Norwegian Getting Some Clear Air for 2020

[SelectSys]

As a long time fan of Norwegian's transatlantic service, I am happy to see the company getting both a financial result exceeding expectations, making a new financial agreement for leasing with a strong counter party and new management direction focusing on sustainable profitability. 

 

As a passenger, Norwegian provides a unique service offering to me at a price point that exceeds what is available from the legacy carriers for both premium (aka premium economy) and economy class of service.  I am happy that the service exists in LA and hope it continues to grow over time.

 

Here are some recent news links:

 

https://www.ft.com/content/652f2104-f628-11e9-9ef3-eca8fc8f2d65

https://www.wsj.com/articles/norwegian-has-pulled-out-of-its-dive-11571921604

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/norwegian-air-is-flying-again/2019/10/24/5389a9a2-f64a-11e9-b2d2-1f37c9d82dbb_story.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2019/10/13/norwegian-airlines-doubles-down-on-us-market-and-its-own-survival-by-adding-flights/

 

Cruise passengers heading to/from Europe and the US should really look at them for this upcoming season.  While some on the board have called me "a shill" for advocating Norwegian's service in the past, the evidence is pointing to the fact that Norwegian is a safe passenger choice through 2020.   

[purduemom1]

Wondering if Norwegian is part of an alliance?

[mikkelhansen]

9 hours ago, purduemom1 said:

Wondering if Norwegian is part of an alliance?

They aren't. They also don't have interlining/codeshare agreements with any other airline, but there are talks of an upcoming interlining agreement with JetBlue, which would allow checked-in luggage to be checked through both airlines from A via B to C (ie. A being a JetBlue departure airport, B being a JetBlue arrival airport AND a Norwegian departure airport - the luggage "hand-over" would happen at B, and C being a Norwegian arrival airport), but still with no codeshare between the airlines.

[fbgd]

Whilst I personally wouldn't choose to fly them I certainly wouldn't recommend them to someone if they asked me, especially for further out travel plans. Their financial position is still rather precarious and having a longhaul fleet centred around the 737MAX and 787 hasn't been panning out too well for them the past few years.

[SelectSys]

2 hours ago, fbgd said:

Whilst I personally wouldn't choose to fly them I certainly wouldn't recommend them to someone if they asked me, especially for further out travel plans. Their financial position is still rather precarious and having a longhaul fleet centred around the 737MAX and 787 hasn't been panning out too well for them the past few years.

 

So why aren't you willing to fly them long haul?  Are you a BA or other legacy airline shareholder or an elite frequent flier?  I can understand why a legacy carrier passenger with lots of status or a shareholder wants to stick with their carrier, but many cruise fliers don't get any benefits of upgrades, pass travel  or have an investment stake in any airline (myself included.)

 

Also, how can you make any recommendation at all if you haven't flown on the carrier personally?  What issues do you have with their hard product?  My experience on Norwegian for the equivalent class of service exceeds that of BA these days.  BA economy is not comfortable and premium economy is usually way more expensive than Norwegian premium.  The on time percentage according to OAG of Norwegian is almost the same as BA - 75.9 vs 76.9 (https://www.oag.com/on-time-performance-airline-airport-star-ratings)

 

In terms of "further out," you usually can't even book a ticket more than 11 months out and the finances for Norwegian have been  largely sorted out for 2020 - at least in the eyes of the investment community.   Ask me again next fall and I may have a different perspective regarding whether or not Norwegian is a safe ticket purchase for 2021.

 

I actually think the Norwegian fleet choices weren't bad, but rather they were let down by their vendors - Rolls Royce and Boeing.  They may pivot more to the A320 family (which is already part of their fleet plan) over time if the MAX problems continue indefinitely.  I guess you can fault them for picking Rolls Royce for their 787 fleet or the MAX, but it seems just about every new aircraft and engine seems to be delayed these days.  Boeing, especially, has a lot of work to do to regain customer confidence in their new aircraft programs.

[skings]

Selectsys, I am a Norwegian advocate. Happy to hear 2020 news on finances look good.  Next January I plan to book one way from either CDG or LGW. Hopefully the

rate for traveling next May will still be better than flying on other carriers. I live in FL so I have the luxury of being close to

3 airports that Norwegian is using at the present time. Westjet does fly from my home airport (RSW) and they offer one way.

Dont like the fact of getting a decent rate with BA or Air France I would need to purchase round trip and not use return portion.

[hallasm]

I’m actually supporting @fbgd - the problem in the past has been quite long delays - in case of technical problems they have no options for rerouting and no equipment for replace. Have however improved regularity over the past months.

My only advise is to fly out at least two days in advance.

[SelectSys]

2 hours ago, skings said:

Selectsys, I am a Norwegian advocate. Happy to hear 2020 news on finances look good... I live in FL so I have the luxury of being close to 3 airports that Norwegian is using at the present time. Westjet does fly from my home airport (RSW) and they offer one way.

Dont like the fact of getting a decent rate with BA or Air France I would need to purchase round trip and not use return portion.

 

Agreed, if you are close to a US gateway it makes sense to look at them.  I also don't like the fact that legacy carriers don't offer good one way fares internationally which is a pain if you are on a transatlantic cruise.  

 

2 hours ago, hallasm said:

I’m actually supporting @fbgd - the problem in the past has been quite long delays - in case of technical problems they have no options for rerouting and no equipment for replace. Have however improved regularity over the past months.

My only advise is to fly out at least two days in advance.

 

Yes, I have heard about the lack of spare equipment as an issue even though I have not experienced it personally.  I agree with your suggestion as flying out 2 days ahead.

[fbgd]

21 hours ago, SelectSys said:

Are you a BA or other legacy airline shareholder or an elite frequent flier?

 

All of these actually!...and I fly business and first class, something Norwegian don't have.

 

I don't need to have flown them to know not to recommend them. If I personally have concerns over their financial status I can't recommend them.

 

I know several people who have flown them in the last couple of years between the UK and US and 80% of their combined flights were changed to ancient ACMI aircraft (Wamos Air etc.) and schedules were changed horribly to account for these leased aircraft with no option but to cancel last minute and rebook elsewhere or deal with it. 

[SelectSys]

6 hours ago, fbgd said:

 

All of these actually!...and I fly business and first class, something Norwegian don't have.

 

I don't need to have flown them to know not to recommend them. If I personally have concerns over their financial status I can't recommend them.

 

I know several people who have flown them in the last couple of years between the UK and US and 80% of their combined flights were changed to ancient ACMI aircraft (Wamos Air etc.) and schedules were changed horribly to account for these leased aircraft with no option but to cancel last minute and rebook elsewhere or deal with it. 

 

I totally understand why you wouldn't want to recommend Norwegian as an IAG shareholder.  I can also see that Norwegian's service offering doesn't cater well to your needs.  However, I do believe that Norwegian provides a compelling value for us "back of the bus" passengers who can't afford international business or first class travel.  Also,  the near term financial risks seem pretty manageable to me through next summer/fall.  

 

I have heard of the Norwegian schedule issues and wet leased aircraft.  I just haven't seen it personally or from anyone I know who has flown on them.  Perhaps these aircraft show up more on the east coast of the US than they do at LAX.  Of course my experience, like that of your friends, only provides anecdotal evidence of quality and on time performance.

 

Enjoy!