Norwegian carried close to 2.1 million passengers in February, an increase of 12 per cent compared to the same month last year.

The growth is primarily driven by a 53 per cent growth in the company’s intercontinental traffic. A total of 2,090,343 passengers chose to fly with Norwegian in February, 218,947 more than the same period last year.

The total traffic growth increased by 24 per cent, while the capacity growth increased by 22 per cent. The load factor was 86.3 per cent, up 0.7 percentage points.

Norwegian chief executive Bjørn Kjos said: “We are very pleased to see that more passengers chose to fly Norwegian in February.

“The growth is primarily driven by our intercontinental traffic, which is becoming increasingly important in the company’s global expansion.”

Norwegian operated 99.6 per cent of the scheduled flights in February, of which 73.6 per cent departed on time. Norwegian’s fleet renewal program continues with full force in 2017.

The company took delivery of three Boeing 737-800s in February. This year, Norwegian will take delivery of nine Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, 17 Boeing 737-800 and six Boeing 737 MAX.