Norwegian looking to end 36 aircraft leases

Norwegian Air Shuttle has applied to the High Court of Ireland to prematurely end its leasing agreements on 36 aircraft held by its Irish-registered subsidiaries on January 28, 2021.

Its one of the measures the operate is taking in an effort to  rescue the business, which includes raising €500 million ($607 million), the company also indicated its plans to reduce its fleet. Norwegian reportedly told the court that the repudiation of lease agreements needed to be completed as soon as possible.

Kieran Wallace, the court-appointed examiner of Norwegian, remained confident that the airline will be able to survive the crisis and prepared a scheme of arrangement regarding the lease agreements, which if approved by the court, should allow the air carrier to continue “as a going concern,” reported the Irish Independent.

The examiner also noted that Norwegian’s recent decision to cease long-haul operations would have a significant impact on its employment rates that depended on the reduced fleet and service offering. With its new business model, the LCC plans to operate as many as 68 Boeing 737 aircraft in 2022, focusing on short-haul connections within Europe.

Lawyers representing lessors that will be impacted by the proposed Norwegian’s repudiation, argued that the lack of detail in the airline’s application raised concerns. The lawyers also noted that lessors could sue the airline if the issue is not resolved between the two concerning parties.