Norwegian cancels 97 Boeing orders
Norwegian has cancelled orders for 97 Boeing aircraft and launched legal action against the US OEM to claw back pre-delivery payments.
The Scandinavian carrier said it had cancelled remaining orders for five 787s and 92 737 Max aircraft, along with the Goldcare service agreements associated with them.
The Oslo-based carrier noted that its 737 Max fleet had been grounded since the global grounding of the aircraft type was imposed on 12 March 2019.
This disrupted the low-cost carrier’s operations and caused “significant losses", it said.
Norwegian also noted the “long-running reliability issues” of its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered 787 aircraft, which resulted in premature and unplanned maintenance, causing further significant losses.
Norwegian said it has been in discussions with Boeing with a view to resolving its 787 and 737 Max issues and obtaining compensation for its losses.
“The dialogue has
Norwegian has taken delivery of 18 Max aircraft, Airfinance Journal’s Fleet Tracker shows.
Norwegian now has no Boeing aircraft on order. The carrier has 63 Airbus A320neos on order, of which Norwegian has previously sold a majority stake in 27 units to China Construction Bank Leasing International (CCBLI).
It has a further 30 A321LRs on order.
In a statement, Boeing said: “We are not going to comment on commercial discussions with our customers. Norwegian Air Shuttle is a long-standing Boeing customer. As with many operators dealing with a very challenging time, we are working on a path forward."