Norwegian Air reported a first quarter loss on Friday, and said strong booking numbers would give the budget carrier a boost for the upcoming summer season.

The January-March net loss decreased to 993 million Norwegian crowns ($94.7 million) from a year-ago loss of 1.03 billion, Norwegian said.

During the first quarter, normally a slow period for holiday travel, the company curtailed capacity by between 20% and 30% to keep down costs.

"With strong booking numbers that continue to be encouraging, Norwegian prepares for what is expected to be one of the company's strongest summers ever," the airline said in a statement.

Average fares that have been booked so far for the June-August period are up 25% compared to last year, it added. ($1 = 10.4882 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Victoria Klesty, editing by Terje Solsvik)