Norwegian Air International finally gets US DOT approval

Norwegian Air International (NAI), the Irish subsidiary of Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS), has ended its three-year struggle against labor unions and competitors with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) granting the carrier permission to fly into and out of the United States, the decision effective from December 2, 2016.
Heavy opposition to the granting of a license came from U.S. unions, politicians and other domestic airlines who saw the creation of NAI as an attempt by NAS to circumvent Norway’s labor laws and the employment of crews from low-cost countries.
The DOT had given NAI initial approval back in April this year, but the decision was met with considerable opposition as attempts were made to block the deal. A statement issued by NAS declared the decision by the U.S DOT as “a victory for millions of passengers who will benefit from more choice and lower fares”. Bjørn Kjos, Norwegian CEO, called the approval “long overdue”, adding that: “This means that Norwegian can continue its global expansion with full force and open new routes to exciting destinations worldwide”.
U.S. labour unions could still continue the fight against the decision. SWAPA, the trade association for pilots of US carrier Southwest, made it clear that it “strongly condemns the short-sighted, under-cover-of-darkness decision” and in a press release stated that: “The men and women of SWAPA call upon President-elect Trump to intervene in the NAI decision and undo yet another trade blunder by President Obama.”
However Parat, the Norwegian labor union, was highly critical of the U.S. DOT decision. Spokesperson Vegard Einan told broadcaster NRK, “We know that Norwegian has used Asian labour, and that they want to open routes and fly to other parts of the world. We fear that American and European workers will not have the chance to compete with wages and working conditions from other continents.”
According to Roger Dow, President and CEO, the U.S. Travel Association, “The American travel community is ecstatic at the decision by the Obama administration to allow new service to U.S. cities by Norwegian Air International,” adding that: “There is zero downside to allowing more low-cost carriers into US airports: it’s a policy that’s good for consumers, stupendous for US economic and job growth, and even good for US airlines because it broadens the market for domestic connector flights. A rising tide lifts all planes, so to speak.”