Norwegian Ends Some Long-Haul Flights to US, Thailand

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle said Wednesday it is ending some of its long-haul routes to the United States and Thailand from Scandinavia, citing technical issues with the Rolls Royce engines on Boeing 787s and low demand.

Norwegian Air said it would not resume flying to New York, Los Angeles, Bangkok and Krabi, Thailand, from Copenhagen and Stockholm after the winter break.

It will continue to fly to the U.S. from Oslo and routes to Europe are not affected.

Senior Vice President Matthew Wood said Scandinavia “is not large enough to maintain intercontinental flights from Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen.”

He added that Norwegian has “had challenges with the Rolls Royce engines,” meaning “more aircraft on the ground. This affects the route program.”

Like other airlines trying to provide budget flights on long-distance routes, the Oslo-based company has struggled to make profits.

This month it said it had raised $273 million in gross proceeds through a private placement and a convertible bond issue of $150 million which allows the company to be “fully funded through 2020 and beyond.”

In March, Norwegian grounded its 18 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft after two deadly crashes which had affected demand, operating expenses and production negatively. It also said it was postponing the delivery of Airbus aircraft – both A320neos and A321LRs – to reduce its capital expenditure by approximately $570 million in 2019 and 2020.

Jacob Schram was chosen as to become CEO from Jan. 1, succeeding Bjoern Kjos, who turned the small domestic carrier into a global airline over 17 years as chief executive.