The CEO of Norwegian Air Shuttle has hit back at criticism from US airlines and unions that its move to build a transatlantic long-haul low-cost airline from a base in Ireland will undermine wages and working standards.
Chief executive Bjorn Kjos said US airlines arguing for labour fairness are actually running scared of his carrier’s cheap ticket prices. According to prices on the airlines’ website a round-trip flight from New York to London in December costs $483 on Norwegian, compared with $835 on Delta or $832 on American.
Norwegian’s controversial decision to move its operations to Ireland has been criticised by parts of the industry that claim the main reason for the move is to bypass Norway’s strict labour laws, which would prevent it from hiring cheap workers.
The airline denies this claim and said the move is to gain access to future traffic rights to and from the EU.
Norwegian said the application is “in full accordance with the Open Skies Agreement between the EU and the US”.
While Norwegian Air Shuttle already flies from Oslo to New York, Florida and other destinations, its Ireland-based subsidiary, Norwegian Air International does not have permission to fly to the country.
U.S. airlines and labour unions are lobbying the U.S. Department of Transportation to deny the subsidiary's application for a foreign air carrier permit.
“We are doing exactly what the Obama administration wants: create American jobs, bring tourists to the United States and offer Americans cheap flights,” Kjos told Reuters.
“The transatlantic market has far too long been dominated by alliances that have been allowed to rule the market with high prices and limited choice.
“You shouldn’t be fighting [NAI],” Kjos said. “We are providing low fares to Americans and we fly [US manufactured Boeing 787] Dreamliners.”
Kjos said that Norwegian would continue to aggressively push for DOT to approve NAI’s application. “We know how to fight back against slanderous campaigns,” he said adding that “it costs us a fortune for every day we don’t get approval”.
“I promise you one thing: We will give you low fares across the Atlantic. Right now [the transatlantic market] is dominated by the three alliances. And guess who is trying to stop us.”
Norwegian.com
Picture source: The Guardian