The state of booking on Norwegian
Jul 8, 2015, 1:15 am
#18
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: SEA, ATL
Programs: Hyatt Globalist -> AA Executive Platinum, BAEC Gold, Spirit Lifetime Somebody
Posts: 131
It's not just Norwegian, but all carriers do this although it's not quite as transparent as Norwegian since they don't offer one-way fares like Norwegian does. For example, the cheapest fare on Delta Airlines AMS-SLC in May 2016 is EUR949 which converts to about USD $1,048. But if you fly the same route in reverse originating in the U.S. SLC-AMS, the cheapest fare is $1,462.
It's really not a "discount to Norwegians", though; as K2Quick noted, USD is by far the most expensive currency to pay in, and the rest (EUR, GBP, PLN) are ~6% more than NOK/SEK/DKK. There is certainly intent behind this pricing scheme, so let's not sugarcoat what they're doing! Note that they removed the option to pay in other currencies without changing the language. Also clearly an action made with intent. Blood pressure is fine, by the way. Thanks for your concern.
Jul 8, 2015, 10:10 am
#20
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 15
This practice I'm okay with - it's entirely understandable to offer roundtrip fares only available in one direction (AMS-SLC is cheaper than SLC-AMS). But to charge one person $278 and someone else $363 for the exact same one way JFK-OSL flight, based on which language they're viewing your website in, is just wrong. (Yes, the 2287 NOK from my example is now only $278 = 30% overcharge.)
I went ahead and booked my reservation from CPH-LAX for next May using the NOK site. I just kept an English screen open in another window to make sure everything translated. That flight (including seat reservation and baggage and the 2% credit card surcharge) was 2,068NOK which should translate to around $254 when it hits my credit card account. That's better than the $312 charged on the U.S. version of the site. If I'd booked in Euro, it would have exchanged out at around $270 after the 2% surcharge.
It is goofy to have to jump through the hoops, but like I said, I'm glad they at least allow me to jump through the hoops.
Jul 8, 2015, 12:53 pm
#21
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: SEA, ATL
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Posts: 131
I guess I'm not sure why you're okay with one scenario but not the other. Delta (and the other majors) are charging Americans higher rates for the same routes just because they can. The difference between the major carriers and Norwegian is they don't price everything as one-way and allow you to do the currency arbitrage if you're willing to jump through the hoops.
I went ahead and booked my reservation from CPH-LAX for next May using the NOK site. I just kept an English screen open in another window to make sure everything translated. That flight (including seat reservation and baggage and the 2% credit card surcharge) was 2,068NOK which should translate to around $254 when it hits my credit card account. That's better than the $312 charged on the U.S. version of the site. If I'd booked in Euro, it would have exchanged out at around $270 after the 2% surcharge.
It is goofy to have to jump through the hoops, but like I said, I'm glad they at least allow me to jump through the hoops.
I went ahead and booked my reservation from CPH-LAX for next May using the NOK site. I just kept an English screen open in another window to make sure everything translated. That flight (including seat reservation and baggage and the 2% credit card surcharge) was 2,068NOK which should translate to around $254 when it hits my credit card account. That's better than the $312 charged on the U.S. version of the site. If I'd booked in Euro, it would have exchanged out at around $270 after the 2% surcharge.
It is goofy to have to jump through the hoops, but like I said, I'm glad they at least allow me to jump through the hoops.
It's true that the majors are charging Americans more and Europeans less, but the savings come with the restriction that your roundtrip fare begins in Europe. JFK-OSL is a one-way ticket that an American or a European might book, and they might be charged more or less money for the exact same thing depending on which currency they pay in. In other words, my issue with what Norwegian is doing is that price discriminating on currency choice can be circumvented, and they're just making it difficult, which is a sleazy thing to do. Price discriminating on country of origin cannot be circumvented. It's also sleazy, but at least an American flying AMS-SLC will pay the same as a European flying AMS-SLC.
Jul 8, 2015, 1:58 pm
#22
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,307
Jul 28, 2015, 4:24 pm
#23
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA 1K MM, Marriott Life Plat, various others of little note
Posts: 2,763
This is great advice, just saved myself about $200 on two tickets to Bergen from OAK. Helps to have a credit card that doesn't charge forex. The first attempt did set off a fraud alert, but once I got that cleared it worked fine.
Jul 29, 2015, 1:40 am
#24
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: SEA, ATL
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Glad this thread helped you. Relatedly, if you want fly ex-scandinavia on the cheap without dealing with the hassle of DY, BA is offering some interesting fares in the $200-400 range to California. For example, depending on your dates, BGO-SFO can be had for $343rt. See also OSL/SVG/GOT/ARN/CPH to SFO/LAX/JFK/MIA/MCO. Good double decker opportunity (and I don't just mean the A380...)
Jul 30, 2015, 10:25 pm
#25
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: DTW
Programs: TK E+, WY, Radisson R
Posts: 2,360
Quick sample search, JFK - OSL in Premium, if you book with Norwegian site it's 4200 NOK, around $515, but if you book US site it will be $677. Sample date May 20th, 2016.
Here are the prices based on country
Norway 4200 NOK - $515
USA $677
Sweden 4535 SEK - $526
Finland 484 EUR - $529
Poland 2037 PLN - $538
Spain 484 EUR - $529
UK 343.5 UKP - $536
Even with foreign exchange conversion fees from credit cards you'll still be ahead booking from non-US sites.
Here are the prices based on country
Norway 4200 NOK - $515
USA $677
Sweden 4535 SEK - $526
Finland 484 EUR - $529
Poland 2037 PLN - $538
Spain 484 EUR - $529
UK 343.5 UKP - $536
Even with foreign exchange conversion fees from credit cards you'll still be ahead booking from non-US sites.
Jul 31, 2015, 2:04 am
#26
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: DXB / KUO
Programs: AY, SQ, EK
Posts: 858
FWIW, last year I booked UA F HNL-LAX-DEN-STL. On united.com, the price jumped by more than 50% when I tried to use non-US credit cards (Singapore / European ones).
Haven't really paid attention to the (relatively small) differences when booking with Norwegian, but that United case really annoyed me.
Haven't really paid attention to the (relatively small) differences when booking with Norwegian, but that United case really annoyed me.
Dec 8, 2015, 9:03 pm
#28
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 2
Can anyone respond that has successfully booked a ticket on the Norwegian website using the NOK site and used that ticket at the airport with no problems...
Want to book a ticket from JFK-OSL, and would love reassurance from someone that's purchased and used a ticket using this method.
Much thanks!!
Want to book a ticket from JFK-OSL, and would love reassurance from someone that's purchased and used a ticket using this method.
Much thanks!!