Low-cost carrier Norwegian is set to compete with major legacy airlines at Heathrow after it revealed it has been granted six weekly slots at the London hub.
The news was confirmed by slot coordinator Airport Coordination Limited in its report for the summer 2020 season.
Norwegian originally applied for 14 slots but has given six between 29 March and 24 October during the peak summer flying season.
The airline has so far focused its London operations at Gatwick airport and the summer 2020 slots will be its first entry to Heathrow, where it will compete with major carriers such as British Airways, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Delta.
While Norwegian has yet to announce its plans for the slots, a spokesperson for the airline told Business Traveller: “Norwegian can confirm that the airline has been granted six slots, three take-off and three landing, at London Heathrow. We have a strong track record of disrupting incumbent carriers and alliances by offering low fares and award-winning service on specific routes and destinations that were previously operated as monopolies.
“Our strategy benefits both consumers and businesses, boosting local economies and employment. We continuously adjust our network in response to demand and we will announce any further changes as and when it is appropriate to do so.”
The news comes after Norwegian announced the appointment of its new CEO, Jacob Schram, who will take up the post on 1 January 2020. Schram is an industry outsider, having previously held leadership roles at large international companies such as McDonalds, McKinsey, Circle K and Statoil Fuel & Retail.
Meanwhile, Norwegian revealed it will be axing all of its long-haul flights from Sweden and Denmark from 29 March 2020 due to “overall demand and commercial viability”.
The carrier recently announced plans to form an interline agreement with US airline Jetblue after unveiling its strategy for growing capacity on transatlantic flights from Gatwick next summer, though it has cut services to the US from Ireland due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft and generally low demand on the routes.