Norwegian Air will use 787-9s on four new U.S. routes next year. (Image: Norwegian)
Fast-growing, low-cost European carrier Norwegian just announced four more new U.S. routes coming in 2018, leading some to wonder if the ambitious airline is growing too fast for its own good.
The company’s latest plans include new service from Los Angeles to Milan Malpensa starting June 16; and from LAX to Madrid beginning July 15. It will operate four flights a week on both routes. From New York JFK, Norwegian will operate new service to Amsterdam starting May 7, with four weekly flights; and to Madrid July 18, with three flights a week. All the new routes will be served with 787-9s.
No-frills fare, high fee fares from LAX will start at $229 one-way, while New York fares will begin at $199 to Amsterdam and $229 to Madrid. Premium cabin fares start at $729 and $739 from LAX to Madrid and Milan respectively, and at $619/$649 to Amsterdam and Madrid from JFK.
These four routes are just a part of new Norwegian service already announced for 2018. Other new routes and starting dates include Oakland to Rome (February 6); Newark to Paris (February 28); Chicago to London (March 25); Austin to London (March 27); Denver to Paris (April 9); Oakland to Paris (April 10), and Boston to Paris (May 2);
Norwegian’s current and upcoming U.S. routes. (Image: Norwegian)
All that is on top of 25 U.S. routes that the carrier inaugurated in 2017. And look for more new service in the months ahead: Norwegian said it has just acquired another 28 weekly takeoff and landing slots at London Gatwick, available starting next summer. “Planning work is now underway to allocate the newly acquired slots, and will be announced at a later stage,” the company said.
This explosive growth is leading some investors in the company to worry that the airline might be overextending itself, considering its financial performance. A recent analysis in the Financial Times noted that Norwegian’s fleet is adding 32 aircraft in 2017, for a total of 145; and will keep growing to 193 planes by the end of 2019. The report said Norwegian had a second-quarter operating loss of $104 million, while its unit costs rose by 6 percent in the third quarter. The company’s share price has plunged 40 percent this year, the report said, while its European competitors’ stock has been rising sharply.
One analyst quoted in the article said Norwegian has new aircraft coming online so fast that it can’t absorb them all, so it has started leasing some to other companies and selling older ones. It also quoted a senior banker in Norway as saying that Norwegian is “in trouble. They are over-extended and it’s clear that they have to do something.”
Have you flown Norwegian…or benefitted from its impact on transatlantic fares this year? Please discuss.
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I flew Norwegian BGO-ARN earlier this year and had a pleasant experience. I also considered them for my transatlantic flights out of OAK on the same trip, but once I added up all the fees, it was cheaper for me to take Air France/KLM out of SFO. Sure I had to connect through CDG/AMS, but it was nice being able to choose from 2-3 flights/day rather than 3-4 flights/week.
Love Norwegian; they’re serving a *massive* market gap for those of us that want to fly trans-atlantic in comfort, but aren’t millionaires.
I can fly Boston – London in a giant deeply reclining seat with full meal service, on a 787, for $500 each way on Norwegian. (This is their “business class”).
The next cheapest option for that level of comfort and service is $6000 on an ancient Delta 767, or $8000 for BA/Lufthansa.
It’s amazing to me that it took so long for someone to capitalize on this opportunity, but I’ll fully support Norwegian for giving me exactly what I want and need.
Earlier this fall, Virgin was offering $2400 r/t to Manchester nonstop in Business for next July…
Flew Norwegian on a medium-haul (4.5h) flight from BCN to KEF this summer. Brand new 737, nice flight crew, good food and drink for purchase, less €€ as compared to worse flight times for a nonstop or a connection from the legacy carriers.
Would definitely consider for an intercontinental flight. Especially because they have true one-way pricing. Usually a 1-way Europe ticket is more than r/t – not on Norwegian. So you can burn your UA miles one way, and come back on Norwegian.
My wife and I have traveled SFO OSL on BA in 2013, 2015, and 2017 in advanced purchase business or first. The fares have been relatively low, probably due to competition from Norwegian. I didn’t check the SFO LHR fares, but I bet they were higher than the SFO OSL fares at the same time.
Ugh. I’m gernerally a fan of the free market but someone needs to start regulating these guys. Long haul operators should not be allowed to charge for food, much less water. They should have minimum seat dimensions and be required to allow one Free checked bagz. It’s just common sense consumer protection.
As the old saying goes “they make it up on volume”😉
What I’d be most worried about is safety. On the business side, they can’t sustain a half billion in annual operating losses for very long.