Norse Atlantic Airways, the new Norwegian low-cost carrier that hopes to pick up the torch dropped by Norwegian Air when it fell into bankruptcy, got U.S. Department of Transportation approval Friday to start service next summer.
The new airline, with a low-cost-and-lots-of-fees model like Norwegian’s, plans to start with service between Oslo and three U.S. cities—New York, Los Angeles and Miami—choosing lower-cost nearby airports for all three. The flights will operate from New York/Newburgh, Ontario, California and Fort Lauderdale.
Many of the new airline’s leaders were formerly at Norwegian, including Norwegian founder Bjorn Kos, so the similarities, including reliance on the Boeing 787, should not be surprising.
One big difference: Norwegian strongly resisted union efforts among its U.S.-based cabin crews, while Norse has already signed an agreement with the largest flight attendant union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA that will start hiring with the union already in place. Not surprisingly, the union filed a brief in support of Norse Air’s permit application. Hiring will start within days.
