This marks the firm’s “best ever results in a year of strong international growth,” the company’s chief executive Bjørn Kjos said in a press release.
Norwegian’s net profit was $1.36 billion and passenger numbers grew 14 percent over the year to 29.3 million.
Both Air France and Norwegian have pledged to grow passenger numbers and increase routes in 2017, with a particular focus on long-haul routes.
Air France’s passenger numbers were up 4 percent in 2016 to 93.4 million. It plans to grow capacity by 3-3.5 percent in 2017 in order to regain the offensive in long-haul and to improve the performance in medium-haul,” the company said in a press note.
With geopolitical issues set to hamper airlines for the foreseeable future, currency fluctuations may however benefit the industry somewhat and Gagey is hoping that a stronger dollar against the euro will help the euro zone become “more attractive in 2017”.
