Norwegian Air Shuttle still aims to introduce low-cost long-haul flights

Norwegian Air Shuttle may be down, but it is definitely not out after yet another setback in its attempt to introduce low-cost long-haul flights from Europe to America. US airlines and unions are adamant that if allowed to operate at projected levels, Norwegian will be responsible for lowering both wages and standards in the US airline industry. Figures provided by Norwegian for December show the cost of a return flight from New York to London would be US$483, compared to US$835 for Delta and US$832 for American. However Norwegian’s CEO, Bjorn Kjos, feels that the US airlines are just afraid of the pricing policy and nothing else.
The situation has come to the fore once again as a result of the visit of many pilots to Capitol Hill to press for opposition to Norwegian’s efforts to get broader permission to fly to the USA. The setup with Norwegian is currently complicated as Norwegian Air Shuttle, which currently operates flights from Oslo to New York, Florida and other US destinations, has all the required permissions to fly to the US. However its subsidiary, Norwegian Air International, based in Ireland, does not have the necessary permission. It is Air International who are applying for a foreign air carrier permit, but opposition comes from such major players as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines who believe that Norwegian will bypass US labour laws by using their Irish subsidiary to flout laws that are weaker than in Norway, the result being a threat to jobs in the US.
Norwegian need the permission for Air International as without it they will not be able to fly freely between Europe, the USA and Asia as Norway is not part of the European Union and cannot therefore take advantage of EU rules. Kjos is believed to be speaking to the International Aviation Club in Washington in the very near future.