Norse Atlantic lands lease deal with PIA

Says long-term ACMI agreements with major international carriers help shield it from market fluctuations

Norse Atlantic Airways will lease two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to Pakistan International ​Airlines (PIA), it said on Friday, in the ‌latest move by the struggling Norwegian airline to shore up its finances.

The agreement helps Norse ​retain a key ACMI (aircraft, crew, ​maintenance and insurance) contract after India's largest ⁠airline, IndiGo, said in July it would end its ​wet-lease arrangement with the Norwegian group.

Norse, faced with ​soaring jet fuel costs, has been reducing its exposure to low-cost transatlantic services and increasing its focus ​on ACMI, under which it leases ​aircraft and crews to other airlines for a ‌fee.

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Norse Atlantic Airways is scheduled to begin flight operations for PIA in November.

The airline said long-term ACMI agreements with major international carriers help shield it from fluctuations in passenger demand and fuel prices.

Norse added that it is in discussions with other airlines about potential ACMI contracts. The carrier operates a fleet of 12 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

In July, Norse Atlantic also began a formal process to explore a possible sale or merger, as it considered strategic options for the business.