Norwegian is pleased to announce that two Nordic banks have obtained credit committee approval to provide a guarantee for the required 10 percent for the first tranche of 300 million Norwegian kroner (NOK). Norwegian will secure the necessary headroom to pursue further guarantees from the Norwegian Government.
Government measures On Thursday 19 March, the Norwegian Government proposed a guarantee of NOK 6 billion for the Norwegian airline industry, of which up to NOK 3 billion is directed to Norwegian. The guarantee will be up to 90 percent from the Norwegian Government provided that financial institutions contribute with the remaining 10 percent. The guarantee scheme will consist of three tranches with a maximum two years maturity.
Since Thursday evening Norwegian has worked with banks and financial institutions and is pleased to announce that two Nordic banks have obtained credit committee approval to contribute with the 10 percent required in guarantee for Tranche I and to provide the NOK 300 million in financing backed by the guarantee from the Norwegian Government. The Company is working with the banks and the Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency (“GIEK”), who will administrate the guarantee scheme, on the documentation in order to obtain the NOK 300 million in liquidity as soon as possible.
The Company is now working with GIEK and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries to clarify the criteria and terms related to the remaining tranches under the scheme and to obtain further guarantees from financial institutions in order to back such remaining tranches. Norwegian will update the market with its further plan of action and implications for its stakeholders as soon as the criteria and terms have been finalized. The Government guarantee scheme is crucial for the Company as the current state of the capital markets in combination with the challenging times for the airline industry limit the options available. The first NOK 300 million will create necessary headroom to pursue the remaining tranches of the guarantee scheme.
Operational update Currently, most of the fleet is grounded and Norwegian has reduced its operations to a minimum. The airline will now primarily operate domestically in Norway and Sweden and between the Nordic capitals, in order to deliver on its corporate responsibility of maintaining critical infrastructure so that people and necessary goods and medical supplies can be transported during this unprecedented crisis. The limited schedule will remain in place until further notice. In addition, Norwegian has conducted repatriation flights together with the authorities in order to get citizens of Norway, Denmark and Sweden back home.
In order to reduce cost, Norwegian has temporarily laid off approximately 90 percent of its workforce and will continue to implement additional cost measures going forward.
Alstom will deliver 19 Coradia Continental electric regional trains to the state of Baden-Württemberg. The contract, signed with DB Regio, is worth approximately €120 million. The trains will be built at Alstom’s site in Salzgitter.
Beginning in December 2022, the new trains will be gradually deployed on the routes from Karlsruhe to Heilbronn, Achern, as well as via Freudenstadt to Herrenberg.
The new trains have been designed to optimise passenger experience while meeting the region’s operational requirements. In addition to high-performance WiFi, they will include spacious multi-purpose areas in each car and a large capacity for bicycles. The trains are specifically designed to cope with the steep gradients that punctuate the tracks running through the Black Forest.
“Passengers in the Karlsruhe region can look forward to modern, proven and reliable trains. Our trains not only satisfy passengers, but are also known for outstanding reliability and availability, thus offering absolute planning security for operators,”says Jörg Nikutta, Managing Director of Alstom in Germany and Austria.
The Coradia Continental is part of Alstom’s Coradia range of modular trains that benefits from more than 30 years of know-how. To date, over 2,800 Coradia trains have been sold and 2,400 are currently in service in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Canada.
The new vehicles will be procured by DB Regio AG on behalf of the Ministry of Transport of the state of Baden-Württemberg as the responsible public transport authority for this network. After delivery of the vehicles, they become the property of the Landesanstalt Schienenfahrzeuge Baden-Württemberg (SFBW) and are leased by DB Regio for the term of the 13-year transport contract.
Saab has signed a contract with the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command, and received an order to provide and integrate the combat system for the Finnish Navy’s new Pohjanmaa-class corvettes within the Squadron 2020 programme.
This follows the previously announced selection on 19 September. The order value is 412 million Euro and the contract period is 2019-2027. The Finnish shipyard RMC Defence will build the Finnish Navy’s four new corvettes, with construction 2022 to 2025. The corvettes will be fully operational by 2028.
“We are proud that Finland has chosen Saab as combat system provider and integrator for their new corvettes. Saab has a long history in Finland and the Squadron 2020 contract means that we will increase our footprint in and deepen our relationship with Finland for many years to come”, says Micael Johansson, Senior Executive Vice President and Deputy CEO at Saab.
The contract includes, among other things, Saab’s Combat Management System (9LV) and Saab’s radars Sea Giraffe 4A Fixed Face and Sea Giraffe 1X. The communication system TactiCall as well as the remote weapon station Trackfire, are also included in the contract.
“This is going to be the world’s most modern and advanced corvettes, with state of the art technology and capabilities, including the 9LV Combat Management System and the integrated mast featuring Saab’s sophisticated Sea Giraffe 4A Fixed Face radar and the Sea Giraffe 1X radar”, continues Micael Johansson.
Saab will carry out the work in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Australia and South Africa.
(Reuters) – The collapse of British travel operator Thomas Cook left hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers abroad and forced governments and insurers to coordinate a huge operation to get them home.
FILE PHOTO: Passengers are silhouetted in front of a closed service counter of travel agent Thomas Cook and airline Condor at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
The company ran hotels, resorts and airlines ferrying 19 million people a year to 16 different countries.
Here is a summary of the impact of the collapse in different countries and efforts to salvage parts of the group:
GERMANY
Thomas Cook’s German tour business filed for insolvency on Wednesday in a move aimed at separating its brands and operations from its failed parent, and it said it was in talks with potential new investors.
The German government said it was considering an application for a bridging loan from Thomas Cook Germany, a day after it said it would guarantee a 380 million euro ($418 million) bridging loan for Condor, the British group’s German airline.
The company is in contact with the German foreign ministry, insurers and other partners to get customers home. Zurich Insurance, which provided insolvency cover to Thomas Cook Germany, will cover the costs for those on holiday.
About 97,000 holidaymakers were still stranded on Thursday.
AUSTRIA
Thomas Cook Austria, which belongs to the German unit, also filed for insolvency on Wednesday, with the aim of continuing in business.
THE NETHERLANDS
The Dutch unit of Thomas Cook canceled all travel booked through Thomas Cook Netherlands and subsidiary Neckermann.
A Dutch court on Wednesday granted Thomas Cook Nederland B.V., a Netherlands-based subsidiary, protection from creditors. It employed roughly 200 staff.
POLAND
Thomas Cook’s Polish unit, Neckermann Polska, said on Wednesday that it has filed for insolvency. Poland regional authorities says around 3,600 customers of Neckermann Polska are still abroad.
BELGIUM
Thomas Cook’s Belgian unit ceased carrying passengers on Tuesday and liquidated two businesses, seeking protection from creditors and ultimately a buyer for Thomas Cook Retail Belgium.
It still has some 13,400 customers on holidays abroad.
NORDICS
Several planes operated by Thomas Cook Scandinavian Airlines have not been able to take off because their leasing contracts remained with the British parent, Danish subsidiary Spies said.
It was not immediately clear how the situation would be resolved.
Thomas Cook’s Nordic business said on Monday it would continue to operate as it is a separate legal entity from its London-listed parent and added that it was looking for new owners.
The Nordic business consists of two legal entities, Thomas Cook Northern Europe and Thomas Cook Scandinavian Airlines, and is also known as Ving Group.
The business operates under several brands: Ving in Norway, Spies in Denmark, Tjäreborg in Finland, as well as Ving and Globetrotter in Sweden.
BRITAIN
Emergency flights had brought 14,700 people back to the United Kingdom on 64 flights on Monday, and around 135,300 more were expected to be returned over the next 13 days, Britain’s aviation regulator said.
More than 70 flights were scheduled to operate on Wednesday to bring back 16,500 people.
MEXICO
The collapse of British travel firm Thomas Cook will not have a “significant impact” on Mexico’s tourist industry as it only represents about 0.4% of the sector’s foreign income, the Mexican tourism ministry said on Tuesday.
BULGARIA
Thomas Cook’s collapse poses a serious challenge to Bulgarian tourism, with dozens of Black Sea hotels facing losses totaling tens of millions of dollars as negotiations for the next summer season take place, its tourism minister said on Tuesday.
TUNISIA
Tunisian tourism minister Rene Trabelsi told Reuters that 4,500 Thomas Cook customers are still on holiday in Tunisia.
The British government repatriated about 1,200 tourists via planes sent to Tunisa’s Enfidha airport, and another 4,000 still in Tunisia will return after their holidays.
FRANCE
The French arm of the business said on Tuesday it was asking the French commercial court of Nanterre for creditor protection
Thomas Cook France will hold a meeting of its works council on Thursday about a plan to declare insolvency and to start a recovery procedure.
French organization Entreprises de Voyage said that about 10,000 French tourists could be affected by the bankruptcy.
SPAIN
The collapse has affected 53,000 Britons in Spain, Spanish Acting Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto told reporters.
The ministry has been in touch with German and Swedish authorities to ensure Thomas Cook subsidiaries continue to operate at least for the winter season, she added.
GREECE
A Greek tourism ministry official told Reuters that about 50,000 tourists were affected.
CYPRUS
Cyprus says 15,000 Thomas Cook customers were stranded on the island.
HUNGARY
Thomas Cook’s Hungarian unit Neckermann Magyarorszag said it was continuing its operations and all passengers would be able to return from abroad as planned.
It said its financial situation was stable and its assets were sufficient guarantee that its passengers would not suffer any financial damage. It said passengers should contact its offices directly about upcoming flights.
RUSSIA
Thomas Cook’s Russian tour operator subsidiary, Intourist, said the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook will have no impact on clients, Executive Director Sergei Tolchin told Interfax.
TURKEY
The Turkish Ministry of Tourism said it will provide support for local companies affected by the Thomas Cook collapse.
The head of the country’s Hotelier Federation said about 45,000 tourists from the UK and elsewhere in Europe are in the country.
MOROCCO
Morocco’s tourism ministry said it had created a crisis unit to handle the fallout from Thomas Cook’s collapse. Thomas Cook operated two flights to Marrakesh a week. No official numbers were given.
EGYPT
Thomas Cook operator Blue Sky Group said that 25,000 reservations in Egypt booked up to April 2020 had been cancelled. Blue Sky currently has 1,600 tourists in Egypt’s Hugharda resort.
INDIA
Thomas Cook India said it had been unaffected as it has been a separate entity since August 2012.
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Icelandic low-cost carrier WOW air, which is in talks with U.S. private equity fund Indigo Partners about a potential investment, said on Thursday it would reduce its fleet to 11 aircraft from twenty and cut 111 jobs.
Indigo is managed by Bill Franke, the veteran U.S. low-cost airline investor, and has also made investments in U.S.-based Frontier Airlines, Mexico’s Volaris, Chilean carrier JetSmart and Hungary’s Wizz (WIZZ.L).
“After a challenging year, WOW air is now restructuring and simplifying its operations to return to its roots as a profitable ultra-low cost airline while discussions with Indigo Partners progress,” WOW Air said in a statement.
It said it was in negotiations with its lessors to return some of its aircraft including all Airbus A330s. Four Airbus A321s are being sold in a transaction that will improve its liquidity by more than $10 million, it said.
WOW Air will have around 1,000 employees after the job cuts, it said.
Indigo and WOW Air have not disclosed any details about their talks, but WOW Air has said that CEO and primary shareholder, Skuli Mogensen will remain a principal investor in WOW after the deal.
Icelandair (ICEAIR.IC) last month scrapped its plan to buy the privately-held airline.
(Reporting by Teis Jensen; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
