Norwegian outlines Irish subsidiary's transatlantic plans

Norwegian (DY, Oslo Gardermoen) has announced plans to commence longhaul flights out of Cork in Ireland later next year. In a statement, the carrier said it would use its Norwegian Air International (D8, Dublin Int'l) subsidiary to launch 5x weekly flights to Boston in May 2016 while flights to New York would likely launch a year later in 2017. Operations will be on-board B737-800  and eventually B737 MAX aircraft.

"This is only the beginning of our plans for new routes in Ireland but our expansion relies on the US Department of Transportation (DoT) finally approving Norwegian Air International’s application for a Foreign [Air] Carrier Permit," airline CEO Bjorn Kjos said. "Only DoT approval for NAI will unlock the door for these exciting new routes, creating more competition, more choice and better fares for business and leisure passengers on both sides of the Atlantic.”

NAI's entry into the trans-Atlantic market has encountered severe resistance from both US and European legacy carriers which collectively accuse the Norwegians of using the carrier's Irish registration to by-pass more stringent Norwegian labour laws. In addition, they have claimed Norwegian simply intends to use the airline's access to the EU market to open up more flights to North America while paying only token attention to the Irish market.

Last year, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) denied NAI's application for route exemption authority while indefinitely deferring its decision on an FACP.