Booking Norwegian Flights

Norwegian has had many financial woes lately. I would hesitate to book them personally. Have you tried a site like www.kayak.com that lets you search all airlines at once? Also depending on what time in May you want to go, schedules may not be out yet. Early May, yes, late May, possibly not.

Boston to Rome is just a seasonal route.

Thank you for your replies. I am aware of the financial issues for both Norwegian and Alitalia. Since I am so far out at this point, I'll keep checking, using Google Flights and others to search various airlines.

I would worry less about Alitalia (gov't-backed) than Norwegian (unsupported), if these are your two options.

Thank you. Yes, I would agree with you about Norwegian vs. Alitalia. Those are my two options if I want a nonstop flight. Otherwise, I have many other options.

Looks like you can book on Delta too, flight 6591, 9:50pm to 11:50 am. I realize that's the same flight as Alitalia, but you would have more protection/benefits/recourse if you booked via Delta than Alitalia, IMHO.

Thanks, Kelly, but I think the Delta flight is seasonal. I don't see it listed on their website for early May, but I'll keep checking. Appreciate the advice, though.

I would not be afraid of booking Delta/Alitalia. A couple of years ago one of the best flights to Europe from JFK was on Alitalia via Delta. We had booked Delta but were surprised to see the Alitalia plane sitting at the gate when we arrived. But the service level, comfort, food. etc., was far better with Alitalia than the return flight from Rome on the Delta equipment. If I was booking Norwegian I would back it up with good travel insurance and make sure - don't assume - that the insurance covers a bankruptcy or shut down of service -- some do not.

Actually, Frank, I agree with you. My only hesitancy with Alitalia would be the financial status of the airline. I flew Alitalia a few years ago and it was perfectly fine. It was actually better than a terrible British Airways flight I had out of Venice, so I would book with Alitalia again. You made a good point about the travel insurance, which I always buy, but checking on coverage for bankruptcies and their results is a good idea. Thanks.

Not quite the same thing, however, in December I booked WOW for 6 adults from CDG to BWI in June of 2019 for a cost of about $3600 using my Chase CC; as we all know, WOW went out of business around March, and Chase credited the charge to my account, therefore, no worries on my part. Fortunately, we found another return on Condor through Lufthansa for $4300. To all who will "view with alarm and note with concern," out total RT cost for a family vacation (using Icelandic through Vayama & Orbitz to KEF & CDG) was under $1100. Finally, since I go to/from Italy a couple of times a year, I'd be more concerned about Alitalia then Norweigen being around a year from now. My opinion only. I like Emirates to/from MXP om that route. Last RT in May (10 days' notice prior)was $1200 using DL RDU-JFK -MXP & return with the "extra leg-room option. I loath U.S. flag carriers to the EU, and really feel for those who are seeing their points drip down as earlier in my career they really were valuable.

I suspect that Norwegian is holding back their schedule while waiting to see what happens with the 737 MAX.

Jerry makes a good point that credit card companies are supposed to refund the money for a service/product purchased but not received, though you typically have to ask for it. The harm to consumers who bought tickets with a credit card when an airline goes belly up is buying another ticket. If your flight leaves 6 months after the airline ceases operations, that's typically no big deal -- reasonable tickets are still available; if your flight leaves 1 week after the airline cease operations, that's a big deal -- the consumer is left to purchase very expensive tickets at "walk up" prices. The loss for tickets purchased but not used falls on credit card companies.

Which brings us back to Norwegian... the airline very quietly reported in a sentence buried in its 1st quarter report that credit card issuers had increased hold backs for purchases (i.e., had increased the amount of money they were withholding on a purchased ticket until the flight was completed). That makes cash flow tough (and means the credit card companies are concerned about Norwegian going the way of WOW). It will be interesting to see Norwegian's comment on that in the 2nd quarter report that should come out some time in mid to late July. Credit card hold backs forced Frontier Airlines into bankruptcy several years ago; European airlines don't have the option of bankruptcy; they just cease operations.

If you end up booking with Norwegian, make sure you have a good travel insurance in case they go bankrupt.

Looks like the answer for the delay is that the airline was still deciding what routes to cut for winter. The link below outlines the US routes that are going from year-round to seasonal (summer only)...

https://media.us.norwegian.com/pressreleases/norwegian-moves-two-more-routes-to-san-francisco-adjusts-transatlantic-winter-season-program-2894902

I love Norwegian and am hoping all their efforts to stay in the game are successful.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2019/01/30/financial-infusion-to-keep-norwegian-air-flying/#78615fc917b1

Dave, thanks for the article and link. Great news for me and many of my friends that NA will now be flying year round from SF to Paris instead of May-Oct as they have been.

Thanks Dave for that article. My plans have changed a bit with regard to timing, but this info is certainly helpful.