廉價航空的先驅、挪威航空公司（Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA）的聯合創始人比約恩·科約斯在緩解公司債務危機上取得重大進展后決定退休。

挪威航空公司在上周四的聲明中表示，于1993年協助成立公司并帶領它快速發展的科約斯將離職。首席財務官蓋爾·卡爾森將在過渡時期暫代首席執行官，直到找到正式繼任者為止。

曾經是戰斗機飛行員的科約斯將挪威航空打造成了歐洲短途市場的主力軍，和以瑞安航空控股（Ryanair Holdings Plc）為首的廉價航空巨頭展開了競爭。在發現這個市場難以攻破后，他改變策略，轉而主打低成本的長途航班，在跨大西洋航線上向英國航空（British Airways）等公司發起了挑戰。

科約斯的超低折扣價深受公眾歡迎，但如此一來，利潤空間太小，飛機成本讓資產負債達到了極限點。過去一年里，72歲的他為了保證公司穩定、維持經營利潤，已經限制了業務的增長。

科約斯在公司發布第二季度財報后的視頻電話中表示：“你不應該在70多歲時還領導一家航空公司。我已經逾期退休了。”

挪威航空在第二季度加快了轉變的腳步，扣除利息和稅金前的收益達到了6.228億克羅納（合7,300萬美元），是之前的三倍。保證收益增長的途徑包括取消業績最差的路線，減少飛機交付，整體控制業務發展的速度。比起去年第二季度48%的運力提升，今年的提升幅度只有6%。

盡管如此，截至撰文當日的上午11:48，挪威航空在奧斯陸證券交易所的股價仍舊下跌了5.8%至42.1克羅納，過去12個月里股票收益降低了69%。在此期間，英國航空的所有者國際航空集團（IAG SA）放棄了收購要約，而今年2月宣布的新股增發也稀釋了股權。

DNB的分析師認為，挪威航空更換首席執行官且并非正式繼任者，再加上發展計劃的進一步削減和低于預期的現金結存，對股票會產生負面影響，可能導致對全年收益預期的修正。Goodbody的分析師在另一份照會中表示，波音公司（Boeing Co.）737 Max禁飛給挪威航空帶來了7億克羅納的損失，再加上公司較低的燃油對沖，也讓公司暴露在風險之中。

繼任計劃

Davy Stockbrokers的分析師斯蒂芬·弗隆表示，科約斯是這家航空公司背后的推手，并“讓它從無到有”。

他從2002年起擔任首席執行官并兼任董事長，帶領公司從只有130名員工和4架飛機的區域運營商發展為擁有超過1.1萬名員工和162架飛機的國際航空公司。

科約斯張開雙臂，咧嘴笑道：“這是我最后一次上臺展示，希望你們為此感到開心。”他在隨后的采訪中表示：“蓋爾很棒。”

過去幾個月里，科約斯一直表示希望在公司的收益出現好轉跡象后退休。他將繼續作為57歲的董事長尼爾斯·施米德加德的顧問。隨著公司的重心傾向于盈利，尼爾斯計劃扮演更加積極的角色。

挪威航空最終的命運依舊懸而未決，兩周前的一篇報道推測國際航空集團在之前的收購被拒絕后，又計劃提出一份新的出價——盡管這家總部位于倫敦的集團否認了這一情況。

德國漢莎航空（Deutsche Lufthansa AG）也在考慮收購挪威航空。科約斯的伙伴、前董事長比約恩·基斯已經于5月離職，隨著他也離開公司，業內的主要競爭者可能會產生更大的興趣。

作為重要的持股人，科約斯在接受彭博社采訪時表示：“無論是國際航空集團還是其他公司，這些收購都將由董事會應對。我們的持股量不到20%，會跟隨他們的決定。”

另一件待辦的重要事項是確保合資企業計劃順利推進，這會讓公司獲得新的資金來購買客機及償付今年晚些時候到期的債券。臨時首席執行官卡爾森在上周四表示，關于合資企業的談判進展順利，具體情況會在幾周內明晰。

科約斯表示：“有許多感興趣的公司想要參與其中，我們選擇了一家適合我們，且已在亞洲扎根的公司，這是我們選擇的標準。”（財富中文網）

譯者：嚴匡正

Bjorn Kjos, a pioneer of low-cost travel as co-founder of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, is stepping down as chief executive officer after making progress toward resolving the carrier’s debt crisis.

Kjos, who helped found Norwegian in 1993 and led its rapid growth, will leave the post immediately, the company said last Thursday in a statement. Chief Financial Officer Geir Karlsen will become interim CEO until a permanent successor is found.

A former fighter pilot, Kjos established Norwegian as a major force in the European short-haul market, taking on no-frills giants led by Ryanair Holdings Plc. After that market proved tough to crack, he altered course to target low-cost long-haul flights, challenging giants such as British Airways on trans-Atlantic routes.

His heavily discounted fares proved popular with the public but margins were thin and fleet costs stretched the balance sheet to breaking point. Over the past year, Kjos, 72, has tempered growth to stabilize the company and preserve profit.

“You shouldn’t lead an airline past your 70s,” Kjos said on a video call after the company reported second-quarter results. “I’m way overdue to retire.”

The turnaround picked up pace in the second quarter, as earnings before interest and tax more than tripled to 622.8 million kroner ($73 million). The improvement has been secured by dropping the worst-performing routes, slowing aircraft deliveries and generally reining in the pace of growth. Capacity gained 6% in the period versus a 48% surge a year ago.

Still, Norwegian shares declined 5.8% to 42.10 kroner as of 11:48 a.m. in Oslo, dragging the return to negative 69% in the past 12 months, during which British Airways owner IAG SA dropped a takeover bid and a rights offering announced in February diluted equity.

Analysts at DNB suggested the CEO change without a permanent replacement, along with further cuts to growth plans and a smaller cash balance than expected, were negatives for the stock and would trigger a revision to full-year earnings estimates. A 700 million-kroner hit from the grounding of the Boeing Co. 737 Max, as well as Norwegian’s low fuel hedges, have also left the carrier exposed, Goodbody analysts said in a separate note.

Succession Plan

Kjos was the driving force behind the airline and “built it from nothing,” said Davy Stockbrokers analyst Stephen Furlong.

He has been CEO since 2002, while taking stints as chairman, guiding the company from a regional operator with 130 staff and four planes to a global airline employing more than 11,000 people and operating 162 aircraft.

“This was my last presentation, you can be happy with that,“ Kjos said with a wide grin, his arms outstretched. “Geir is awesome,” he said in a subsequent interview.

He had been saying for months that he wanted to retire after earnings showed signs of a recovery. Kjos will remain an adviser to Chairman Niels Smedegaard, 57, who plans to take on a more active role as the company shifts its focus toward profitability.

The ultimate fate of Norwegian remains unclear, with a report two weeks ago suggesting IAG is planning a fresh bid after earlier approaches were rejected -- though the London-based group said that wasn’t the case.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG also examined a purchase and the departure of Kjos following the exit in May of his ally, former chairman Bjorn Kise, may stoke further interest among major industry players.

“Whether it’s IAG or someone else, all this must be dealt with by the board,” Kjos, a significant owner, told Bloomberg. “We’re just a shareholder with less than 20%, so we’ll follow the stream.“

Another major item on the to-do list is securing a joint-venture plan that would bring in new financing for the airline’s fleet and help fund a bond maturity later this year. Interim CEO Karlsen said last Thursday that talks on the JV are progressing and the company expects clarity within weeks.

“We’ve had many interested parties who wanted to be part of this, and we chose one that we believe is a good fit and has good penetration in Asia, that was a criterion,” Kjos said.