Norwegian Air is to suspend all long-haul operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic as it looks to concentrate its network to short-haul flying.
“Under these circumstances a long haul operation is not viable for Norwegian and these operations will not continue,” the airline confirmed
Norwegian’s fleet of Boeing 787s have been grounded since March 2020, it says, as a result of a significant drop in demand for long-haul flying.
“Our short haul network has always been the backbone of Norwegian and will form the basis of a future resilient business model,” said Jacob Schram, CEO of Norwegian.
Schram continued: “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.”
Norwegian’s latest announcement means it will focus entirely on short-haul, narrowbody operations, meaning the Boeing 787s will be withdrawn indefinitely. The Norwegian carrier is known for its poor financial situation. It says it aims to reduce its debt to EUR 2 billion.
The airline has already outlined its plan for the coming years, anticipating a fleet of 50 aircraft this year, rising to 70 narrowbody planes next year.
“The consequence of this decision is that the board of directors of the legal entities employing primarily long haul staff in Italy, France, the UK and the US have contacted insolvency practitioners,” Norwegian confirmed.
As it stands, Norwegian as a group has more than 80 Boeing 737s, meaning it intends to adjust the numbers in its short-haul fleet to meet the new circumstances. As detailed in its plan, the current Boeing 787 fleet (consisting of more than 30) is to be withdrawn.
