Officials at high-flying Norwegian Air have been denying for weeks that problems with Boeing Corp’s new 787 Dreamliner jets would delay their own deliveries of the aircraft, which Norwegian has bought to launch new long-haul routes to Bangkok and New York. Now the problems seem to have caught up with them.
Norwegian’s communications director, Anne-Sissel Skånvik, admitted over the weekend that the Oslo-based airline won’t be getting the first of two new 787s in April and June as planned. The entire fleet of 787s already in service around the world has been grounded because of batteries that caught fire and forced emergency landings.
Norwegian has already been selling tickets for its new flights to Bangkok and New York due to start in May and June. Skånvik said passengers can either get their money back or go ahead with their trips but on older aircraft that Norwegian intends to lease for the routes until the 787s are approved for flight.
Boeing was conducting its first test flights of the 787 over the weekend as it scrambles to find out what’s causing the batteries on board the aircraft to overheat.
newsinenglish.no staff
