Norwegian Air Shuttle in 2025: The Best Year in Its History and Widerøe's Return to the Family

History and positioning

After the financial restructuring that followed the pandemic, which led to the definitive abandonment of its intercontinental long-haul ambitions, Norwegian focused exclusively on the short- and medium-haul low-cost model in Europe. The acquisition of Widerøe, completed in January 2024, brought the two main Norwegian airlines back under the same group, while keeping Widerøe as a separate business unit, independent in its operational management.

The fleet

2025 marked a key stage in fleet renewal: the first of eighty Boeing 737 MAX 8s on order was delivered, with the remaining seventy-nine arriving through 2031. At the same time, the share of owned aircraft (as opposed to leased) rose from four to seventeen, a sign of greater financial strength.

Routes and network

The network remains focused on point-to-point connections in Europe from the Nordic bases, without the long-haul transatlantic routes that characterized the airline before the restructuring.

Fares and baggage

The fare model follows the classic low-cost scheme, with multi-level fare families that separate carry-on baggage, checked baggage and seat selection as extras purchasable separately from the base fare.

What passengers say

• The most solid figure for 2025 is operational rather than anecdotal: punctuality rose to 83.2% from 78.4% in 2024, with a flight regularity of 99.6%.
• The improvement in the accounts also led to a 33% increase in the dividend proposed to shareholders compared with the previous year, a sign of restored stability that is also reflected in the passengers' operational experience.

Norwegian Air Shuttle is today a solid choice for those flying on short- and medium-haul European routes from the Nordic bases, with punctuality markedly improved compared with the restructuring years. It remains less suitable for anyone looking for a direct intercontinental connection, an ambition the group has definitively abandoned.

If your itinerary combines a Norwegian flight with a regional Widerøe connection, check the baggage rules for each segment separately anyway: the two airlines remain distinct operating units despite the common ownership.