Norwegian's tough winter

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Viewing 15 posts - 91 through 105 (of 181 total)

  • mkcol74
    Participant

    Although in digging I did find this about their Swedish crew


    AMcWhirter
    Participant

    Maybe this is the news you seek.

    https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/money/5494300/norwegian-air-pilots-bust/

    2 users thanked author for this post.

    canucklad
    Participant

    Makes for grim reading Alex, and i wonder if personal greed will override the greater good and Norwegian will be no more.

    Really sad news as they really are a great airline, if you’re flying to Tenerife
    Part of their problem was probably people like me.
    No way would I have jumped on a 737 at EDI to fly 7 odd hours to somewhere in NY state for a long weekend in the Big Apple for not much less than flying United or Delta to JFK or Newark.

    Can’t remember the routes they flew from EDI across the Atlantic, but never really thought it was sustainable

    2 users thanked author for this post.

    AMcWhirter
    Participant

    Norwegian should have remained short-haul only. A few years ago I wrote a piece for the magazine which questioned the viability of low-cost long-haul. At that time it appeared low-cost long-haul would never happen.

    However what changed the situation was a)the availability of a new generation of long-haul narrow-bodies which are cheaper to buy and more economical to operate than wide-bodies and b)lower fuel prices.

    I must point out that Norwegian’s original intention for long-haul were the routes between Scandinavia/Europe and the Far East to cover destinations in China (including Hong Kong) along with Japan and so on.

    Because Norwegian wasn’t able to obtain Russian overflying rights (or maybe wasn’t prepared to pay Russia’s royalty fees) it decided to deply its B787 fleet (plus the 737 MAX aircraft later) to transatlantic routes.

    Granted Norwegian did operate to Bangkok (from Scandinavia) and to Singapore (from the UK) but these routes can be operated without overflying Russia.

    It later decided to open new routes between Europe and Latin America because the yields to SE Asia are low (as so much indirect flight competition).


    SimonS1
    Participant

    I always struggled to make them out. Low cost operator with long haul routes and a premium cabin.

    One of the reasons Easyjet and Ryanair have been successful is the ruthless focus on a clear target market.

    Sadly it looks like the game is up.


    jjlasne
    Participant

    It seems that all carriers are struggling – Norwegian Airlines more so than others – but they are all expecting financial assistance from their respective governments.

    If Norway is serious about keeping Norwegian Airlines operating – and thus making it a de-facto national carrier, 5 billion pounds is quite a liability to take on even for a rich country like Norway.


    capetonianm
    Participant

    Longhaul low cost cannot work sustainably. If it could, there’s a certain Irishman who would have jumped right in to that market and would be operating.

    Norwegians’ other problem is that it never identified its market, nor what type of operator it was. It started out by trying to be all things to all people, then constantly refocused. It didn’t have the deep pockets to keep that strategy going.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    AMcWhirter
    Participant

    News emerging today of further issues at Norwegian.

    Its Danish and Swedish subsidiaries have filed for bankruptcy. Over 4,000 staff laid off.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    Swissdiver
    Participant

    According to Swiss https://www.rts.ch/info/economie/11273784-dans-un-secteur-de-l-aviation-en-crise-une-partie-des-pilotes-est-menacee.html, Norwegian parliament saved the airline today. They also claim Alitalia will be nationalised.


    Swissdiver
    Participant

    This article details the new law. Essentially it reduces to 50% the required approval rate for a plan.


    jjlasne
    Participant

    Thank you for this article. Very interesting. I was not aware that cockpit crews needed a minimum flight-hours to retain their licenses. As for Norwegian, it seems that its survival is still conditional but it would make sense that the Norwegian Parliament and Government would only subsidize the Norwegian side of the business and let the Danish and Swedish subsidiaries be shut down as was mentioned last week.


    RoyJones
    Participant

    Its more than a tough winter, not fly for 11 months then resume during 2021 and full service in 2022. Probably a realistic scenario for several airlines but for Norwegian this is like saying we will start again from scratch with very limited funds. I wonder if the leasing companies will vote for this as surely it will set a precedent.

    Wow: Norwegian Plans To Resume Flights In 2021


    mkcol74
    Participant

    [postquote quote=996914][/postquote]

    If you read the proposal they will be continuing to fly, albeit in a very limited manner, with just the 7 aircraft they still have aloft in an almost public service obligation type network.


    jjlasne
    Participant

    The thing is that you can now book Norwegian Airlines online with flights starting on 01 June. I just priced fares to and from Paris to the West Coast.

Viewing 15 posts - 91 through 105 (of 181 total)
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