Norwegian Air Downsizes

[MRVEGAS711]

NO RELATION, but sadly, Norwegian Air is being killed by Covid and eliminating all long hauls. They will be come a regional airlines out of Scandinavia. Great airlines, very sad to hear this news.

[EllieinNJ]

Maybe  when Europe opens up and cruises are sailing again they will do the long hauls.  I have a transatlantic for April 2022 and hoped to use them for the one  way back to the states.

[tallnthensome]

Cruise Air forum. This has nothing to do with NCL. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/77-cruise-air/

[scottbee]

1 hour ago, EllieinNJ said:

Maybe  when Europe opens up and cruises are sailing again they will do the long hauls.  I have a transatlantic for April 2022 and hoped to use them for the one  way back to the states.

Well that's not going to be an option.  They are removing all of their long-haul fleet.

 

[hallasm]

The Norwegian Air that we will see when the Corona crisis has subsided will be much more modest if it survives the crisis.  It will focus on the Scandinavian core business and handle an European network of routes - based in the Nordic countries.
Long-distance routes are a chapter over.  No cheap direct routes to/from the United States.  Farewell to the great ambitions of London's airports.

[SelectSys]

22 hours ago, hallasm said:

No cheap direct routes to/from the United States.

 

Perhaps for now.  With all of the extra aircraft on the used market it is possible that someone will try again.

[hallasm]

5 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

With all of the extra aircraft on the used market it is possible that someone will try again.

Probably someone will try again when the market returns to normal, but hardly Norwegian Air.  They never managed to make a profit in that market.

[SelectSys]

4 hours ago, hallasm said:

They never managed to make a profit in that market

True, but they also were incredibly unlucky with all the problems with their fleet of 787's and 737-MAX's.  Then came COVID and it was more than anyone could take without really deep pockets or state support.

[hallasm]

3 hours ago, SelectSys said:

True, but they also were incredibly unlucky with all the problems with their fleet of 787's and 737-MAX's.  Then came COVID and it was more than anyone could take without really deep pockets or state support.

Correct,  but the airline was run like a tech company for years, focused exclusively on market share over profitability,

Norwegian Air was denied bailout by Norway.  only a small percentage of Norwegian’s transatlantic flights have been from Norway, 

[SelectSys]

18 hours ago, hallasm said:

Norwegian Air was denied bailout by Norway.  only a small percentage of Norwegian’s transatlantic flights have been from Norway, 

 

I was surprised the government gave them so much money at the beginning of the COVID crisis.  I suppose the Norwegian government/taxpayer was responsible for my refund of a cancelled flight.  Thanks Norway for making me whole!

 

Personally I am really sad to see them go locally.  Their presence in LA was pretty impressive for a short time with lots of non-stops to Europe at a great price.  The premium cabin met my "sweet spot" in terms of comfort and price. 

 

I can only hope that someone tries again in the future.  Disruptions like COVID also provide opportunities for new players to grow with rebounding travel.  The world is certainly awash in both easy money capital and aircraft right now so the right group could probably make a run at it.

[hallasm]

Founder of Norwegian Airshuttle, Bjørn Kjos, is taking another run at the low-cost long-haul market. He and other investors have set up a new airline after Norwegian Airshuttle decided earlier this year to exit the long-haul routes.

 

‘Norse Atlantic Airways’ has ambitious plans to fill the gap in the market left by Norwegian’s decision to exit long-haul routes. The carrier plans to operate a fleet of Boeing 787s, potentially those that were previously operated by Norwegian.

 

Tickets are expected to be available for sale in fall 2021 and the first flight is expected to take off in December 2021.

 

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by hallasm

[SelectSys]

On 3/21/2021 at 1:19 AM, hallasm said:

Founder of Norwegian Airshuttle, Bjørn Kjos, is taking another run at the low-cost long-haul market. He and other investors have set up a new airline after Norwegian Airshuttle decided earlier this year to exit the long-haul routes.

 

‘Norse Atlantic Airways’ has ambitious plans to fill the gap in the market left by Norwegian’s decision to exit long-haul routes. The carrier plans to operate a fleet of Boeing 787s, potentially those that were previously operated by Norwegian.

 

Tickets are expected to be available for sale in fall 2021 and the first flight is expected to take off in December 2021.

 

 

Thanks for posting this story!  I for one will be happy to see someone try again.  I bet the price was pretty good for taking on these aircraft.  Here is another link:

https://www.gatechecked.com/aercap-and-norse-atlantic-airways-sign-lease-agreement-for-9-used-boeing-787s-4887

Nordic start-up Norse Atlantic Airways has finalized a leasing arrangement for 9 used Rolls-Royce powered Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Split between six -9s and three -8s, the long-haulers will come from crippled Norwegian Air...

In a Skift interview, Norse Atlantic’s boss Bjorn Kjos said that they “have industry knowledge and have secured modern Dreamliners at very good terms.”