Bjorn Kjos, founder and CEO of Norwegian, one of Europe’s biggest budget airlines spoke about the vested interests which tries to suppress the low-cost competition.
He clearly mentioned in his attack that they hate competition and low fares. He urged that politicians should not listen to them, but should listen to consumers.
Currently operating transatlantic flights from Gatwick, Norwegian has faced stiff opposition for its plans to launch low-cost links from Scotland and Ireland to the US, from both airlines and unions. Norwegian Air International has faced the question of the legitimacy of its Irish subsidiary. When President Trump took office, the US Air Line Pilots’ Association issued a statement demanding he should overturn a Department of Transportation approval for the network: “The new administration should immediately move to reverse the DOT’s decision regarding Norwegian Air International and revoke or suspend the foreign air carrier permit.”
The union also said that Norwegian had set up an Irish subsidiary “to use flight crews employed under contracts governed by the laws of various Asian countries, including Singapore and Thailand.”
Norwegian will fly from Edinburgh, Belfast, Cork, Shannon and Dublin to Providence in Rhode Island, close to Boston; Hartford, Connecticut; and Stewart International, about 90 minutes by road from New York City. The airline is the European launch customer for the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, a long-haul variant of the world’s most successful plane. Mr Kjos said that he is doubtful about the “legacy” airlines’ plans who are planning for long-haul, low-cost subsidiaries.
