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Norwegian buys 50 Boeing 737 MAX, ending dispute

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Grounded Boeing 737-800 aircrafts of Norwegian budget carrier " at="" Arlanda="" Airport="" of="" March="" Johan="" Sweden="" Out="" via="" EPA-EFE="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/overseas/05/31/norwegian.jpg"/><figcaption>Grounded Boeing 737-800 aircrafts of Norwegian budget carrier &#x27;Norwegian&#x27; at Arlanda Airport of Stockholm, Sweden, 05 March 2015 (reissued 12 March 2019) <em>Johan Nilsson, Sweden Out via EPA-EFE/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>OSLO - Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle said it would buy 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes, ending a dispute between the companies and helping revive the US-made aircraft after two deadly crashes.</p><p>The jets will be delivered between 2025 and 2028, or around the same time that Norwegian&#x27;s aircraft leasing deals come to an end, and the contract includes an option for 30 more, the company said in a statement.</p><p>The order is welcome news for the US manufacturer&#x27;s flagship Boeing 737 MAX 8, which was grounded for 20 months following two fatal accidents and has been gradually returning to service since late 2020. </p><p>Norwegian&#x27;s order is part of &quot;the resolution of a dispute we have&quot; with Boeing, the company&#x27;s chief executive Geir Karlsen told broadcaster TV2.</p><p>The Nordic low-cost carrier and Boeing have been locked in a legal battle for several years, with the Norwegian carrier launching legal proceedings against the US giant for compensation following setbacks related to its 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner long-range jets.</p><p>Without giving further details, Karlsen mentioned &quot;a compensation of two billion kroner ($212 million, 197 million euros) that we used to buy planes under advantageous conditions.&quot;</p><p>According to Karlsen, the price paid is &quot;much lower&quot; than the one Norwegian had to pay a few years ago for its first 737 MAX -- which it has since sold -- but also than the one offered by European competitor Airbus.</p><p>Norwegian said the deal remains subject to &quot;various closing conditions&quot; that it hopes will be concluded by the end of June.</p><p>The company, which currently operates 61 aircraft, plans to ramp up operations to have 70 in service this summer and 85 in the summer of 2023. </p><div><strong>&#x27;Becoming more normal&#x27; </strong></div><p>Plagued by over-ambitious expansion, technical problems and the Covid pandemic, the company narrowly avoided bankruptcy last year via an extensive restructuring that led it, among other things, to give up its long-haul flight, reduce its fleet and cancel numerous orders.</p><p>Securing the 50 aircraft means Norwegian is also returning to fully owning its own fleet after it was forced to rely on leased aircraft due to its financial woes.</p><p>Unless the option to buy more aircraft is implemented, Norwegian&#x27;s flight capacity is not expected to increase beyond what has already been announced. </p><p>&quot;This is rather a sign of an airline that is becoming more normal, that no longer lives exclusively on leased aircraft but owns part of its fleet itself,&quot; Sydbank analyst Jacob Pedersen commented to business website e24.no. </p><p>For Boeing, this order solidifies the revival of the 737 MAX aircraft.</p><p>The 737 MAX was temporarily grounded worldwide following two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, in 2018 and 2019, that killed a combined 346 people.</p><p>After Caribbean Arajet and American Allegiant Air put in orders for the aircraft, British carrier IAG -- parent company of British Airways -- also just ordered 50 planes with an option for 100 more.</p><p>Norwegian on Monday also noted that the Boeing 737 MAX 8 is &quot;approximately 14 percent more fuel-efficient compared to the previous-generation aircraft,&quot; 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Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle said it would buy 50 Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes, ending a dispute between the companies and helping revive the US-made aircraft after two deadly crashes.