Press release - 16 March 2010 19:13

SAS ordered to pay Norwegian close to NOK 175 million for industrial espionage

- We are very pleased that the Court of Appeal has ordered SAS to pay Norwegian close to NOK 175 million (approx 22 million EUR) in damages for the industrial espionage that we were exposed to, said CEO of Norwegian, Bjørn Kjos. Borgarting Court of Appeal has ordered SAS to pay damages of NOK 160 million, in addition to legal costs for the District Court and the Court of Appeal. In total, the amount adds up to just under NOK 175 million.

At the end of last year, the Court of Appeal heard the action for damages for SAS’ industrial espionage against Norwegian. The District Court ordered SAS to pay Norwegian NOK 132 million plus legal costs, in total amounting to over NOK 138 million. Both SAS and Norwegian appealed against the amount of damages to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal has ordered SAS to pay NOK 160 million in damages, plus the full legal costs amounting to NOK 6 839 770 for the District Court and NOK 7 851 472 for the Court of Appeal. Borgarting Court of Appeal has by its ruling raised the amount of compensation and upheld Norwegian’s contention that the company suffered a significant economic loss as a result of SAS’ industrial espionage.

- That the Court of Appeal now increases the amount of compensation is an important signal that industrial espionage will not be accepted, said Bjørn Kjos. At the same time, it shows that the justice system works and that unethical behavior over time will have economic consequences.

- In a very vulnerable start-up phase of the company we were exposed to gross and cynical industrial espionage from SAS. Norwegian lost several hundred million Norwegian kroner as a result of SAS illegally usurping internal and sensitive information about Norwegian from the booking system Amadeus. SAS has been convicted for this espionage. That the Court of Appeal now increases the amount of damages is a natural outcome of the case and we are very pleased with the result, said CEO Bjørn Kjos.

The grounds for the judgment will, according to the Court of Appeal, be published tomorrow, 17 March.

Contacts:

SVP Corporate Communications Anne-Sissel Skånvik, +47 97 55 43 44

Counsel for Norwegian, attorney-at-law Anders Ryssdal, +47 90 78 47 94

Topics

Contacts

For journalists only

Press contact Norwegian Press Office press@norwegian.com +47 815 11 816

Marketing/sponsorhip requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Press contact Marketing/sponsorship requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Norwegian.com

The Norwegian group is a leading Nordic aviation company, headquartered at Fornebu outside Oslo, Norway. The company has over 8,200 employees and owns two of the prominent airlines in the Nordics: Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe’s Flyveselskap. Widerøe was acquired by Norwegian in 2024, aiming to facilitate seamless air travel across the two airline’s networks.

Norwegian Air Shuttle, the largest Norwegian airline with around 4,700 employees, operates an extensive route network connecting Nordic countries to key European destinations. In 2023, Norwegian carried over 20 million passengers and maintained a fleet of 87 Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Widerøe’s Flyveselskap, Norway’s oldest airline, is Scandinavia’s largest regional carrier. The airline has more than 3,500 employees. Mainly operating the short-runway airports in rural Norway, Widerøe operates several state contract routes (PSO routes) in addition to its own commercial network. In 2023, the airline had 3.3 million passengers and a fleet of 48 aircraft, including 45 Bombardier Dash 8’s and three Embraer E190-E2's. Widerøe Ground Handling provides ground handling services at 41 Norwegian airports.

The Norwegian group has sustainability as a key priority and has committed to significantly reducing carbon emissions from its operations. Among numerous initiatives, the most noteworthy is the investment in production and use of fossil-free aviation fuel (SAF). Norwegian strives to become the sustainable choice for its passengers, actively contributing to the transformation of the aviation industry.