Norwegian Air Shuttle has agreed to sell five Airbus A320neos in a transaction expected to raise $62 million in liquidity.
The LCC said the aircraft, which belong to its Arctic Aviation Assets subsidiary, are leased out and not operated by its own airlines.
“Delivery will take place during the fourth quarter of 2018,” the company said Nov. 2. “The transaction is expected to increase the company’s liquidity by $62 million, after repayment of debt and have a positive equity effect. Sale proceeds will be used to repay debt and to increase the company´s liquidity.”
Norwegian operates more than 150 aircraft, with an average age of 3.6 years.
Earlier this year, Norwegian announced plans to sell most of the A320neos it has on order, a strategy that was reaffirmed Sept. 4 in an investor presentation. The large-scale asset disposal will cover up to 140 aircraft.
According to Airbus, Norwegian has firm orders for 65 A320neos and 30 A321neos—the LR variant capable of transatlantic range flying. The fate of the larger variant is not clear as the airline may choose to keep some of them for the new Norwegian Air Argentina subsidiary. In addition to the Airbus order, Norwegian also bought 110 Boeing 737 MAXs.
The airline has reported a poor financial performance for some time as it continues with rapid expansion, particularly on long-haul routes.