“The purpose of this process is to reduce debt, entitle the fleet and secure new capital,” Norwegian Air said. The process is expected to take five months, he added.
“Seeking protection to reorganize under Irish law is a decision we have made to secure the future of Norwegians for the benefit of our employees, customers and investors,” said CEO Jacob Shram. “Our aim is to find compromises with our stakeholders that could make us an economically strong and secure airline.”
Norwegian Norwegian Air was founded in 1993 and began rapid expansion nearly a decade ago, seeking to implement the business model initiated by Transylvania for transatlantic flights in Europe and the Southwest in the United States. But the aggressive strategy left him with heavy debts, and little room for maneuver when things went wrong.
Norwegian Air Said on Wednesday It will continue to operate its root network, which is severely limited as a result of the coronavirus, and its shares will trade as usual on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The stock has lost more than 98% of its value this year.
The airline carried just 1 million passengers in the third quarter, up from 10.5 million in the same period last year. Its quarterly operating loss was 2.8 billion kroner (10,310 million), while cash and cash equivalents fell to just 3.4 billion kroner ((6 million) at the end of September.
– Charles Riley contributed to this report.