Norwegian Air’s CEO Bjorn Kjos has admitted strike threats from one of the country’s major unions damaged business for the month of May.
The airline carried 2.1 million passengers last month, an increase of 12 per cent compared to the same month last year, however strike threats from union Parat affected the company’s revenues and bookings.
Norwegian said many customers in Norway and Denmark “refrained from booking flights” due to fear of industrial action.
The load factor was 77 per cent, the same as May 2013.
“May was an atypical month where the strike threats from the labour union Parat affected our company considerably through fewer bookings and consequently lower revenues,” said Kjos.
“On the positive side, I’m pleased that we keep attracting new customers, particularly in new markets outside Scandinavia.”
The threat of strike action comes after Norwegian announced it wanted to split the Danish and Norwegian cabin staff into two separate companies – Cabin Services Norway and Cabin Services Denmark.
Unions fear the new agreement would weaken its members’ negotiating power and threaten accrued wages and benefits.
Irish base
Last month (May 27) Norwegian faced renewed calls from some of Europe’s largest unions to deny the airline’s application for a foreign air carrier permit.
Norwegian wants the licence so it can operate from its Irish base in Dublin and “gain access to future traffic rights to and from the EU”.
Unions refute this claim and believe Norwegian wants the foreign licence so it can “circumvent worker protections by evading international labour laws”.
The US Department of Transport is currently considering its decision. The airline has admitted the delay in gaining the permanent licence has led to it suspending talks to purchase 20 Dreamliner planes from Boeing.
Norwegian.com