subject2load

BearX220

In the long run yes. In the short run DY are buying market share, which matters too. And rising name recognition among the general public (mentioned upthread) suggests it has paid off. Companies in all sorts of spheres launch products / services at a discount to attract custom, then transition to sustainable price points once they are established.

Yes, but (A) we don't know what DY's cost basis is, and (B) if they are selling below cost there is undoubtedly a medium-term strategy to move pricing up. Someone upthread mentioned that a DY premium ticket cost only 20% of a BA CW RT. I expect he/she would buy DY again if the price rose to 30% of BA.

They don't have to be insanely, irrationally cheap in absolute terms. Only dramatically cheaper than BA/AA/UA/DL.

I would certainly like to know how much DY traffic is "conquest" (e.g. people who otherwise would have flown BA etc.) and how much is stimulated (e.g. people who would otherwise not have made the trip at all).

hfly

Orbitmic, yes they have thrown SWF into this, something that no one else has ever done.

All three big US carriers DL, UA, AA are in fact much bigger into the NYC area than BA or Norwegian in both international and Transatlantic measurement, it is they who queered this by weirdly throwing Air Canada into the mix as it really had nothing to do with anything, (except seemingly confuse some people around here). I can recall BA claiming to be the biggest from London, but can never ever remember them claiming that they were the biggest Transatlantic carrier into NYC! I mean Norwegian can now claim as well that they are the number one carrier between the United States and the French Caribbean as well...........so what.

This is the equivalent of celebrating a win in the T72 finals at the Para Olympics and then having someone proclaim that you are in fact a bigger, better and faster runner than Usain Bolt.

mec72

Isn't Norwegian's premium product closer to WT+ (or say, PE on VS) rather than J? Just asking, haven't flown DY on TATL.

simons1

Let's face it this was a standard bit of PR puffery from Norwegian. Essentially meaningless but it has clearly done the trick looking at the lather created on here with almost 4,000 hits and people desperate to find the negatives.

Companies will put in any spin they can to make themselves look good. This is no different to say BA talking up their First Class with lines like impeccable service/exceptional comfort/elegant surroundings. It is all just background noise really, but if you make enough noise some will register in the consciousness.

Raffles

No. It is more like what Business Class was in the 1980's. Miles ahead of what BA and VS call PE. You even get lounge access with Norwegian Premium.

HIDDY

BA were the first to recognise the threat low cost airlines posed to their economy products and took steps in order to compete. Other airlines are still playing catchup.

fransknorge

Sealink

I did this last year on a mid week trip to BOS with some friends. Norwegian were so cheap compared to VS (due to no Saturday night stay).
Fastrack security was provided - although Norwegian Twitter team told me they did not offer it.
Access to No. 1 Lounge was also included, and it was great to actually use it rather than being turned away with my Priority Pass.
Entertainment on board was awful - there was a software glitch so very little on the screens.
Seats in PE were very comfortable - however, if the person in the aisle seat reclines and falls asleep (and the person in front does the same) getting out of the window seat to use the loos was very difficult.
Food was appalling. But, you can't have everything for GBP800 rtn when VS/BA were charging GBP3000!

Sealink

I much prefer VS Premium Economy to Norwegians. But would happily use Norwegian again as the pricing is so good.

rockflyertalk

The Times have decided to use this story for their business section this morning (page 45).

If you don’t read the full article it’s certainly written with spin! Further on in the article it’s says “Norwegian runs 78 services a week from airports in the EU to New York... cont...BA said that it flew 70 times a week from London, mainly Heathrow...”

Very challenging to compare these 2 figures of 1.6 odd million pax based on this context! But good PR for DY and no doubt there’ll be lots of chit chat amongst general joe & Jane along the lines “Norwegian have overtaken BA” or “Norwegian fly more people than BA”

Ah good ole media spin
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Ldnn1

I don't understand why you think it's so challenging. The basic statistic is a simple and clear one, and an interesting one.

Of course there are a lot of other questions around profitability etc, but that's not what this stat is about. While it's not determinative of anything else, it's not meaningless either. And I'm a real stickler for accurate reporting of statistics (and an avid listener of More or Less, as everyone should be).

Flexible preferences

Yes this does look like very successful PR for DY. As it was said upthread this competition will have a downward pressure on fares so we all benefit...for now.

HIDDY

But not before the weather, last nights soaps, price of fish etc. etc. etc.......

callum9999

Why is it challenging? Does this therefore mean that we cant compare passenger numbers with any airline that has a different number of hubs? Lufthansa operates long haul from more than one city - can't compare them anymore. Emirates/Etihad/Qatar etc operate through a single hub whereas BA uses Heathrow, Gatwick and City - can't compare them anymore.

It's not as if "Transatlantic" is some vague term that's been cherry picked - it's the bog standard way of measuring the number of people flying between Europe and America. Not to mention Norwegian running 78 flights and BA running 70 seems like a very reasonable comparison - especially when comparing plane size.