Norwegian Air Shuttle isn’t having much luck with their Boeing 787 fleet, as operational issues the airline has had with them (most recently a hydraulic pump failure at Bangkok).
So much so, the airline has decided to take a Boeing 787-8 out of service, and lease an Airbus A340-300 from HiFly to cover the routes.
The A340 is operating:
- Stockholm – Bangkok – 29th September 2013 to 11th October 2013
- Stockholm – New York-JFK -30th September 2013 to 11th October 2013
Flight will operate as booked, equipment cannot be guaranteed. Whilst the date of 11th October for the lease to be concluded is given, there is every chance that the lease will be extended until such time the 787s become reliable enough.
There have been occasions when one or two of Norwegian Air Shuttle have had to hire extra capacity, and the hiring of A340s are there give Boeing time to fix the 787s.
Norwegian Air Shuttle operate two Boeing 787s out of an expected fleet of eight. In addition, the airline is subscribed to Boeing’s Gold Care package. As such, the airline has returned the aircraft to Boeing to improve the stability and reliability that the airline demands.
However, there is more than one downside. The lack of an aircraft earning revenue is a big issue, but even bigger is the extra capacity leased to help out. The Airbus A340-300 isn’t exactly easy on fuel, costing a lot more to run than a 787. Add the leasing cost in, and this is proving a very expensive exercise for Norwegian Air Shuttle to operate its long-haul services.
Suffice to say, Norwegian Air Shuttle are not impressed with the 787 right now….
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