Skift Take
Norwegian Air reported earnings Thursday, and a lot of analysts expected it to feel like a funeral. But something funny happened. The airline reported a profit. Does this mean it's in good shape? Probably not, but at least it's better than a loss.
Norwegian Air CEO Bjorn Kjos said Thursday he would prefer not to sell the company he built from nothing into a low-cost global behemoth, but said he will let investors decide its future. His remarks came after Norwegian announced a second quarter profit that surprised analysts, many of whom had soured on Europe’s third-largest discounter.
“Everybody that works for an airline would rather stay independent,” he said in an exclusive interview with Skift at Norwegian’s headquarters outside Oslo. “But we are on the stock exchange. We have to accept that everyone who buys shares on the stock exchange will be an owner of Norwegian.”
The question of whether Norwegian will sell, and to whom, is a hot topic among European airline insiders. The heads of some larger players, including International Airlines Group, or IAG, owner of British Airways and Iberia, and Lufthansa Group, long have said Europe needs U.S.-style consolidation.
They’ve said weaker airlines may be ripe for acquisition, and while passengers tend to like Norwegian for its low unbundled fares and transatlantic route network, it has been under financial pressure, with analysts asking if it expanded too quickly. Before it began rapidly adding transatlantic flights about four years ago, Norwegian was a solidly profitable regional operator respected by investors.
But as the airline’s stock price has fallen as its costs have increased, e
