Geir Karlsen travel tips

Norwegian Air reported third-quarter profit above expectations on Thursday and said current ticket sales were “slightly reduced” going into the usual winter travel lull.

The largest low-cost airline in Scandinavia has served up a smörgåsbord of financial results. On Friday, the Norwegian Group posted a net profit of 477m NOK ($44.5m) for the second quarter. This is typically one of the strongest periods for European airlines.

In the modern airline business, companies are usually divided by their “low-cost” or “legacy” models. The upstarts versus the old guard.

Despite Norway’s dominance at the Winter Olympics, Scandinavia isn’t the first place you might think of for a skiing vacation in Europe. Iconic destinations such as the Alps in France, Switzerland, and Austria often overshadow the Nordic countries when it comes to winter sport getaways.

The CEO of bankrupt Scandinavian airline SAS, Anko Van der Werff, does not see the carrier’s position in the northern European market as “diminished” by recent market share grabs from the likes of Norwegian Air and Ryanair.