More record profits, and some losses

State oil company Statoil reported more record profits on Tuesday after another year of high oil prices and major discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Two other big companies in which the state has ownership stakes, though, reported some large losses. Statoil remains on a roll, pumping oil revenues and profits into the state treasury [...]

Authorities to lift airline bonus ban on some domestic routes

Airlines serving Norway’s busiest domestic routes will likely be able to relaunch bonus programs that were banned in 2002. Competition authorities warn, however, that lifting the ban may lead to higher fares. The state banned bonus programs within Norway 10 years ago mostly because of fears they gave Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) an unfair advantage over [...]

Royals forced to flee SAS flight

Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were among 135 passengers ordered to evacuate an Oslo-bound Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight when it suddenly ran into trouble on take-off Sunday morning. The drama at Copenhagen’s Kastrup Airport left all of them shaken but SAS denied there was any real danger. Passengers told Norwegian media that [...]

Huge airline order sends stock flying

Trading on the Oslo Stock Exchange took off Wednesday morning after news broke that locally based airline Norwegian Air was ordering 222 new aircraft from both Boeing and Airbus, and also has an option to order 150 more. Norwegian had already been expanding, and can now boast the biggest airline deal ever struck in Europe. [...]

SAS and OSL ‘best in Europe’

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Oslo’s main airport at Gardermoen (OSL) have once again topped a ranking of international airports and the carriers serving them. OSL was ranked as Europe’s most punctual major airport, while SAS was ranked as most punctual and reliable. The ranking, compiled by flight information service FlightStats, reported that SAS achieved an [...]

Runway closure stranded thousands

Oslo’s main airport at Gardermoen (OSL) was forced to suspend all flight departures and landings Monday morning, because of rain that froze upon hitting the runways. The complete halt in air traffic stranded thousands and caused major disruption throughout the day. The airport re-opened at 10am but operations were severely restricted. Jo Kobro, information chief [...]

Russia threatened SAS

Conflicts over landing times and routes for Russian airline Aeroflot and Scandinavian Airlines SAS led to plenty of turbulence between Russian and Norwegian aviation officials earlier this autumn. At one point, reported Aftenposten last week, the Russians threatened to close their air space to SAS if Aeroflot didn’t get the routes it wanted in and [...]

Clearer skies for SAS

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), plagued by heavy losses for years, could report some more profits on Tuesday that indicate its lengthy and ongoing restructuring is finally yielding some positive results. The results, though, were weaker than analysts had expected. SAS executives said the airline logged pre-tax earnings of SEK 276 million in the third quarter, a [...]

Radar trouble delays flights

Problems with an external radar system that guides airline traffic in southeastern Norway caused delays during the weekend and was still slowing down flight schedules on Monday. Specialists were working to correct the problem with the Haukåsen radar at Haugerud in Oslo, which was out of service because of the mechanical problems. That left air [...]

SAS rehiring pilots

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has seen an improvement in its fortunes and announced it will be rehiring 130 pilots by next summer. The airline, plagued by heavy losses for years as the state-owned carrier faced competition from cut-rate airlines lacking SAS’ overhead, is now able to expand routes and departures. That means it needs to boost [...]

Faulty radar delays flights

Airline passengers in western Norway were hit by flight delays on Thursday, because of problems with the radar system at an air traffic control center near Stavanger. The problems forced delays of flights to and from Stavanger, Bergen and Haugesund. The problems were later corrected but it was expected to take several hours before traffic [...]

Norwegian Air flying high, too

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) reported good results earlier this month and now its arch-rival in Norway, Norwegian Air, has done the same. Norwegian is making a lot of money on the fees it charges for everything from seat reservations to checking luggage, something SAS doesn’t do but sometimes still comes out cheaper. The two airlines have [...]

Flying Norwegians set more records

Both Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Norway’s gateway airport (Oslo Lufthavn Gardermoen, OSL) could report strong numbers this week, showing that the Norwegian public is flying more than ever before. For long-troubled SAS, the news was perhaps especially welcome. SAS’ total passenger traffic rose 4.9 percent in June compared to June of last year. The increase [...]

Airline traffic mostly back to normal

Norwegian air space and airports were all open on Wednesday with traffic expected to mostly keep “running as normal” throughout the day, according to aviation officials. Some closures in Europe forced various flight cancellations and delays, though, as ash from Iceland’s latest volcanic eruption spread south to the continent. Airline traffic was halted in and [...]

Flights running, uncertainty remains

Many flights were taking off and landing in Norway on Tuesday, but the unpredictable clouds of ash from Iceland’s latest volcanic eruption left aviation officials unsure how long “ordinary” airline traffic could continue. “There are changes coming all the time,” Sindre Ånonsen of civil aviation authority Avinor told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) late Tuesday afternoon. Current [...]

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