inpd

Sorry I should have been clear. I've had the exact same above things happen to me at UA when I was 1K. Look at the UA forum. It's full of people being downgraded at check in, been told no one is setting next to you etc. I've had the latter happen to me a lot. What typically happens is, at the time the agent blocks of the seat but then someone needs it later on so another agent unblocks it. The airlines would be fools to turn away a passenger in need of a seat because another passenger wanted some more leg room!


Thanks.

CC1E

Norwegian had people on standby for that flight because the 772 had lower capacity than the scheduled 789. So, there was no way they ever had a seat blocked. Norwegian uses contract workers at JFK and it was obvious they didn't care. They told me what I wanted to hear so I'd leave them alone.


I've been in economy on a lot of UA flights. I've never seen an aircraft with as little room between rows as this 772 had. As I said in another post, my wife has flown on Spirit and said this was much worse. It was inhuman, especially for a TATL flight.

idiosyncrasy

What was your experience during check in at JFK like, or in general, what did you witness? I've read there were electronic kiosks but if you do that and attempt to clear security with hand luggage, they send you back to the line to queue, get your bag weighed, and get an approval stamp?

CC1E

I didn't see any electronic check-in kiosks at JFK. We had booked Premium class, so I used the premium line. They weighed our checked bags, but not the carry-ons. Maybe they normally do, but with the equipment/carrier change they had a lot of angry passengers to deal with.


I can't imagine TSA at JFK caring about Norwegian's carry-on policies. So, you would never get turned back there.


Maybe upon boarding Norwegian would check. But, my general feeling from the JFK Norwegian contract employees was that they didn't care about anything.


At LGW I believe there were check-in kiosks. But, we again used the premium line. There our carry-on bags were weighed and a sticker put on them. I didn't notice anyone checking stickers when we boarded, but maybe they look.

idiosyncrasy

Thanks, seems like a pretty tacky operation overall in JFK.

inpd

I think you've dissed everything about them from their planes, FA, baggage handlers and even ground crew multiple times on this thread. We get it you had a bad experience and didn't like it and its driving you crazy

But with all low cost carriers its a numbers game. When things go wrong they suck big time but you count on those being rare.

I think your doing a disservice to the community to paint the impression your experience was a regular experience.

I'm not belittling your experience, it sounds bad, but I've flown OAK-LGW about half a dozen times with them: always on time, always on a spanking new 787 and with a cold but efficient Norwegian attitude.

Maybe I'm due your experience and your due one of mine

CC1E

I just wish I had read an experience like mine before booking Norwegian. I looked here before booking and saw a few comments about their contract workers and foreign crews being problematic. But I discounted those comments since they seemed a bit petty and racist.

I'd like to make sure others are aware of just how bad it can get, that Norwegian doesn't care if it does get bad, and that they won't/can't do anything to help since they have no interline agreements or backup planes. As others have noted, apparently they have these issues every summer, so the likelihood isn't that remote.

I won't get your experience since I won't risk flying them again. And, I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone, so I hope you continue to have good luck flying with them. Their premium seats are a good deal if things go smoothly.

arollins

There have been other threads regarding bad service on other carriers that have a similar business model as Norwegian, no interline agreement, etc. they do share one thing in common, when things go wrong recovery is not immediate. Check Spirit air for example. There have also been numerous flyers that have flown these flights without a hitch and saved tons of money as well. It's the luck of the draw, sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. Just be prepared for a backup plan, just in case, this is the key part. Problems can occur with any carrier, however, how they respond is what makes the difference.

oliver2002

Norwegian also has very very limited options: as they have no interline agreement with any other carrier, they cannot rebook you onto other carriers using their tickets in irreg situations, ie you or the airline have to buy a new ticket on the spot. Being able to rebook/FIM you onto another carrier during irrengs is a major advantage of legacy carriers to fulfill the contract you made with them to get from A to B in the purchased service cabin. If you are willing to drop that safety net for $$$, then thats your choice.

sethMCOflyer

I think the big difference between risking it on Spirit vs risking it on Norwegian is price of encountering a cancelled flight. If you're on a 2h Spirit flight and it gets cancelled the day before, a full fare one-way ticket on another carrier might be a couple hundred dollars. Full fare one-way transatlantic flight is well over $1000.

inpd

Good point. The way I mitigate it is by always have 80K miles available to book a one way award ticket if need.

CC1E

Strongly agree. I can work around an issue with a short domestic flight. But, a last minute ticket on a TATL flight is a significant cost. So, it's a non-trivial risk people are taking in exchange for the cheap fares of these international LCCs.

When I Travel The World

I had a 3hr 30 min delay for CPH-BKK and tried to claim compensation for it.

Norwegian said it arrived at 2hrs 52mins late to destination, which was a lie. I even had screen shots on the IFE showing the time we arrived, and flightaware shows it over 3 hours late.

First I tried to claim directly with DY, no luck after a few months.

So gave up and went to 2 different EU claim websites, neither could make the claim because DY told them the same thing.....

I just gave up in the end. Oh well.

inpd

The Arrival and Departure times are logged with the appropriate authorities.

Perhaps the definition of arrival and departure time is different?

I know in the US they talk about Wheels up and Wheels down times rather than arrival at gate times?

CPH-Flyer

Arrival for EU261 cases is at gate with the door open. That point in time vs. scheduled arrival time.