Norway's Flyr airline rises 28% after IPO

The shares of Norway's Flyr airline rose 28% in its debut trade on Oslo's Euronext Growth stock market on Monday as the start-up carrier prepares to compete with established players Norwegian Air and SAS. Flyr, which means “flying” in Norwegian, is betting on a recovery in demand from the COVID-19 pandemic. It plans to launch its maiden flight by mid-2021, serving domestic routes in Norway and also offering trips to major European destinations. Founded by airline industry veterans, Flyr raised 600m Norwegian crowns ($70m) in its IPO, and aims to buy or lease a fleet of eight jets, with a planned increase to 28 aircraft in the next 3-4 years. “This will enable us to pursue opportunities in a changing market and a recovering airline industry,” CE Tonje Wikstroem Frislid said following the IPO. “Due to the availability of aircraft and crew, a rapid and demand-driven scale-up is possible for Flyr,” she added.<br/>