Norwegian Air Shuttle Orders 42 737NG Blended Winglet Systems

Norway's Low-Cost Airline Selects Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) Blended Winglet Technology

SEATTLE, April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Norwegian Air Shuttle ordered 42 Blended Winglet Systems for their recently ordered new Boeing 737-800's, to be delivered from June 2009 to May 2014. In addition, the Norway-based carrier will also lease several other 737-800's equipped with Blended Winglets.

"We have to build our company with the most environmentally friendly solutions available. This winglet investment, as well as the entire order of 737-800's, is substantial and an important investment in order to deal with today's environmental issues. For airlines to make investments in new technology, it is important that regulation of CO2 and NOx emissions fees is adjusted so that investments in environmentally friendly solutions are stimulated further," says Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos.

Founded in September 2002, Norwegian started with six Boeing 737-300 aircraft on four domestic routes. Today, they have a fleet of 25 Boeing 737-300's, putting them in the top 10 in terms of the number of 737-300's being operated. In addition, they operate two Boeing 737-800's with Blended Winglets and eight MD-80's. In 2007, the airline transported 6.9 million passengers on 147 routes to 78 destinations. To date, Norwegian has retrofitted two 737-300's with Blended Winglets and has plans to retrofit additional 737-300's in the near future.

A typical 737-800 operator can expect to save about 492,000 liters (130,000 US gallons) of fuel per airplane, per year by operating with Blended Winglets. This equates to an annual reduction of roughly 1,250 metric tons of C02 emissions. Norwegian Air Shuttle estimates that they will save 33% in carbon emissions once this fuel-efficient fleet replaces the existing fleet.

"Norwegian Air Shuttle is a particularly progressive and eco-conscious airline and we're very pleased that they've made the decision to equip their recent purchase of Boeing 737-800's with Blended Winglet Technology," says Aviation Partners Boeing CEO John Reimers. "Already an operator of 737-300 Blended Winglets, this new order reinforces Norwegian's endorsement of our Visible Technology."

Aviation Partners Blended Winglets are now in service on over 2,200 Boeing aircraft. To date Blended Winglet technology has been certified for the Boeing 737-300, 737-500, 737-BBJ, 737-700, 737-800, 737-900, and 757-200. Currently, the 767-300ER is in flight testing to be certified with Blended Winglets. By 2014, Aviation Partners Boeing estimates that Blended Winglet technology will have saved the airline industry over 5 Billion gallons of jet fuel.

http://www.aviationpartnersboeing.com/ * Patent No. 5348253

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Source: Aviation Partners Boeing

CONTACT: Patrick LaMoria, VP Sales & Marketing of Aviation Partners
Boeing, +1-206-830-7699

Web site: http://www.aviationpartnersboeing.com/

2008-04-01 23:04:56 0325622 PRNEWSWIRE