Norwegian Air Shuttle is reportedly looking to step away from its Airbus and Boeing aircraft orders, as the airline looks to emerge from its restructuring.
Currently, the airline is undergoing an examinership process in Ireland and is also under bankruptcy protection in Norway, the two countries where most of the airline’s assets, including aircraft, are registered. Amidst the process, Norwegian is not only looking to repudiate its financial commitments, including aircraft leases, but also to ax its Airbus and Boeing orders, reported Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The restructuring process has already resulted in Norwegian backing out of its long-haul flights using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which the airline has operated since 2013. As a result, the company has returned 37 Boeing 787 aircraft to lessors.
Now, the airline is looking to get out of commitments to the two manufacturers. Norwegian has a total of 88 Airbus aircraft on order: 58 A320neo and 30 A321neo jets. Furthermore, the carrier still has a backlog of 97 Boeing aircraft: five 787s and 92 737 MAXs. While the low-cost carrier sued Boeing for “gross negligence, fraud and breach of contract,” related both to the 737 MAX and 787 in July 2020, and had canceled the 97 orders a month prior, Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries data still showcases that Norwegian has the aircraft on order.
