A key issue for NAS itself is terminating leases on aircraft held by the Irish companies and returning them. Its lawyers recently signalled that it wanted to do this with 36 jets, but on Monday, the High Court heard that the airline had reached settlements with lessors, including
Avolon, SMBC
Aviation Capital,
Orix, Aviation Capital Group and others, relating to 21 aircraft.
The court will hear applications to repudiate leases covering the remaining planes, along with service contracts with various other suppliers on February 23rd. It is possible that more creditors will have agreed deals by then, but a few leases are likely to remain, so that hearing itself could take days.
Asking the court to repudiate the leases will be complex, as they involve the agreements themselves, guarantees and other contracts. They also involve several parties, namely the airline subsidiaries, lessors, banks and other entities. This is a long-haul journey, the like of which the Norwegian airline has never before experienced.