Norwegian UK joins Airlines UK

March 28th, 2017

The UK subsidiary of low-cost airline Norwegian has become the latest member of Airlines UK, the industry body that represents UK-registered carriers.

Norwegian is the third largest low-cost airline in Europe with 30 million annual passengers. The UK is playing an increasingly important role in this growth and in 2016 the airline flew 4.5 million passengers to and from 4 UK airports, with further new routes, increased flights and new jobs planned in the UK this year. To support this growth, the UK subsidiary ‘Norwegian UK’ (NUK) was established in November 2015. NUK will allow Norwegian to build on its growing UK operation by accessing traffic rights to a series of global markets.

Airlines UK is the trade body for UK-registered airlines, with members representing all sectors of the industry. In 2015, Airlines UK members employed 76,000 people and were responsible for some 99% of UK airline output, carrying 144 million passengers and 1 million tonnes of cargo. The twelve Airlines UK member airlines – including Norwegian – are: British Airways, CargoLogicAir, DHL, easyJet, Flybe, Jet2.com, Monarch, Norwegian UK, Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways, Titan Airways and Virgin Atlantic. The association works with governments, regulators and legislators to promote the interests of UK airlines, and with organisations across the sector to encourage long-term and sustainable growth in aviation. It formulates opinions and engages with stakeholders on a number of issues, including airport capacity, taxation, sustainable aviation, disruptive passengers and regulation and consumer protection.

Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of Airlines UK, said: “Norwegian are fast establishing a major presence in the UK, with current operations at 4 airports and exciting plans for future growth. As the association that advocates on behalf of UK-registered airlines we were keen to work more closely together with NUK to strengthen our campaigning voice and ensure that we are best representing the sector in discussions with governments and regulators. There is a huge amount going on at the moment – from ensuring that the Brexit negotiations between the UK and EU safeguard market access for airlines to campaigning for lower rates of taxation on our industry and working with Government to produce an aviation strategy that promotes sustainable, long-term growth across the whole of the country. Partnering with NUK will better enable us to do this and we look forward to working with them over the months and years ahead.”

Lennart Ceder, Chief Operating Officer at Norwegian UK, said: “Airlines UK has a crucial role in shaping the thriving British aviation industry so as Norwegian continues its rapid UK growth, we are delighted to become members. Norwegian believes not just in healthy competition but also healthy respect between airlines so we look forward to uniting with other UK carriers to tackle the many challenges and opportunities we all face together.