New Routes of the Day (12 December 2024): Norwegian’s new routes to Dubai DWC

Norwegian introduced its first of three new routes to Dubai DWC on Thursday 12 December. It will serve the Emirati city on a seasonal winter basis from its three hubs.

• 12 December: Copenhagen (3-weekly)
• 13 December: Stockholm ARN (2-weekly)
• 15 December: Oslo OSL (2-weekly)

The new services will be maintained with the 189-seat 737 MAX 8 aircraft. The airline faces no direct competition on any of the three routes, however, Emirates serves the three capital cities from its Dubai DXB hub daily.

What they said

Magnus Thome Maursund, Commercial Director at Norwegian, said: “It is gratifying to be able to offer a large and varied route network during the winter months – and especially exciting to launch new, interesting destinations that have been highly anticipated by our customers. We believe these new routes will be popular among Scandinavians. It also provides UAE residents with a non-stop low-cost possibility to visit Europe’s High North.”

Norwegian adds 27 new routes this winter

Norwegian is growing its winter capacity significantly. Analysis of Cirium schedules data shows the carrier is expected to offer almost 9% more seats in Q1 2025 than in Q1 2024. This growth is not spread evenly across its network, but includes its three largest hubs – Oslo OSL, Copenhagen and Stockholm ARN.

During Q1 2025, Norwegian has 1.5 million departing seats at Oslo OSL, representing an increase of 5.7% compared to the same quarter the previous year. Growth in Copenhagen will amount to 10.1% for a total of 566,000 departing seats, while Stockholm ARN will register a 10.7% capacity increase, amounting to 480,000 seats.

Over W24/25, Norwegian is adding 27 new routes. Apart from Dubai DWC, they include Agadir and Hurghada, in addition to routes from European cities to popular winter holiday destinations such as Tromsø and Harstad/Narvik.

Overall production for Norwegian in 2024 is forecast to grow by approximately 12% compared to the previous year. Overall growth is projected to slow down for the upcoming year due to aircraft delivery delays from Boeing. For the summer of 2025, the Norwegian fleet is currently expected to increase to above 90 aircraft.