Norwegian Air Shuttle is accelerating the pace of its restructuring with a further reduction of its capacity growth and the start of a search for a new CEO to replace Bjorn Kjos, who stepped down Thursday after 17 years in the role. Kjos, a former fighter pilot and co-founder of the Europe’s third largest low-cost carrier (LCC) by passenger numbers and the continent’s largest long-haul LCC, will become an adviser to the chairman. Kjos called his retirement “way overdue” during a news conference on Thursday. “You shouldn’t run an airline past your seventies,” he said. Kjos, 72, last year indicated his readiness to hand over the reins of the company he built from a small domestic operation with 130 employees and four aircraft to a global LCC with more than 11,000 employees and 162 aircraft. “I look forward to spending more time working on specific strategic projects that are crucial to the future success of Norwegian,” said Kjos, who insisted he is “very happy” with the new arrangement.
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