Norwegian makes big proposals in bid to survive

Norwegian Air made drastic proposals on Thursday (December 3) to try and survive the effects of the health crisis.

The airline put forward a package of debt conversion, aircraft divestment and the sale of new equity.

The carrier - based in Oslo - aims to raise up to 4 billion Norwegian crowns - or $455 million - from the sale of new shares of hybrid instruments.

This year's massive fall in travel numbers has brought the company to the brink of collapse.

It recently applied for bankruptcy protection in Ireland, with a hearing due at the Irish High Court on Monday (Dec 7).

Only six of Norwegian Air's 140 aircraft are currently in use, with the rest grounded.

That includes their entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners which they used for transatlantic flights.

Last month, Norway's government rejected the airline's call for another injection of state funds.

A day after that, Norwegian said it was at risk of having to stop operations in early 2021 unless it could find more money.

The company's plan is to eventually leave the Irish court process as a viable carrier that has the potential to turn a profit,

It aims to complete the transformation by late Feb 2021.