Norwegian Air Shuttle Will Operate Plane Leased From ILFC

Boeing celebrated a special program milestone Thursday, with the delivery of its 6,000th 737. The aircraft was delivered to International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC) which will lease the 737 to Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA.

The airplane's tail features a special decal denoting this milestone.

"We couldn't be more pleased about being part of this important milestone for the 737. With its continuous innovations, the Next-Generation 737 brings the right combination of operational and environmental performance to address the requirements of our markets," said Bjorn Kjos, chief executive officer of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA.

Norwegian Air Shuttle is the largest low-fare airline company in Scandinavia and has a route portfolio that stretches across Europe into North Africa and the Middle East. Norwegian has 39 737s in its fleet and an additional 42 on firm order with Boeing.

"ILFC's very first Boeing delivery was a 737 and since then we've taken delivery of more than 400 of this outstanding model, re-ordering incremental airplanes dozens of times," said Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, ILFC chairman and chief executive officer. "The Next-Generation 737 is a major cornerstone to ILFC's modern, fuel-efficient and economical portfolio of more than 1,000 commercial jets."

"It is exciting to deliver our 6,000th 737 to ILFC and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and we thank them for being among the hundreds of airlines, operators and leasing companies who have made the 737 the world's most popular jet airliner," said Mark Jenkins, vice president and general manager, 737 Airplane Programs. "Thousands of employees have supported the many 737 variations Boeing has introduced, including today's all-new Next-Generation 737 family which is used in private, government and commercial service."

Boeing says that to date, unfilled orders for the 737 exceed 2,200 airplanes valued at approximately $163 billion at list prices... even in the current slumping economy. As ANN reported earlier this week, the planemaker steadfastly maintains it has no plans to trim production of the popular narrowbody, though analysts believe Boeing will need to do so eventually.

FMI: www.boeing.com/