate will lead to more tourists in Scandinavia."”
Rather, it is the weak Swedish and Norwegian kronor that has made Scandinavia an attractive travel destination for Europeans, North Americans and Asians with bulging wallets.
Overall, the low-cost airline Norwegian had 2.3 million air passengers in July, which is 5 percent more than in the same period last year. The result is described as ”historically strong” by the Norwegian company.
Nevertheless, the comparison with 2022 is lame, as Norwegian's numbers got a boost last year when passengers rushed from SAS to Norwegian during the SAS strike.
”Excluding the strike, it is the best July for Norwegian since before the pandemic,” says Hans Jørgen Elnæs.
Apart from some cancellations to fire-stricken areas, summer air traffic has been smooth. There has been less disruption at airports and significantly fewer cancellations than last year, which indicates strong summer results, according to Hans Jørgen Elnæs.
Despite the fact that the climate issue is taking an increasingly larger place in the public debate, this autumn also looks promising for aviation. Several large companies in Europe are giving a positive picture of both the booking and price situation.
”Demand is high. Overall, things are looking good.”
TT: Are we seeing a turnaround for the Scandinavian airlines?
”Yes, we do.
Source:TT-Aftonbladet.se
