42 new Boeing 737-800 airplanes have been ordered by Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA with Blended Winglets as the carrier revealed. The airplanes have a list price of USD 3.1 billion or just over NOK 18 billion. Parallel to this, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA has ensured purchase rights for an additional 42 airplanes of the same model from Boeing.
These cost-efficient airplanes with leading-edge technology are significantly more environment-friendly than the existing airfleet.

This is the largest order in Europe received by Boeing for the company’s 737 series thus far in 2007. The new airplanes will supplement the 11 Boeing 737-800 airplanes Norwegian ordered from Boeing in May this year. The Boeing 737-800 model is a next-generation airplane, with a reduction in fuel consumption up to 33 per cent and reduction in NOx up to 43 per cent, compared with the oldest airplanes in Norwegian’s current airplanes fleet. The 737-800 has 189 seats, while the current 737-300 has 148 seats.

“The new airplanes will strengthen Norwegian’s competitive position in the Norwegian, Nordic and European aviation markets. Also, the airplanes are significantly more environment-friendly than the ones we use today. These airplanes will reduce Norwegian’s CO2 emissions and bring down fuel costs, while noise levels are considerably lower than for other airplanes,” says Bjorn Kjos, CEO of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA.

“We have explored different ways of financing, hereunder US ex-im financing of 85 per cent of the purchase price. These purchases will open up new opportunities, enabling us to fly longer distances and thus consider new, interesting routes,” says Bjorn Kjos, adding that the purchases will ensure greater flexibility when phasing out older airplanes and adapting to market trends.

The 42 airplanes will be delivered over a five-year period from 2009 through 2014, with around 10 airplanes each year. The company has entered into hedging agreements to cover a large part of the NOK/USD exposure in connection with the purchases.