Norwegian says aircraft likely to remain grounded until 2021

Norwegian Air Shuttle has warned that the bulk of its fleet is likely to remain grounded for the next 12 months and that a full recovery would not take place until 2022, laying bare the scale of the crisis engulfing the airline industry. As part of a planned $1.2b debt-for-equity swap to try to ensure the low-cost airline’s survival, Norwegian said Monday that its base case was that its fleet would remain fully grounded until April 2021, apart from the seven aircraft currently flying in Norway. It would then begin a gradual ramp-up of both its European short-haul and long-haul operations to the US and Asia over the rest of 2021 before normal activity returns in January 2022. As well as its base case of a full recovery in 2022, the airline added two other scenarios: an early recovery starting in Q3 this year, with short-haul back to normal in Q3 2021 and long haul in 2022; and a sustained grounding of its fleet under which its cash would run out in six to nine months. Norwegian warned its existing shareholders on Monday that they would be all but wiped out by its debt-for-equity swap and a fourth rights issue.<br/>