Norwegian Air to stop Long Haul operations

[babycanaansmum]

I have just seen this news regarding Norwegian;

reuters/article/norw...-idUSL1N2JP0IF

It says;

OSLO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Norwegian Air plans to close its long-haul operation and focus instead on a scaled-down European business as it seeks to contend with the coronavirus crisis and complete its debt restructuring, the budget carrier said on Thursday.

The plan, which is subject to approval by an Irish bankruptcy court, would cut Norwegian’s fleet to about 50 aircraft from the exisiting 140, the company said.

We have had many great trips with Norwegian and will be sad not to travel with them 😩

[Gasman66]

Norwegian cuts 1,100 jobs at Gatwick as it axes long-haul flights...
Norwegian shook up the UK’s long-haul aviation market in recent years by offering transatlantic flights at knockdown prices.
Some of its most popular deals included £99 trips to New York.
But it struggled to contain costs during its rapid expansion, and has come under further strain due to the virus crisis.
Its entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet has been grounded since March 2020.
In August 2020, the airline announced that it would need more financial support to get through the pandemic, after reporting a loss of £442 million for the first six months of the year.
Under its new plan, it will only fly within Norway, across the Nordic region and to “key European destinations”.
We do not expect customer demand in the long-haul sector to recover in the near future
Norwegian chief executive Jacob Schram
Chief executive Jacob Schram said: “Our short-haul network has always been the backbone of Norwegian and will form the basis of a future resilient business model.
“I am pleased to present a robust business plan today, which will provide a new start for the company.
“By focusing our operation on a short-haul network, we aim to attract existing and new investors, serve our customers and support the wider infrastructure and travel industry in Norway and across the Nordics and Europe.
“Our focus is to rebuild a strong, profitable Norwegian so that we can safeguard as many jobs as possible.
“We do not expect customer demand in the long-haul sector to recover in the near future, and our focus will be on developing our short-haul network as we emerge from the reorganisation process.”
Around 2,160 jobs will be lost around the world – including at Gatwick – as the firm also has long-haul bases in France, Italy, Spain and the US.
Mr Schram continued: “It is with a heavy heart that we must accept that this will impact dedicated colleagues from across the company.

[EssexSue]

That is such a shame, I very much enjoyed the one trip to Florida we did with them. And as I keep saying they served me the best airline dinner I have ever eaten.

[disney332]

Very sad for the long haul market, and for all those poor people who have lost their jobs as a consequence, but even more sad is that this news is not necessarily unexpected.

As we move forward and the world gets up off its knees, perhaps someone will take the space 🤞

Disney332

[YorkshireT]

It’s been the sick man of the airline industry for years unfortunately. BA will love this though, prices up again.

[waiting4disney]

So sad. The airline industry is struggling so much. I hope they recover in next 2 years and start massive drives for re-hiring.

Awful for those working there and a shame for all us holidaymakers. With less competition prices will go up.

[RC22]

We used them for a couple of trips and the prices were great, comfy planes with good IFE and they were great at getting us back after a hurricane (Irma) closed MCO the day we were due to fly back.

Sad to see them go, I feel for the staff.

As said, it will likely affect prices for us all. They'd been a great antidote to Virgin and BA prices for a few years.

[bighal]

Not surprised at all. This has been in the cards for a very long time. Just goes to show LCC longhaul does not work and especially if you try to expand very quickly to try and make it profitable. This would have happen even without Covid.

[bighal]

Originally Posted by RC22

We used them for a couple of trips and the prices were great, comfy planes with good IFE and they were great at getting us back after a hurricane (Irma) closed MCO the day we were due to fly back.

Sad to see them go, I feel for the staff.

As said, it will likely affect prices for us all. They'd been a great antidote to Virgin and BA prices for a few years.

See more...

You could also say they are reason why both Virgin and BA have cut standards in the past.

[RC22]

I think they would still nickle and dime us at every opportunity. We'd been paying more for less for some time before Norwegian entered the long haul market.