Norwegian Scraps U.S. Winter Flights to Europe
Jackie Reddy July 29, 2019
Norwegian has announced that it’s scrapped a quarter of its winter flights between the U.S. and Europe for 2019 and 2020. In contrast to recent years of rapid growth and expansion, the airline has revealed the cuts in a bid to return to profitability. These come as CEO Bjørn Kjos leaves the airline.
As part of its bid to return to profitability after years of rapid growth and expansion, low-cost carrier Norwegian has scrapped a quarter of its winter flights from the U.S. to Europe for the 2019-2020 season, Forbes reports.
These cuts will take effect from the end of October and, as the outlet reports, both Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) will be most impacted by the airline’s decision.
Putting these cuts into perspective, the outlet states, “The changes mean that Norwegian will operate just 113 flights per week between the U.S. and Europe this winter compared to 150 last winter, a drop of around 25 percent. During the current summer timetable, the carrier operates 188 flights per week.”
The announcement comes in the same month as CEO Bjørn Kjos announced that he is stepping down from his role with the airline.
Offering his comments on Norwegian’s change in tack in a statement, Niels Smedegaard, the carrier’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, said, “We have to ensure that Norwegian is well prepared and positioned to handle volatile markets and unexpected events. It is crucial that we continue to deliver on our cost reduction initiatives and that we constantly ensure that we have a route portfolio that yields profit.”
While Kjos’s successor has not yet been appointed, Smedegaard added, “It is also important that the new CEO develops an organization that embraces continued improvement and operational excellence.”
[Featured Image: Norwegian]
Scrap does not mean trip 25 percent. Scrap means to throw away the whole thing. The headline is grossly exaggerated. I was let down when it became apparent the schedule wasn’t completely done away with.
I hope that this is the beginning of the end for this “carrier of convenience.” This carrier’s shady business model is potentially a threat to the now good paying jobs in the US airline industry. Their demise cannot happen fast enough for me. But as I hope this carrier meets the same fate as WOW Air, like the WOW Air staff, I also hope that these employees can find good jobs at reputable airlines where they can sustain a working wage, a more comfortable lifestyle, and employment stability. Those hard workers deserve it. I could care less about the top dogs because they’ve already gotten theirs.