Norwegian Air Shuttle Orders up to 29 Boeing 787-9s

The agreement is the largest single order of 787-9 Dreamliners in Europe and includes purchase options for an additional ten aircraft of the same type, the airline said, without disclosing the value of the deal.

Deliveries of the new Dreamliners will begin in 2017.

This order of 19 new Dreamliners is a major milestone, Chief Executive OfficerBjoern Kjos said in the statement. The planes will be owned by Arctic Aviation Assets, a subsidiary of Norwegian. Kjos said the airline’s long-haul load factors have “averaged in the nineties”, proving there is demand for budget flights from Europe to the United States of America and Asia. With today’s order, the carrier, headquartered in Oslo, will expand its total 787 fleet to almost 40 airplanes in the coming years.

Norwegian now operates eight 787-8 Dreamliners and has 11 of the bigger 787-9 on order.

“This is where we see most of the future growth potential, enabling the company to compete in a global market with strong competition”.

Norwegian plans to use a mix of commercial loans and US export credits to pay for the order and will not need to issue new shares. “Not least, the Dreamliner offers the best passenger experience”.

In Norwegian’s configuration, each of its 787-9s will fly 53 more passengers than each of its 787-8s.

Norwegian configures its B787-9 in a 344-seat layout with 35 seats in premium economy and 309 in economy. “The addition of 787-9s to the Norwegian fleet will enable it to grow its route structure, while providing more range and capacity with outstanding passenger comfort”.

Norwegian’s order backlog now stands at more than 150 Boeing aircraft, including 100 737 MAXs, as well as 100 Airbus A320neos.