CFO of Norwegian, Frode Foss, has decided to leave the company. Foss has been the CFO of Norwegian since the company was established in 2002. Vice President Investor Relations, Tore Østby, will take on the position for an interim period. Tore Østby joined Norwegian as Vice President IR in 2014.
"I am very grateful for the work Frode Foss has done for Norwegian throughout all these years. He has done a great job for Norwegian since the company was established, and it is understandable that he, after 15 years as CFO, wants to concentrate on other tasks,” says Norwegian’s CEO Bjørn Kjos.
"It’s been a fantastic journey and I’m pleased that Bjørn Kjos let me take part in building the company to what it is today. Now it’s time for me to explore new ventures. I wish Norwegian all the best for the future,” says Frode Foss.
Also today, China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) has signed with Airbus a General Terms Agreement (GTA) for the purchase of a total of 140 aircraft. The agreement comprises of 100 A320 Family aircraft and 40 A350 XWB Family aircraft, reflecting the strong demand of Chinese airlines in all market segments including domestic, low cost, regional and international long haul.
The GTA was signed in Berlin by Tom Enders, Airbus CEO, and Sun Bo, Executive Vice President of CAS, in the presence of visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“This is a great endorsement for our leading products in both single aisle and wide body segments,” said Tom Enders. “China is today one of the world’s most important markets for aviation, and we are honoured to support the development and rapid growth of China’s civil aviation with our competitive product portfolio.”
The world’s passenger aircraft fleet above 100 seats is set to more than double in the next 20 years to over 40,000 planes as traffic is forecast to grow at 4.4 percent per year. Emerging markets such as China continue to be an engine for growth, with domestic traffic to become the world’s largest market, according to Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast 2017-2036.
By the end of May 2017, the in-service Airbus fleet with Chinese operators totaled some 1,440 aircraft, of which nearly 1,230 are A320 Family planes.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that United Airlines has secured funding for 12 new E175 aircraft via a $252 million delayed draw term loan facility with seven financial institutions, which was arranged by Credit Agricole CIB as sole arranger & administrative agent. The facility will finance deliveries through December 2017.