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Norwegian Air CEO considers Airbus jets amid drawn-out Boeing litigation -Breaking

by Mike Robinson

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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – Two parked Boeing 737-880 aircrafts of budget airline Norwegian Air were pictured at Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sweden on March 6, 2015. File photo. REUTERS/Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency

Victoria Klesty

OSLO (Reuters). -Norwegian Air might order Jets from Airbus in the Future if ongoing litigation against Boeing (NYSE:) about previous aircraft cancellations does not resolve in a timely matter, the Chief Executive of the Carrier told Reuters Friday.

Norwegian is a Boeing-only airline that emerged from bankruptcy protection in May. However, it is currently locked in a dispute regarding the cancellation of prepandemic orders to 97 Boeing aircraft. This will be resolved in U.S. legal proceedings.

It was however able to obtain a similar contract for Airbus deliveries that was terminated.

According to Reuters, top executives from Norwegian including Chief Executive Geir Karsen met last month with Airbus’ sales team. Karlsen said Friday that this was part of an ongoing dialogue.

Karlsen stated that it was “problematic” to create a fleet plan for Boeing when we were in litigation. Karlsen spoke on the sidelines at a presentation of corporate earnings.

We need to make a decision on how to move forward, and whether it’s possible to reach a commercial agreement with Boeing. “We wish we could, but so far we haven’t,” he stated.

Boeing declined immediate comment. A spokesperson for Airbus also declined comment.

Norwegian flew 51 Boeing 737 planes last year, and the company has signed lease deals for 70 more.

The lease conditions allow for the replacement of certain aircraft with “new technology narrow body aircraft” from Airbus or Boeing. These are the top two rivals in commercial aviation.

Karlsen stated that they would like to own a part of the fleet and lease it out to others. If we need to order new aircraft again, then time can be a bit slow.

His refusal to speak on the urgency of the decision is not his.

Norwegian and Airbus reached an agreement in February to repudiate Airbus’ remaining contract for the purchase of 88 new aircraft. Lawyers representing the firms informed Ireland’s High Court. Airbus had to retain deposits, and Norwegian owed Airbus 600,000.535 pounds (or $816,540).

($1 = 0.7348 pounds)

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