Profitable Norwegian not interested in buying Flyr

Norwegian set to secure ex-Flyr B737 MAX 8s

Norwegian (DY, Oslo Gardermoen) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Air Lease Corporation (ALC) to lease six B737-8s, in addition to three of the same type it has already agreed to take from the lessor, of which one was recently delivered to the carrier. The six aircraft were previously operated by Flyr (Norway), which filed for bankruptcy a week ago.

The final agreement with ALC is subject to certain closing conditions, but all six aircraft “are to be delivered in a short time to Norwegian, in good time ahead of the summer 2023 season,” the airline said in a statement on February 6.

“The addition of these modern and fuel-efficient aircraft fits well with our fleet strategy. It will also help counteract delays from Boeing for other aircraft that were due to be delivered to Norwegian this spring,” said Norwegian CEO Geir Karlsen.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, before its demise Flyr operated a fleet six B737-8s, all of which ALC dry-leased to it...

Norwegian sues gov’t over $40mn climate penalty

Norwegian (DY, Oslo Gardermoen) has announced legal action against the Norwegian government in a bid to remove a climate charge of NOK399,685,275 kroner (USD40.2 million).

As ch-aviation previously reported, Norway’s Ministry of Climate and the Environment demanded the fee, which includes a fine, last month for the airline’s alleged failure to deliver climate quotas in 2020. CEO Geir Karlsen threatened legal action at the time, and now the carrier has confirmed that this is the course it will take.

The Norwegian Environment Agency revealed in September 2021 that Norwegian had to pay a fine under the European Union quota system (EU ETS), to which Norway is also a party. The company has argued that it “did not have the opportunity to fulfil its quota obligations” while it was going through restructuring, when there was no guarantee it would survive, and has referred to the fact that Irish environmental authorities opted not to impose a fee on the airline’s now defunct Irish subsidiary, Norwegian Air International.

“We disagree with and are very disappointed...

Norwegian “very likely” to exercise its 30 B737 MAX options

Hungary's Wizz Air closes Bacau, Bari, Cardiff bases

Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) has announced the closure of its bases at Cardiff (UK), Bacau (Romania), and Bari (Italy), citing as reason a challenging macro-economic environment.

The Hungarian budget carrier will close its base at Bacãu Airport in Romania on January 10, followed by its UK subsidiary Wizz Air UK (W9, London Luton) ceasing all operations at Cardiff permanently on January 25, while Bari will be closed on February 16.

Wizz Air UK already reduced its schedule from Cardiff over the winter by cutting nine routes and will now suspend its two remaining winter routes to Milan Malpensa (Italy) and Bucharest Henri Coanda (Romania). Last year, Wizz Air UK said it planned to increase its operations from Cardiff again in the spring and - as part of a long-term commitment to the airport – had already loaded its summer 2023 schedule. However, Wizz Air UK Managing Director Marion Geoffroy said: “The challenging macro-economic environment and high operational costs including fuel mean that unfortunately, we are...