Norwegian's Board of Directors has today outlined a simplified business structure and dedicated short haul route network. With this plan, Norwegian can build a robust and solid company that will attract investors and continue to serve new and existing customers.
Norwegian has long been recognised as an industry leader in low cost travel, winning numerous awards. The company will build on this foundation, focusing on its core Nordics business, operating a European short haul network with narrow body aircraft. The airline will continue to meet its customers' needs by offering competitive fares across a broad range of domestic routes in
'Our short haul network has always been the backbone of Norwegian and will form the basis of a future resilient business model,' said
The current plan is to serve these markets with around 50 narrow body aircraft in operation in 2021 and to increase that number to around 70 narrow body aircraft in 2022. Furthermore, Norwegian targets to reduce its debt significantly to around
'I am pleased to present a robust business plan today, which will provide a new start for the company. By focusing our operation on a short haul network, we aim to attract existing and new investors, serve our customers and support the wider infrastructure and travel industry in
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the entire aviation industry. Travel restrictions and changing government advice continue to negatively influence demand for long haul travel, and Norwegian's entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet has been grounded since
'Our focus is to rebuild a strong, profitable Norwegian so that we can safeguard as many jobs as possible. We do not expect customer demand in the long haul sector to recover in the near future, and our focus will be on developing our short haul network as we emerge from the reorganisation process, said Schram. 'It is with a heavy heart that we must accept that this will impact dedicated colleagues from across the company. I would like to thank each one of our affected colleagues for their tireless dedication and contribution to Norwegian over the years.'
Customers with bookings affected by the future changes in our route network will be contacted directly and will be refunded. The examinership and reconstruction processes undertaken in
About Norwegian
The Norwegian story began over 27 years ago - we were founded in 1993 but only began operating as a low-cost carrier with bigger Boeing 737 aircraft in 2002. Norwegian expanded across the globe as the airline launched short-haul services across
We were the first airline in the world to join the UN Climate Secretariat's climate action-initiative in 2019, pledging to work systematically to become carbon neutral by 2050.
From being voted for six consecutive years as
Norwegian has become part of the fabric of Nordic culture and we take great pride in exporting our Nordic values across the world.
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