Norwegian’s  COVID 19 lease payment deferrals won’t become standard – Scope

Embattled LCC Norwegian’s recent deal with lessors that means it won’t pay rents on aircraft grounded by COVID 19 and which the carrier expects to save it $285 million over the next 12 months is unlikely to become standard industry practice, says Helene Spro, aviation finance analyst at Scope Ratings. “I don’t necessarily think that Norwegian’s deal with a number of lessors, that sees rents waived for planes grounded due to coronavirus will become standard practice.  But other airlines are likely to try to enter negotiations with their lessors to ensure that they are not missing out against their competitors.”