What to expect from Norse Atlantic Airways in Norway
Norwegian 2.0 aside from the name, or a true new attempt at low cost transatlantic air travel? It was the question on everyone’s lips last year when the surprise announcement of a new low-cost airline Norse Atlantic Airways be on the first page.
Despite CEO Bjørn Tore Larsen insisting that the airline has “nothing to do with” Norwegian, the question remains unanswered. From the planned route network to the plane, the similarities are striking. However, in a strategy noticeably different from that of Norwegian, Norwegian is courting trade union associations on both sides of the Atlantic.
The pioneers of low-cost Norwegian left the long-haul market last year alongside a corporate restructuring, new financing and a complete overhaul of its strategy. The Norwegian who comes out of a hectic year now focuses mainly on routes in Norway, between the Scandinavian countries and a handful of European leisure routes.
Here’s what we know so far about Norse.
Network of routes similar to Norwegian Air
Above all, the airline plans to fill gaps left by Norwegian on many long-haul routes between the United States and Europe. The Scandinavian website promises “destinations such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Paris and Oslo,” none of which will come as a surprise to former Norwegian long-haul customers.
Norse will even operate the roads using the same plane rented, an initial fleet of nine Boeing 787 Dreamliners previously flown by Norwegian. When flown by Norwegian, the aircraft had 32 premium economy seats in a 2-3-2 configuration and 259 economy seats in a 3-3-3 configuration.
The new airline promises “high cabin utilization” to reduce costs. For this strategy to work, the Norse will need to partner with refueling airlines on both sides of the Atlantic. Could one of them be Norwegian? Announcements should arrive in the coming months.
A different approach in some ways
But not everything will be the same. Airlines and competing unions have screamed scandal throughout Norwegian’s stay in the United States, saying the airline had created an international subsidiary based in Ireland simply to avoid Norway‘s strict labor laws.
“The Norse will approach labor relations differently from the start,” Larsen said in a joint press release with the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA).
Norse began by signing a “recognition agreement” with the International Federation of Transportation, before turning to details in the United States.
Norse then announced a pre-employment agreement for up to 700 US-based flight attendant jobs with AFA, representing nearly 50,000 flight attendants from 17 airlines.
Norse promises new hires “industry-leading starting salary and job protection” and benefits including healthcare and a 401k. Larsen said he was “thrilled” with the deal, which “makes it clear from the start that our airline puts people first.”
AFA President Sara Nelson said “this is what respect for workers and our unions looks like”, before suggesting that many former Norwegian cabin crew members based in the United States will take a job with Norse.
OSM Aviation is currently advertising for cabin crew, pilots and other professional and technical positions on behalf of Norse. If OSM sounds familiar to you, it’s because the company was partly owned by Norwegian and provided cabin crew to the airline for many years.
When will Norse Atlantic Airways start flying?
Even though Norse has entered into collective agreements, raised capital, gone public and leased planes, the company still has several hurdles to overcome before it starts flying. The most important step is to obtain operator licenses in the US, UK and EU.
The issuance of a US license is by no means a certainty, some in Washington have already spoken against the idea. But early union membership is undoubtedly a positive step.
If all goes well, the airline aims to be in the air by December 2021. As to whether it will be successful, well, that’s for everyone to guess. The demand is certainly there, or at least it was before the pandemic. In 2019, Norwegian transported more than two million people from New York to Europe.
Watch this space as the next chapter in low cost transatlantic air travel begins.