Scandinavian budget carrier Norwegian has signed a letter of intent to lease two Boeing 787-8s from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC).

Norwegian will take delivery of the aircraft from autumn 2012 and will use them to launch its planned long-haul operation.

The carrier said earlier this year that it planned to launch long-haul operations in 2011, and that it envisioned acquiring up to 15 widebodies.

New York and Bangkok have been named by Norwegian as being the "most likely" initial destinations.

Norwegian chief commercial officer Daniel Skjeldam said last year that the long-haul operation would be a separate entity from the carrier's European services and would operate as a low-cost carrier.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news