Norwegian Air Shuttle

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (OSE: NAS), trading as Norwegian, is a Norwegian low-cost airline and Norway's largest airline. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe behind Wizz Air, easyJet and Ryanair, the largest airline in Scandinavia,[2] and the ninth-largest airline in Europe in terms of passenger numbers.[3] It offers a high-frequency domestic flight schedule within Scandinavia and Finland, and to business destinations such as London, as well as to holiday destinations in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands, transporting over 30 million people in 2016. The airline is known for its distinctive livery of white with a red nose, with portraits of high achievers on the tail fins of its aircraft.

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA
IATA ICAO Callsign
DY NAX NOR SHUTTLE
Founded22 January 1993 (1993-01-22)
Operating bases
Frequent-flyer programNorwegian Reward
Subsidiaries
Fleet size23 (excluding subsidiaries),
145 (including subsidiaries)
Destinations149
Traded asOSE: NAS
Headquarters"Diamanten"
Fornebu, Norway
Key peopleJacob Schram (CEO)
Niels Smedegaard (Chairman)
Tore Jenssen (CEO Norwegian Air International)
Revenue NOK 40.265 billion (2018)[1]
Operating income NOK −3.851 billion (2018)[1]
Net income NOK −1.454 billion (2018)[1]
Websitenorwegian.com

Norwegian's flights are operated by itself as well as fully owned subsidiaries, including Irish-based Norwegian Air International, UK-based Norwegian Air UK, Swedish-based Norwegian Air Sweden, and Norway-based Norwegian Long Haul. Each airline holds a unique air operator's certificate (AOC) but shares branding and commercial functions with the rest of the Group. Until December 2019, Norwegian also owned and operated Argentina-based Norwegian Air Argentina, which operated domestic flights within the country.

History

1993–2001: Beginnings as a regional airline

Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) was founded on 22 January 1993 to take over the regional airline services produced by Busy Bee for Braathens in Western Norway. Busy Bee, founded in 1966, was a subsidiary of Braathens that operated a fleet of Fokker 50 aircraft on charter services. This included the network of regional services between cities on the west coast of Norway operated on wet lease for the mother company. Following Busy Bee's bankruptcy in December 1992, NAS took over three leased Fokker 50 aircraft, and started operating from Bergen Airport, Flesland to Haugesund Airport, Karmøy, as well as from Bergen to Molde Airport, Årø or Kristiansund Airport, Kvernberget, and onwards to Trondheim Airport, Værnes. The company was established and owned by former Busy Bee employees and initially had a workforce of fifty.[4][5] It was based in Bergen, but later established a technical base in Stavanger.[6]

From 1 April 1994, the airline also began service from Bergen to Ålesund Airport, Vigra.[7] In 1995, the company received its fourth Fokker 50s, and had a revenue of NOK 86.6 million and a profit of NOK 2.9 million. It flew 50 daily services.[8]

By 1999, the company had six Fokker 50s and flew 500,000 passengers on 20,000 flights.[6][9] The company had a revenue of NOK 172 million and a profit of NOK 13 million. On 2 June 2000, NAS bought the helicopter operator Lufttransport from Helikopter Service.[9] In 2000, the NAS fleet was expanded to seven Fokker 50s. From 2 January 2001, several Braathens routes were terminated, including the NAS-operated services from Kristiansund to Trondheim and Molde. The route from Bergen to Haugesund, and Bergen–Molde–Trondheim were reduced.[10]

2002–2009: Emergence as a low-cost carrier
Norwegian previously operated seven second-hand McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series (MD-82 and MD-83) aircraft.

On 7 January 2002, NAS took over the route from Stavanger to Newcastle, flying two round trips per day; this was the first route on which the airline did not wet lease the aircraft to Braathens, but operated the route in its own right. After Braathens was bought by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in November 2001, all contracts that Norwegian had with Braathens for the routes on the Norwegian west coast were cancelled by SAS, as it wanted its subsidiary SAS Commuter to take the routes over. NAS had an 18-month cancellation period in its contract with Braathens; however, this was not respected by SAS - the contracts were terminated without notice.[11] Following the purchase of Braathens by SAS, and the subsequent termination of its contracts, NAS announced in April 2002 that it would start domestic scheduled services as a low-cost carrier on the busiest routes. From 1 September 2002, the airline re-branded as Norwegian.[12]

The airline opened its second hub at Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport in Poland, flying to Central European destinations. There were two Boeing 737 operating from Warsaw.[13] (The base was closed in 2010.) Norwegian announced on 24 April 2007 that it had bought 100% of the Swedish low-cost airline FlyNordic from Finnair plc, becoming the largest low-cost airline in Scandinavia. As payment for the shares in FlyNordic, Finnair received a 5% share stake in Norwegian.[14]

On 30 August 2007, Norwegian ordered 42 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with options for 42 more, an order worth US$3.1 billion.[15] This order was later increased by six aircraft in November 2009. In July 2010 15 of the options were converted to orders, and in June 2011 15 more options were converted, bringing the total order of new, owned 737-800s to 78 aircraft with 12 remaining options. Additionally, Norwegian introduced leased Boeing 737-800 aircraft into the fleet. The first leased 737-800 arrived at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, Norway, on 26 January 2008.[16]

In April 2010, Norwegian started flights from Oslo-Gardermoen and Stockholm to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. During early 2011, Norwegian had three aircraft stationed in Helsinki, and introduced domestic flights to Oulu Airport and Rovaniemi Airport on 31 March 2011. In May, flights to nine additional international destinations began.[17][18]

2010–2017: Rapid expansion, and long-haul operations

In October 2009, Norwegian had announced that it intended to start flights from Oslo to New York City and Bangkok, for which new intercontinental aircraft were required. In 2010, it said it was considering up to 15 intercontinental destinations from Scandinavia, and would also consider services to South America and Africa.[19] On 8 November 2010, Norwegian announced that it had contracted to lease two new Boeing 787 Dreamliners with delivery in 2012; and that it was negotiating the leasing of additional aircraft.[20]

On 25 January 2012, Norwegian announced the largest orders of aircraft in European history. The orders consisted of 22 Boeing 737-800 and 100 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with options for another 100 of the latter; and for 100 Airbus A320neos with options for another 50.[21]

In late October 2012, the airline announced a new base at London Gatwick from spring 2013 with three Boeing 737-800s to be used on new international routes from London to leisure destinations in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Croatia. All announced routes were to be flown in competition with airlines such as British Airways, easyJet and Thomson Airways.[22]

In 2016 Norwegian won its first charter contract in the United States, flying three Boeing 737-800s out of Chicago/Rockford International Airport and General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee to Mexico and the Caribbean from December 2016 to April 2017 for Apple Vacations and Funjet Vacations.[23]

On 20 April 2017, Norwegian announced its second long-haul destination in Asia, with flights between London's Gatwick Airport and Singapore Changi Airport, using Boeing 787s operated by Norwegian Air UK.[24] (These flights ended on 11 January 2019.)

On 29 June 2017, Norwegian took delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX, which featured Freddie Laker on its tailfin and was registered to Norwegian Air International.[25] The parent company, Norwegian Air Shuttle, would later accept its first Boeing 737 MAX on 13 August 2018, the aircraft featuring Oscar Wilde on its tailfin.[26]

2018–present: Restructuring, a change in strategy, and the COVID-19 pandemic

To finance its aggressive growth involving the inauguration of many new routes, the hiring and training of new employees, and the accepting of aircraft deliveries, Norwegian sold some of its shares in Bank Norwegian in June and December 2017, and participated in the sale and leaseback of its owned aircraft.[27]

Norwegian changed its strategy from growth to profitability in 2018,[28] and in January 2019, the airline announced restructuring measures consisting of the closure of several crew bases mostly for its Boeing 737 operations outside Norway, as well as a possible revision of its aircraft order books, including the cancellation of nearly its entire Airbus order.[29][30] On 12 March 2019, the group grounded all of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, on the advice of the EASA, in the wake of the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes.[31] On 11 July 2019, the company's founder and CEO Bjørn Kjos stepped down as CEO.[28] Kjos explained his decision by citing his age and the company's growing need for fresh leadership.[32][33] Chief Financial Officer Geir Karlsen stepped in as interim CEO.[32] In the past year of restructuring, Norwegian encountered severe economic impact, with its stock price down more than 85% from the previous year, blamed largely in part due to the Boeing 737 MAX groundings.[33] In an effort to delay its bond repayment of $380 million by two years, Norwegian offered its slots at Gatwick for collateral.[33] Jacob Schram, a former gas executive, was named Kjos' replacement as CEO on 20 November 2019 and joined the company in January 2020.[34]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Norwegian continued to be impacted in its finances and operations and its value on the open market dropped nearly 80% in the weeks leading up to Black Thursday.[35] On 16 March 2020, the airline announced it was cancelling 85% of its flights and laying off 7,300 workers.[36] On 20 April 2020, the airline reported the bankruptcy of various staffing subsidiaries and the termination of agreements with OSM Aviation, each of which were responsible for staffing the airline's flights from its crew bases outside of Norway, France, and Italy, affecting 4,700 workers.[37]

On 27 April 2020, Norwegian outlined its plans to qualify for a governmental loan from the Norwegian state, including the conversion of its debt and leasing commitments to equity, its intention to reduce its active fleet to seven Boeing 737-800 aircraft operating solely on domestic routes within Norway, and to postpone operations outside of Norway (including to the rest of Europe and intercontinental long-haul flights) until March 2021. The airline presented these plans as emerging as a "New Norwegian", further planning to reinstate additional aircraft and operations as demand would allow, and to ultimately operate between 110 and 120 aircraft, down from the 160+ aircraft it operated prior to the crisis.[38] Shares in the airline continued to decrease in value in anticipation of the airline converting its debt to equity, which occurred on 20 May 2020, resulting in companies leasing aircraft to the airline (including AerCap and BOC Aviation) becoming the airline's largest shareholders.[39][40][41]

On 17 June 2020, Norwegian began adding additional flights for the month of July from Norway to Denmark and Sweden, as well as from Scandinavia to other European countries including Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the UK among others as demand recovered and countries reopened.[42][43] On 29 June 2020, the airline announced it had cancelled all of its remaining orders from Boeing, consisting of 92 Boeing 737 MAXs, five Boeing 787s, and service agreements related to both aircraft types.[44]

Corporate affairs

Ownership and structure

Shares of the parent company, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, are listed on Oslo Børs (Oslo Stock Exchange) with the ticker symbol NAS and are included in the benchmark index OBX, composed of the 25 most liquid shares on the Børs.[45] Before the May 2020 recapitalization, the largest shareholder was HBK Holding AS (4.64% of shares as of 3 April 2020), whose majority owner is Bjørn Kjos, founder of the company.[45] After the emission of new shares to its previous creditors, its largest owners were AerCap (15.9% of the capital) and BOC Aviation (12.7%).[46]

The Norwegian Group consists of the parent company and its directly or indirectly owned subsidiaries in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.[45] The parent company also owns 100% of the telephone company Call Norwegian AS, and 99.9% of NAS Asset Management, which owns the 737-800 aircraft purchased from Boeing.

Norwegian is a member of Airlines for Europe.[47]

The key trends for the Norwegian Group over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Turnover (MNOK) 6,226 7,309 8,598 10,532 12,859 15,580 19,540 22,491 26,055 30,948 40,266 43,522
Profit (EBT) (MNOK) 5 623 243 167 623 437 −1,627 75 1,508 −2,562 −2,490 −1,688
Net profit (MNOK) 4 446 189 122 475 319 1,072 246 1,135 −1,794 −1,454 −1,609
Number of employees (FTE at y/end) 1,596 1,852 2,211 2,555 2,890 3,738 4,314 4,576 5,796 7,845 10,215
Number of passengers (m) 9.1 10.8 13.0 15.7 17.7 20.7 24.0 25.8 29.3 33.2 37.3 36.2
Passenger load factor (%) 78.7 78.2 77.4 79.3 78.5 78.3 80.9 86.2 87.7 87.5 85.8 86.6
Revenue/ASK (RASK) 0.49 0.47 0.40 0.42 0.43 0.38 0.35 0.38 0.36 0.34 0.33
Unit cost (CASK) 0.56 0.49 0.46 0.46 0.45 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.41 0.43 0.43
Number of aircraft (at year end) 40 46 57 62 68 85 95 99 118 144 165 156
Notes/sources [48] [48] [49] [48] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [45] [56]

Management

The company is headed by CEO Jacob Schram, Geir Karlsen as CFO, Marty St. George as COO and the board is chaired by Niels Smedegaard.[57] Bjørn Kjos, the company's founder and previously its largest shareholder, stepped down as CEO on 11 July 2019, but continued to act as an adviser.[28]

Diamanten, the headquarters of Norwegian Air Shuttle

Head office

The company's head office is in Diamanten, an office building at Fornebu, Bærum outside Oslo.[58] Previously, the airline had its head office functions inside other buildings in Fornebu,[59] but in 2010 moved to Diamanten, which had been the former Braathens, and later SAS Norway, head office.[58]

Philanthropy

Since 2007, Norwegian has been a signature partner with UNICEF Norway and has operated four aid flights to various war-torn countries in the world. These are flights for which the company, its employees and passengers contribute money to fill an aircraft with aid and deliver the aid to the country in need. Passengers can contribute when they purchase tickets, food and drinks, or through the entertainment system on board. Initially, the airline used one of its Boeing 737-300 or Boeing 737-800 aircraft in a special UNICEF livery, but in 2017 for the first time the airline used a Boeing 787-9, in its mission to Yemen.[60] In 2018 the airline cooperated with MegaDo and Insideflyer, auctioning off seats for these special flights with all proceeds donated to UNICEF.[61]

Norwegian and UNICEF have conducted five humanitarian aid missions since 2014 to the Central African Republic, to Syrian refugees in Jordan, to Mali, Yemen and Chad. The partners claim that together they have delivered emergency aid that has saved more than 100,000 children's lives.[62]

Destinations
Main article: List of Norwegian Air Shuttle destinations
  Norwegian Short Haul
  Norwegian Long Haul
  Seasonal
  Future
  Terminated

Norwegian Air Shuttle serves Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for both business and leisure markets. Combined with its integrated subsidiaries that operate additional short- and long-haul flights, the airline flies to 149 destinations within 39 countries on five continents as of November 2019.

Domestic, intra-Nordic and typical European business and leisure destinations have the most flights. The busiest routes in Norwegian's network are the Oslo to Bergen and the Oslo to Trondheim routes with 15 daily round-trips. Norwegian's largest non-Scandinavian operation is to London Gatwick with up to 24 daily round-trips. Intra-Scandinavian routes, and in particular on "the capital triangle" between Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen, are attractive due to extensive traffic for both business and leisure travellers. Other modes of transportation between these cities are generally slow.[63]

Typical leisure destinations in Southern Europe are typically served once or twice a day from the main Nordic cities.

Long-haul operations
Main article: Norwegian Long Haul
Main article: Norwegian Air International
Main article: Norwegian Air UK

Norwegian started long-haul flights on 30 May 2013.[64] The first scheduled Norwegian Long Haul flights were from Oslo and Stockholm to New York City and Bangkok, originally with wet-leased Airbus A340-300 aircraft while the airline awaited delivery of its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. In March 2013 Norwegian Air Shuttle confirmed new long haul routes from Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm to Fort Lauderdale in Florida, beginning on 29 November 2013.[65]

Fleet
A Norwegian Boeing 737-800

As of June 2020, the Norwegian Air Shuttle fleet, excluding subsidiaries, consists of the following aircraft:[66][67][68]

Norwegian Air Shuttle fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A321LR — 30 220[69] Deliveries begin 2021.[70]
Boeing 737-800 20 — 186
189
Boeing 737 MAX 8 3 — 189[71]
Total 23 30

Subsidiary fleet
A Norwegian Air International Boeing 737 MAX 8
A Norwegian Long Haul Boeing 787-9

As of April 2020, Norwegian Air Shuttle's integrated subsidiaries operate the following aircraft:[72][73][74][75][76][77]

Norwegian Air Shuttle subsidiary fleet
Aircraft In
service		 Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Boeing 737-800 3 — — 189 189 Operated for Norwegian Air Argentina.
30 186 186 Operated by Norwegian Air International.
189 189
37 186 186 Operated by Norwegian Air Sweden.
189 189
Boeing 737 MAX 8 2 — — 189 189 Operated by Norwegian Air International.
13 Operated by Norwegian Air Sweden.
Boeing 787-8 8 — 32 260 292 Operated by Norwegian Long Haul.
Boeing 787-9 13 — 56 282 338 Operated by Norwegian Air UK.
3 Operated by Norwegian Air Sweden.
35 309 344
13 Operated by Norwegian Long Haul.
Total 122 —

Historical fleet
A former Norwegian Fokker 50
A former Norwegian Boeing 737-300

From 1993 to 2002, the company solely operated Fokker 50 turbo-prop aircraft primarily as a commuter airline, having a total fleet of six by 2002. The company ceased all Fokker 50 operations at the end of 2003 in order to focus on Boeing 737-300 jet operations.[78] For a limited period in the early years of the 737 operation, Norwegian operated a Boeing 737-500 as an interim solution while waiting for 737-300 deliveries.[79] Following the acquisition of Swedish low-cost airline FlyNordic in 2007, Norwegian inherited eight McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series aircraft.[80] The last of the MD-80 aircraft was phased out two years later.[81]

Norwegian Air Shuttle historical fleet
Aircraft Introduced Retired Refs
Boeing 737-300 2002 2015 [80][82]
Boeing 737-500 2002 2003 [82][79]
Fokker 50 1992 2004 [78]
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 2007 2009 [80][81]
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 2007 2009 [80][81]

Livery

Norwegian's aircraft livery is white with a signal red nose and a dark blue stripe, the same colors as the flag of Norway. The vertical stabilizer or tailfin is painted with a red tip and a dark blue stripe underneath containing the airline's website, with the rest of the talfin either blank white, or featuring depictions of historically significant individuals from across Europe and the Americas.[83] Special liveries featured on Norwegian's aircraft include or previously included promotional liveries for the insurance company Silver,[84] Norwegian's partnership with UNICEF, Network Norway, and the airline's frequent-flyer program Norwegian Reward.

Operations and services
Boeing Sky interior on a Norwegian Boeing 737-800

All flight operations excluding those by integrated subsidiaries are performed under one single air operator's certificate (AOC) (ICAO airline designator NAX). The Group also held a Swedish AOC after acquiring FlyNordic (ICAO airline designator NDC) until 2009, but the double AOC operation was later discontinued. The main technical base is at Stavanger, although heavy maintenance (C/D checks) and engine maintenance are put out on tender.

Service

Norwegian, as a low-cost airline, charges additional fees for on-board food and drinks, checked baggage, payment by credit card and other non-core services.[85]

In-flight entertainment

On Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, Norwegian offers in-flight entertainment by overhead screens, and video on demand streamable to personal devices, including live TV news channels for free and a selection of movies and television episodes for an additional cost. On Boeing 787 aircraft operated by Norwegian's subsidiaries, personal screens with USB charging ports are available on the seatback in Economy class, or in the armrest in exit rows, bulkheads, and in Premium class. The entertainment screens include a selection of movies and prerecorded TV shows as well as games and a 3D inflight map available at no additional cost in all cabins. Passengers can also use the entertainment screens on the Boeing 787 to use the buy on board service to purchase snacks, drinks, extra amenities, or shop duty-free products.[86]

Norwegian also offers free WiFi on services in Europe and Argentina operated by the Boeing 737-800.[87] WiFi service is planned to be increasingly available on flights operated by the Boeing 737 MAX 8, and international long-haul flights operated by the Boeing 787-9 starting from January 2019. The service plans to offer passengers a free option allowing for web browsing, messaging, and email, and an option with increased bandwidth allowing for video streaming for an additional fee.[88]

Cabins

Premium

Premium class is only offered on Norwegian's Boeing 787 aircraft operated by its integrated subsidiaries. The seats are configured in a 2-3-2 layout with AC power outlets, with 55 inches (140 cm) of pitch in aircraft configured with 32 or 35 Premium seats, or 46 inches (120 cm) of pitch in aircraft configured with 56 Premium seats. Blankets, headsets, a three-course meal, drinks, seat selection, and two pieces of checked baggage are provided complimentary. At the airport prior to departure, expedited security lines and lounge access are included where available. Additional onboard drinks and snacks can be purchased separately.[89]

Economy

Economy class on Norwegian's Boeing 737 and 737 MAX aircraft are configured in a 3-3 layout with 29 inches (74 cm) of pitch, with 38 inches (97 cm) of pitch in the exit rows. Economy class on Boeing 787 aircraft is configured in a 3-3-3 layout with 32 inches (81 cm) of pitch and two international AC power outlets for every three seats. Onboard snacks and drinks, as well as seat selection, pre-ordered meals (on long-haul flights only), and checked baggage are available for an additional cost.[90]

Frequent-flyer program

The airline runs a frequent flyer program called Norwegian Reward. Passengers can earn points based on the price of the ticket and the ticket class (10% on Flex tickets, 2% on LowFare tickets), and can use the points towards award flights, as partial payment of flights on the airline, or for service fees including ticket changes, seat selection, or cancellation insurance. Norwegian supported the ban on point accrual that was in force on domestic flights in Norway until 16 May 2013, but when that ban was lifted, the reward programs were extended to that market as well.[91]

Concerns and conflicts

Customer services

It was reported in 2014 that Norwegian Air customers had lodged a record number of complaints, with a tribunal judge stating to Dagens Næringsliv, "We have never before seen this scope of complaints in a single case".[92] Norwegian's policies were also criticized by passengers who were left without food, drinks and blankets on board for up to 12 hours (available for pay but only with credit card).[93] In August 2014, 35,000 people were reportedly hit with delays when flying with Norwegian, and 1,200 passengers ultimately sued Norwegian for compensation.[94] However, for the most part, the tribunal did not agree with the complaints and only in a few cases did Norwegian have to compensate the passenger(s).[95][96][97]

Labour relations

Between 2011 and 2013, Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) was criticised regarding its treatment of employees.

The media first reported NAS's announced intention to open a base in Helsinki, from where it hired pilots on short-term contracts in Estonia rather than as employees within the company. The Norwegian tax-office authorities reportedly suspected in August 2012 that many Norwegian citizens were working for NAS on these contracts and not paying Norwegian taxes, despite operating on flights originating from Norway.[98][99] The Norwegian Pilot's Union (NPU) took NAS to court over the short-term contracts. Then-CEO Bjørn Kjos appeared to inflame matters when he declared that NAS would no longer hire employees on Norwegian terms.[100][101]

In 2012, NAS started to use contract-employed pilots on routes within Scandinavia, considered by the NPU to be an abrogation of labor terms regarding non-Scandinavian pilots on routes within Scandinavia. The NPU soon after sued NAS.[102]

In October 2013, the NPU announced its intention to strike because NAS had forced its pilots to face dismissal or transfer to Norwegian Air Norway or Norwegian Air Resources AB, both subsidiaries of NAS; the respective subsidiary would then hire the pilots back to NAS. The NPU and its Swedish counterpart SPF accused NAS of using this ploy to break the solidarity and organisation of the pilots, with the eventual goal of coercing pilots to convert their jobs to contract positions.[103][104]

In mid-December 2013, NAS demanded that its Swedish non-contract flight attendants transfer to Proffice Aviation, an external staffing company, or face dismissal. According to the Swedish cabin-crew union, Unionen, it managed to save the jobs of 53 NAS employees, but it was dissatisfied with the direction NAS had taken. The situation led to the leader for the Swedish Left Party, Jonas Sjöstedt, to state that stricter regulation was needed for the use of staffing-companies in Sweden.[105]

Norwegian Long Haul
Main article: Norwegian Long Haul § Criticism during startup

Norwegian Long Haul was criticised for the terms of its contracts with its long-haul flight attendants on contracts based in Thailand.[106] The Air Line Pilots Association further accused Norwegian of unfair competition practices. The airline contested these accusations, and disclosed the pay scale for its Thai employees, who earn between $33,300 and US$39,200 per annum, which is under the $42.2K USD[107] average pay for US flight attendants (though these comparisons are made between solely intercontinental Norwegian Long Haul flights versus domestic and intercontinental flights of US-paid flight attendants).[108]

Accidents and incidents
  • A Norwegian Boeing 737 MAX suffered an unspecified technical failure over Iran on 14 December 2018.[109] The pilot made a precautionary landing at Shiraz Shahid Dastgheib International Airport without incident. Spare parts required to make the aircraft airworthy were not available outside the United States, which had prohibited exports of technology to Iran. Two months later, the almost-brand-new aircraft was still stranded in Shiraz and subject to seizure by the Iranian government.[110] On 22 February 2019 the aircraft flew from Shiraz to Stockholm after it had been stranded for 70 days.[111]

Awards

Norwegian was awarded best European low-cost airline and fourth worldwide in 2014 by AirlineRatings.com. In 2013 Norwegian was voted best low cost airline in Europe by Skytrax.[112][113]

  • 2019 Europe's Leading Low-Cost Airline 2019 awarded by World Travel Awards.[114]
  • 2019 Best low cost carrier in Europe award, awarded by Passenger Choice Awards™[115]
  • 2017 Airline of the year awarded by Centre for Aviation - CAPA Global Aviation & Corporate Travel Summit[116]
  • 2016 Europe's Leading Low-Cost Airline 2015 awarded by World Travel Awards[117]
  • 2016 World's best Low-Cost Long Haul Airline by Skytrax World Airline[118][119]
  • 2016 Europe's best Low-Cost Airline by Skytrax World Airline[118][119]
  • 2016 Freddie Awards: Best up-and-coming Award[120]
  • 2016 Grand Travel Awards Norway: Best European Airline[121]
  • 2016 Grand Travel Awards Norway: Best domestic airline in Norway[121]
  • 2016 Grand Travel Awards Norway: CEO of the year: Bjørn Kjos of Norwegian[121]
  • 2015 Norwegian awarded best low cost airline in Europe by Airlineratings.com[122]
  • 2015 Norwegian named the most environmentally friendly transatlantic airline by International Council on Clean Transportation[123]
  • 2015 Best in Region: Europe - Awarded by Apex Passenger Choice Awards[124]
  • 2015 Best Inflight Publication - Awarded by Apex Passenger Choice Awards[124]
  • 2015 Europe's Leading Low-Cost Airline 2015 awarded by World Travel Awards[125]
  • 2015 Norwegian's onboard magazine "N Magazine" won the award for "Customer Magazine of the Year" . Awarded by Professional Publishers Association.[126]
  • 2015 World's best Low-Cost Long Haul Airline by Skytrax World Airline Awards[127]
  • 2015 Best lowcost airline in Europe for 2015 - Awarded by Airlineratings.com[128]
  • 2014 Best in Region: Europe - Awarded by Apex Passenger Choice Awards[129][130]
  • 2014 Best in Inflight Connectivity & Communications - Awarded by Apex Passenger Choice Awards[129][130]
  • 2014 Best Single Achievement in Passenger Experience for its moving map on the 787 Dreamliners - Awarded by Apex Passenger Choice Awards[129][130]
  • 2014 Europe's best low-cost carrier of the year awarded by Skytrax World Airline Awards[131][132]
  • 2014 Named Biggest "'new' airline in the US market" by 4th US ANNIEs – Airline Awards of Anna.aero[133]
  • 2014 Voted "Best Low-Cost Airline of the World" by the 2014 Air Transport News Awards[134]
  • 2013 Europe's best low-cost carrier of the year awarded by Skytrax World Airline Awards[135]
  • 2013 Best Inflight Connectivity and Communications awarded by Apex Passenger Choice Awards[136]
  • 2012 Best Inflight Connectivity and Communications awarded by Apex Passenger Choice Awards[136]
  • 2012 Second Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe awarded by Skytrax during the World Airline Awards 2012[137]
  • 2009 Norwegian named "Market Leader of the Year" by Air Transport World (ATW)
  • 2008 Norwegian named the best low-cost carrier in Northern Europe by Skytrax
  • 2008 Norwegian was awarded a prize for being the best Norwegian company in terms of public reputation, and for having the best management of all companies in Norway.
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  3. Her er Europas største flyselskaper, regnet etter passasjertall Verdens Gang 9.January 2013 (in Norwegian)
  4. "Norwegian Air Shuttle på ruinene etter Busy Bee" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 27 January 1993.
  5. Valderhaug, Rune (28 January 1993). "Nytt selskap flyr fra Bergen". Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian).
  6. Larsen, Trygve (13 October 2000). "Vil fly selv". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian).
  7. Valderhaug, Rune (20 January 1994). "Braathen vil ikke fly direkte Bergen Nord-Norge" (in Norwegian). p. 6.
  8. Sæthre, Lars N. (24 August 1996). "Nye aktører kjemper om Widerøe-nett". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). p. 27.
  9. "Norwegian Air Shuttle kjøper Lufttransport AS" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 2 June 2000.
  10. Lillesund, Geir (15 November 2000). "Braathens fortsetter omleggingen – kutter kortruter" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency.
  11. Larsen, Trygve (11 January 2002). "NAS inn for landing". Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian).
  12. "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 10 April 2007. p. 57.
  13. "Quarterly report 3rd quarter 2006" (PDF). norwegian.no. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2007.
  14. Norwegian to strengthen Scandinavian network with FlyNordic acquisition ATW Daily News, 25 April 2007.
  15. Reuters: Norwegian Air places $3.1 bln Boeing order
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