Norwegian Air sees Boeing 737 MAX flying again in October as second quarter beats

OSLO (Reuters) - Airline Norwegian Air <NWC.OL> said it expected its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to return to service in October and lowered its growth outlook as it reported second-quarter results that beat expectations on Thursday.

It cut its target for a production growth (ASK) to 0-5%, compared to the previous guidance for 5-10%, Europe's third-largest budget carrier by passenger numbers said in a statement.

The firm's net profit came in a 82.8 million Norwegian crowns (£7.7 million) while five analysts in a Refinitiv estimate forecast a profit of 76.2 million crowns, down from a profit of 300.3 million crowns in the year-ago period.

(Reporting by Victoria Klesty, editing by Gwladys Fouche)