Comeback for Ving | Finansavisen

On 23 September 2019, Ving’s owners, the Thomas Cook Group, went bankrupt. All Ving’s aircraft were grounded immediately. A month later, the new owners were presented. Petter Stordalen teamed up with the PE funds Altor and TDR Capital and injected NOK 413 million to secure Ving’s future.

Then came Covid-19, and the charter market crashed.

Now it’s finally back.

Comeback

352,000 customers traveled with Ving last year, an increase of almost 30 per cent compared to 2022.

“After the Covid-19 pandemic, the charter market is back to a normal level, and the company is again the largest player with a share of the market of 43 per cent”, the company writes in the annual report. In 2020, there were only 120,000 travelers.

MORE DEPARTURES ON THE SOUTHERN JOURNEY: An Airbus A321 from Vings Sunclass Airlines approaches for landing at Skiathos in Greece. Photo: Dreamstime

In 2023, turnover ended at just over NOK 4 billion, an increase from NOK 2.6 billion the previous year. For comparison, turnover in 2019 was NOK 3.3 billion.

– I am proud of our result after several years of major challenges through the pandemic. We did not fly from Norway for 16 months. Our employees have made a fantastic effort and despite the expensive time, I am happy that we now seem to have delivered a good result in an industry that still has some major challenges, says Ving CEO, Marie-Anne Zachrisson, to Finansavisen.

Operating profit increased by as much as NOK 54.9 million and ended at NOK 84.1 million. Net cash flow from operations was NOK 20 million, and the annual profit ended at NOK 87.2 million.

Tougher summer ahead

Ving Norge is Norway’s largest travel organizer, and sells package tours and charter flights to the Norwegian market.

Despite the fact that the demand for holiday travel is back, the summer does not look as bright.

“Currently, the sales trend for the summer season is down by around 14 per cent compared to the same time in 2023. The company has therefore adjusted the flight program somewhat, and the sales trend is on par with the sales targets”, the company states.