Regional airline Widerøe gets stronger after being bought by Norwegian Air
Northern Europe’s largest regional airliner serves an extensive route network connecting the smaller airports to larger hubs from where Norwegian Air flies.
The deal to team up the two Norwegian-based companies was announced at a press conference in Oslo on Thursday. Norwegian Air will pay 1,1 billion kroner (€97 million) for the shares in Widerøe.
Widerøe’s name will remain on the green-painted propeller aircraft well-known in Northern Norway for safely bringing passengers to the remotest locations year around, including in challenging winter climate.
Widerøe is today the airliner in the European north with most take-offs and landings per day, about 400 per day. The airliner serves 40 domestic and a growing number of international destinations. In Finnmark region on top of Norway, Widerøe has daily flights to 10 airports. Norwegian Air flies 300 routes to 114 destinations in the Nordic countries and Europe.
“This is a milestone in Norwegian aviation history,” says Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.
“We are two Norwegian airlines that have lived side-by-side for many years. Together we know the aviation market in the country very well. Now, we want to create an even better and comprehensive offer for all our passengers, and we look forward to customers being able to travel easily and seamlessly across our route networks,” Karlsen says.
Widerøe is today cooperating with Scandinavian Airlines’ frequent flyer program, a cooperation that will be phased out as the company now is bought by SAS’s main competitor.
