Norwegian expands long-haul fleet without full US foreign air carrier permit

Norwegian Air International (Norwegian) is the Ireland-based subsidiary of Norwegian Air Shuttle, headquartered in Fornebu, Norway. It has been announced by Norwegian that the carrier has placed an order to lease two brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from CIT Aerospace and which will be delivered in the spring of 2018. The order will expand the company’s long-haul fleet which will consist of 42 Dreamliners by 2020. In addition, Norwegian has also exercised 8 of its 100 Boeing 737 MAX8 purchase options.
In April this year the US Department of Trade (DOT) issued a provisional foreign air carrier permit, despite heavy opposition from a number of other carriers and labor groups on either side of the Atlantic. The DOT took the unprecedented course of action by also consulting with two other federal agencies—the State Department and the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel – before making its provisional decision, asking for objections to be submitted by May 6, 2016, which will be taken into consideration before a final decision is made.
According to the DOJ at the time of granting the provisional permit, the “DOT’s show-cause order states that, based on the record as a whole, as well as its consultations with the Departments of Justice and State, the provision in the U.S.-EU Agreement that addresses labor does not afford a basis for rejecting an applicant that is otherwise qualified to receive a permit. In this regard, the order states that NAI appears to meet DOT’s normal standards for award of a permit and that there appears to be no legal basis to deny NAI’s [Norwegian’s] application.”
Norwegian first applied to the US DOT for a permit to operate to and from the US on Dec. 2, 2013, while the carrier also applied for an exemption to commence operations while the application was being assessed. The DOT refused the application in September 2014 and, as a consequence, Norwegians long-haul flights were operated under Norwegian Air Shuttles AOC, NAX. In relation to these two new aircraft, Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos said: “In order to offer customers more routes and make our intercontinental operation even more competitive, we need more brand new, cost-efficient aircraft. Our intercontinental operation is crucial to the company’s global growth and the creation of new jobs. The Dreamliner is a great airplane with high passenger comfort, long range, low fuel burn and reduced emissions.”
It does Norwegian’s case no harm regarding the foreign air carrier permit as part of their counteraction to challenges from the US is that they are supporting American companies. In a press release relating to the permit application, the carrier stated that “Since 2013, Norwegian has also helped create hundreds of new jobs in the air as well as more than 100,000 on the ground in the travel and tourism-related industries – Norwegian already now employs more U.S.-based crew than any other foreign airline, all of whom are employed under U.S law. In addition, Norwegian’s order of Boeing aircraft valued at $18.5 billion and Pratt & Whitney engines for its Airbus aircraft is helping to create and support up to 100,000 jobs.”