Norwegian Air to start US-Paris flights; Ireland postponed: CEO
US regulators mull whether to approve those flights
PHOTO: REUTERS
NORWEGIAN AIR:
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA will start direct flights between Paris and the United States this summer but must postpone new service from Cork, Ireland, as US regulators mull whether to approve those flights, Chief Executive Bjørn Kjos said in an interview on Thursday.
The Paris flights underscore the ambitions of Europe's third-biggest budget carrier to rapidly expand its long-haul business from the United States. The airline has relied on the fuel-efficient 787 jetliner from Boeing Co to keep its costs low and cut fares on trans-Atlantic routes dominated by traditional flag carriers.
Fast and free wifi quest puts airlines in uncharted territory
"The most interesting cities for (US) tourists to go to are London, Paris, Barcelona and Rome. That's where we see large leisure growth in the future," Kjos said, noting Norwegian will more than double the number of 787s it flies in the next two years and grow faster from New York.
"We have opened a new base in Rome now. Obviously there is a reason why we open new bases," he added. A more than two-year review by the US Transportation Department of a request by Norwegian's Irish subsidiary to fly from the United States is putting certain growth plans on hold, however.
Opposition from US airlines and unions that allege the subsidiary would undermine wages and working standards – claims dismissed by Norwegian - has slowed a typically swifter approval process. Kjos said Norwegian cannot launch flights from Boston to Cork and Cork to Barcelona in May 2016 as planned because its subsidiary must wait three months after the US government grants approval before putting seats up for sale.
US airlines keep normal Paris service after attacks
Even then, "You can't fill a flight a day after you start to sell tickets," Kjos said. He said he expects the European Union to seek arbitration on the delay, which Kjos said violated a US aviation pact with Europe. Flights to Paris from New York will start on July 29, followed by Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale service. The company said peak one-way fares begin at $275, and off-peak ones begin at $175.
Kjos said he was not concerned about lower demand from the November 13 Paris attacks, in which Islamic State militants killed130 people. Bookings on Norwegian's flights within Europe to Paris rebounded a couple of days after the incident, he said.
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA will start direct flights between Paris and the United States this summer but must postpone new service from Cork, Ireland, as US regulators mull whether to approve those flights, Chief Executive Bjørn Kjos said in an interview on Thursday.
The Paris flights underscore the ambitions of Europe's third-biggest budget carrier to rapidly expand its long-haul business from the United States. The airline has relied on the fuel-efficient 787 jetliner from Boeing Co to keep its costs low and cut fares on trans-Atlantic routes dominated by traditional flag carriers.
Fast and free wifi quest puts airlines in uncharted territory
"The most interesting cities for (US) tourists to go to are London, Paris, Barcelona and Rome. That's where we see large leisure growth in the future," Kjos said, noting Norwegian will more than double the number of 787s it flies in the next two years and grow faster from New York.
"We have opened a new base in Rome now. Obviously there is a reason why we open new bases," he added. A more than two-year review by the US Transportation Department of a request by Norwegian's Irish subsidiary to fly from the United States is putting certain growth plans on hold, however.
Opposition from US airlines and unions that allege the subsidiary would undermine wages and working standards – claims dismissed by Norwegian - has slowed a typically swifter approval process. Kjos said Norwegian cannot launch flights from Boston to Cork and Cork to Barcelona in May 2016 as planned because its subsidiary must wait three months after the US government grants approval before putting seats up for sale.
US airlines keep normal Paris service after attacks
Even then, "You can't fill a flight a day after you start to sell tickets," Kjos said. He said he expects the European Union to seek arbitration on the delay, which Kjos said violated a US aviation pact with Europe. Flights to Paris from New York will start on July 29, followed by Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale service. The company said peak one-way fares begin at $275, and off-peak ones begin at $175.
Kjos said he was not concerned about lower demand from the November 13 Paris attacks, in which Islamic State militants killed130 people. Bookings on Norwegian's flights within Europe to Paris rebounded a couple of days after the incident, he said.