DOT’s tentative approval to Norwegian Air International to fly to the US met with hostility from APA

The American Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that tentative approval has been awarded to Norwegian Air International (NAI), the subsidiary airline of Norwegian Group (Norwegian). A more permanent decision will be made based on the results of opening up the decision to public comment. Should the DOT decision stand, NAI will be able to fly to and from the United States on long-haul international routes and in direct competition with US airlines and will introduce the first direct Cork-Boston route
According to the CEO of Norwegian Group, Bjørn Kjos, “A final approval, based on the Open Skies Agreement between the U.S. and EU, will be win-win for consumers and the economy on both sides of the Atlantic. It will allow Norwegian to expand our U.S. operations. Our continued presence in the U.S. will create thousands of jobs and generate tens of millions of dollars of economic activity for the Group’s U.S. destinations.”
The news has not been welcomed by all sections of the US aerospace and airline industry, despite numerous benefits to the US Economy. Over the last seven years Norwegian has either leased or purchased 103 brand-new American-manufactured Boeing planes and has a further firm order in place for 149 Boeing 737s and 787s valued at more than $18.5 billion based on today’s list prices. Norwegian’s intention will still be to continue to employ hundreds of American-based crew.
However, the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents over 15,000 American Airlines’ pilots, is less optimistic. Current APA President, Captain Keith Wilson, has made it clear that “Norwegian Air International is a blatant flag of convenience scheme based on scouring the globe for cheap labor to undercut the competition. There’s no other plausible explanation for its convoluted corporate structure — an Irish subsidiary that won’t serve Ireland and hires most of its crews in Thailand through a Singapore-based recruitment firm.”
He added that “APA will appeal the DOT in the strongest possible terms to revise its tentative decision. The hundreds of thousands of hard-working, middle-class Americans employed by U.S. carriers deserve more thoughtful public policy. After more than a decade marked by serial bankruptcy filings and consolidation, U.S. airlines are finally on solid financial ground. It makes no sense for the DOT to sacrifice that hard-earned wellbeing.”
Wilson also commented that: “Many lawmakers recall how flag of convenience decimated the U.S. maritime industry. Why would we permit the same large-scale job destruction to occur in the airline industry? This cannot stand.”