Norwegian Air seeks more Dreamliners after latest leasing deal
OSLO, May 24 (Reuters) - Norwegian Air Shuttle (LSE: 0FGH.L - news) will continue to seek more Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) 787 Dreamliner aircraft for its long-haul fleet, the budget carrier said on Tuesday after signing a deal with CIT Aerospace to lease two planes from 2018.
Norwegian currently has 10 Dreamliners in operation and 32 on order following the CIT (MCX: GRNT.ME - news) deal, and options to buy a further 10 from Boeing.
"It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) 's no secret that we are still looking for new Dreamliners and this leasing agreement shows that it is possible to achieve," Norwegian Air spokeswoman Anne-Sissel Skaanvik said.
"A larger Dreamliner fleet will make us even more competitive and better positioned for growth going forward," she added.
Norwegian is Europe's third-largest low-cost airline by passenger numbers after Ryanair and EasyJet (Other OTC: EJTTF - news) , but unlike its larger competitors it competes both on the short-haul and long-haul markets. (Reporting by Joachim Dagenborg, editing by Terje Solsvik)