OSLO, NORWAY (APRIL 8, 2020) – Norwegian aims to strengthen its balance sheet by converting debt to equity to meet the requirements of the Norwegian state guarantee program and create a sustainable platform taking into account current shareholders and creditors alike.

The Board of Directors of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA ("Norwegian" or the "Company") is proposing actions and implementations that aim to fulfill the requirements of the second and third tranches of the Norwegian government state guarantee program that will release NOK 3 billion in total funding. Please see the addendum that explains the State Aid Package in detail. The Company’s proposal aims to convert debt to equity by key stakeholders including aircraft lessors, bond holders, convertible bond holders, and suppliers through the following steps:

a) parts of the Norwegian group's liabilities towards lessors, banks and other creditors to be converted to shares in the Company; b) the use of other financial instruments to convert any relevant debt to equity or equity-like instruments; c) all or part of its bonds to be converted to shares in the Company; and d) a subsequent private placement against cash consideration with potential preferential treatment for the Company's current shareholders.

The debt conversions as well as the new equity, which again will release liquidity provided under the government guarantee program, ensure that the Company can sustain the current Covid-19 environment and prepare for Norwegian to gradually re-open its route network and bring back furloughed employees. The Company looks forward to yet again flying and serving its dedicated and loyal customers.

“The proposed measures are necessary in securing the next tranches of the Norwegian government state guarantee program that will release NOK 3 billion. They are also necessary for the future of the Company by strengthening the Company’s balance sheet,” said CEO Jacob Schram of Norwegian.

“We will over the next weeks engage in dialogue with the bond holders, lessors and other creditors, with the intent of converting substantial debt to equity. This will create a platform which will enable Norwegian to return to the skies as an even better and stronger company to the benefit of the traveling public, our dedicated colleagues and current shareholders. We have already started working on building the future «New Norwegian» and that work will continue with full force the coming weeks,“ said Schram.

Background

The Company reported on 13 February 2020 that it was targeting a positive net profit for 2020 after taking significant actions in 2019 to optimize the route network, cut costs and create financial headroom. The guidance was withdrawn in a stock market notice on 6 March due to the drop in demand and government-imposed restrictions on travel following the Covid-19 outbreak. Norwegian has already enacted a number of measures to mitigate the substantial drop in revenues, including grounding the majority of the fleet temporarily.

Extraordinary General Meeting

The Board of Directors proposes that the abovementioned actions be resolved by an extraordinary general meeting of the Company to be held 08:30 (CET) on May 4th, 2020 at the Company’s headquarters at Oksenøyveien 3, 1366 Lysaker. The full notice and agenda are attached and available on www.norwegian.com.

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Addendum: The State Aid Package directed at the Company is divided into three tranches as follows:

(a) The first tranche is in the amount of up to NOK 300 million ("Tranche 1"), where the only required condition is that there is 10 percent risk participation by external commercial lenders (such as banks or financial institutions) or the Issuer obtains a corresponding amount of new finance through a capital increase (such participation or capital increase being referred to as the “Private Sector Involvement”);

(b) The second tranche is in the amount of up to NOK 1.2 billion ("Tranche 2"), and will be available if the loans guaranteed thereunder are accompanied by the Private Sector Involvement and the existing creditors of the Company agree to a moratorium being put in place which involves a waiver of interest payments and a deferral of principal payments for a period of three (3) months, commencing on disbursement of the guaranteed loans (the "Moratorium"); and

(c) In respect of the third tranche ("Tranche 3" and together with Tranche 1 and Tranche 2, the "Tranches"), the remaining NOK 1.5 billion, or NOK 2.7 billion if Tranche 2 has not been drawn, will be available if the loans guaranteed thereunder are accompanied by Private Sector Involvement and the Company meets the requirement that its equity ratio was at least 8 percent at the end of the last quarterly period before the outbreak of Covid-19. Alternatively, if the Company is unable to comply with this equity requirement then it must during the three-month Moratorium make improvements to its balance sheet such that the Company’s equity ratio as of 31 December 2019 (being the last the quarter date before the outbreak of Covid-19) adjusted pro forma reflect new equity contributions in cash or conversion of debt to equity is at least 8 percent. Since the Company’s equity ratio as of 31 December 2019 was 4.8 percent, the Company must rely on the latter alternative in order to unlock Tranche 3.

Full stock exchange notice can be found here.

OSLO, NORWAY (APRIL 6, 2020) – The global outbreak of COVID-19 that took hold across the aviation industry throughout March has heavily influenced Norwegian´s traffic figures. The company experienced a dramatic drop in demand following government-imposed travel restrictions and a general travel decline.

Norwegian immediately responded to this global change in demand and adapted its flight schedule several times during the month. The first step was to cut approximately 15 percent of planned capacity on March 10, this was then reevaluated and adjusted to up to 85 percent of planned capacity from March 16 with most cancellations starting from March 25. Capacity was 40 percent lower than planned while the flights that were operated had a load factor of 72 percent, down 13.8 percentage points compared to the same month previous year.

Compared to the same period last year total capacity (ASK) decreased by 53 percent while total passenger traffic (RPK) decreased by 60 percent. The total number of customers carried in March was 1,153,283, a decrease of 61 percent.

In March, Norwegian operated 77 percent of scheduled flights, multiple rescue flights and continued to maintain a critical regional flying infrastructure.

Jacob Schram, CEO of Norwegian, said: “The speed of the COVID-19 global outbreak throughout March had a profound impact on the entire Norwegian network as cancellations, in line with global travel advice and falling demand, were implemented throughout the month. Norwegian operated multiple rescue flights on behalf of the government to ensure that thousands of Scandinavian passengers could safely return home. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our dedicated colleagues, our customers and members of the public for their continued support. We will provide further financial and business updates to the Oslo Børs when it is appropriate to do so.”

OSLO, NORWAY (MARCH 24, 2020) – Reference is made to the press release by the Norwegian Government on 19 March 2020 regarding the financial measures to support the Norwegian airline industry and the subsequent stock exchange notice from Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (the “Company” or “Norwegian”).

Norwegian is pleased to announce that two Nordic banks have obtained credit committee approval to provide a guarantee for the required 10 percent for the first tranche of 300 million Norwegian kroner (NOK). Norwegian will secure the necessary headroom to pursue further guarantees from the Norwegian Government.

Government measures
On Thursday 19 March, the Norwegian Government proposed a guarantee of NOK 6 billion for the Norwegian airline industry, of which up to NOK 3 billion is directed to Norwegian. The guarantee will be up to 90 percent from the Norwegian Government provided that financial institutions contribute with the remaining 10 percent. The guarantee scheme will consist of three tranches with a maximum two years maturity.

Since Thursday evening Norwegian has worked with banks and financial institutions and is pleased to announce that two Nordic banks have obtained credit committee approval to contribute with the 10 percent required in guarantee for Tranche I and to provide the NOK 300 million in financing backed by the guarantee from the Norwegian Government. The Company is working with the banks and the Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency (“GIEK”), who will administrate the guarantee scheme, on the documentation in order to obtain the NOK 300 million in liquidity as soon as possible.

The Company is now working with GIEK and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries to clarify the criteria and terms related to the remaining tranches under the scheme and to obtain further guarantees from financial institutions in order to back such remaining tranches. Norwegian will update the market with its further plan of action and implications for its stakeholders as soon as the criteria and terms have been finalized. The Government guarantee scheme is crucial for the Company as the current state of the capital markets in combination with the challenging times for the airline industry limit the options available. The first NOK 300 million will create necessary headroom to pursue the remaining tranches of the guarantee scheme.

Operational update
Currently, most of the fleet is grounded and Norwegian has reduced its operations to a minimum. The airline will now primarily operate domestically in Norway and Sweden and between the Nordic capitals, in order to deliver on its corporate responsibility of maintaining critical infrastructure so that people and necessary goods and medical supplies can be transported during this unprecedented crisis. The limited schedule will remain in place until further notice. In addition, Norwegian has conducted repatriation flights together with the authorities in order to get citizens of Norway, Denmark and Sweden back home.

In order to reduce cost, Norwegian has temporarily laid off approximately 90 percent of its workforce and will continue to implement additional cost measures going forward.

OSLO, NORWAY (MARCH 16, 2020) – The COVID-19 situation is escalating by the hour and due to stagnating demand and enforced travel restrictions by authorities worldwide, Norwegian will gradually cancel most of its flights and temporarily lay off a major share of its workforce.

"What our industry is now facing is unprecedented and critical as we are approaching a scenario where most of our airplanes will be temporarily grounded. Several governments in Europe have already said they will do everything they can to ensure that their airlines can continue to fly when society returns to normalcy. We appreciate that the authorities of Norway have communicated that they will implement all necessary measures to protect aviation in Norway, consequently securing crucial infrastructure and jobs," said CEO Jacob Schram of Norwegian.

Norwegian has already discontinued a significant number of its flights and the main priority this week is to maintain as many scheduled flights as possible to ensure that customers are able to immediately return to their home destinations. The company will also work closely with the authorities to arrange flights for the benefit of stranded passengers, if necessary. Customers who are directly affected by route changes and cancellations will be contacted by Norwegian via text message or e-mail.

“We understand that this extraordinary situation is stressful for our customers, but I want to assure everyone that we are working around the clock to ensure that everyone is taken care of in the best way possible at this time,” said Schram.

As a result of most of the company’s planes being parked, Norwegian unfortunately has to temporarily lay off more than 7,300 colleagues in total which equates to approximately 90 per cent of its workforce, which includes pilots, cabin crew, maintenance and administrative staff. The layoff procedures vary from country to country and Norwegian’s team is already in constructive dialogues with union and HSE representatives at all its locations across the network.

“It is indeed with a heavy heart we have to temporarily lay off more than 7,300 of our colleagues, but we unfortunately have no choice. However, I want to emphasize that this is temporary, because when the world returns to normalcy my goal is to keep as many of our dedicated colleagues as possible,” said Schram.

Norwegian’s route network changes

• Thousands of flights have already been cancelled.

• As of March 21, the company will primarily fly a reduced scheduled domestically in Norway and between the Nordic capitals. Some European flights will be operated. All intercontinental are cancelled except flights between Scandinavia and Thailand (last flights at end of March).

• All flights that will be operating will be available for sale on Norwegian.com.

• Limited schedule will remain in place until at least April 17 but will be reviewed on a regular basis in line with changes in travel restrictions and demand.

Norwegian will continue to share updates with its customers, the financial market and the media once new measures are implemented.

Detailed reduced schedule – starting March 25

Norway:

• Oslo -Bergen/Stavanger/Trondheim: 4 daily departures

• Oslo - Ålesund/Bodø/Evenes/Tromsø: 2 daily departures

• Oslo -Alta/Kirkenes: 1 daily departure

• Oslo - Haugesund/Kristiansand/Molde: 1 daily departure

• Oslo - Svalbard: 3 weekly depatures

• Oslo -Stockholm/Copenhagen: 2 daily departures

• Oslo - Helsinki: 4 weekly departures

• Stavanger – Bergen: 1 daily departure

• Bergen – Trondheim: 1 daily departure

Sweden:

• Stockholm - Kiruna: 4 weekly departures

• Stockholm - Luleå/Umeå: 2 weekly departures

• Stockholm - Helsinki: 2 daily departures

• Stockholm – Copenhagen: 2 daily departures

• Stockholm – Oslo: 2 daily departures

Finland:

• Helsinki - Kittilä: 6 weekly departures

• Helsinki - Oulu: 1 daily departure

• Helsinki - Rovaniemi: 1 daily departure

• Helsinki - Oslo: 4 weekly departures

Denmark:

• Copenhagen - Oslo: 2 daily departures 

OSLO, NORWAY (MARCH 13, 2020) – The global spread of coronavirus has had an enormous impact on the global aviation industry. At the beginning of the year, Norwegian expected to deliver a positive result in 2020, however, this guidance had to be withdrawn due to this unprecedented situation. The company is continuously working to reduce costs even further. However, the corona crisis has now led to the need of powerful and extraordinary measures from the Norwegian government in order to strengthen the company’s liquidity in a critical phase.

“We welcome the fact that the Norwegian government has decided to remove aviation taxes in Norway, but sadly, this is not enough as we’re in a very demanding situation at the moment. We need exact measures to strengthen our liquidity in the short term immediately. At the same time, it is crucial for us that the government will work on solutions for a phase two. We are asking for these solutions to come quickly. At the same time, we will take all measures necessary to reduce the financial losses this situation is causing us, no matter how painful they are. At the same time, we will also take care of our colleagues and customers in the best possible way,” says Norwegian CEO Jacob Schram.

The outlook for 2020 was promising
Norwegian has undergone a significant restructuring and in February, the company notified the market that it expected positive results for 2020. During 2019, the company implemented a wide range of initiatives to reduce costs. Among other things, the internal cost-reduction program #Focus2019 delivered on target with cost reductions of NOK 2.3 billion. In 2020, the company introduced further measures to improve its results by an additional NOK 1.5 billion.

The turmoil in the capital markets has meant that in practice loans and credits are now closed, which means that it is not possible to finance businesses in a normal fashion. This means that the corona virus has created an extraordinary situation for us.

The past year, Norwegian has sold 24 aircraft and reduced its production by up to 15 percent compared to the previous year before the corona virus hit us. The company has also a low share of fuel hedging and has only locked 25 percent of expected fuel consumption at a relatively low level.

Advice to customers
Customers booked to travel on affected flights will be contacted to discuss their options including rebooking onto a flight at a later date. Due to a high number of enquires we encourage all customers to check our website www.norwegian.com/updates for the latest travel advice. If your travels are past April 15^th, 2020, please refrain from contacting our Customer Care team at this time.