Norwegian Airlines Troubles

I'm shocked, shocked, that WOW and Norwegian aren't able to sustain their operations selling their seats at the prices they do...

By the end of this year? Not much time left.

It is/was great taking advantage of those fares.
I just bought a ticket for a flight departing one way next Wednesday to LGW at great price.

Is it too late for folks who have Norwegian Air tickets to buy trip insurance?

One can buy insurance anytime before a flight; I buy it most times depending on the duration of an international trip or the destination regardless the airline

great price = unsustainable price

British Airways has been in talks to buy Norwegian but it seems Norwegian was hesitating.

I think Norwegian expanded too quickly.

Unfortunately, they have expanded too fast too quickly.

Usually travel insurance only covers you for events that become known about/ occur after you buy the insurance, so if you aren’t already covered and you buy insurance today when the collapse appears imminent, I’m not sure that an insurance company would pay out.

There has been talk for months of the collapse of Norwegian, as has been mentioned on this forum numerous times. Hopefully it won’t happen, but something will have to change to their business model.

There has been talk for months of the collapse of Norwegian, as has been mentioned on this forum numerous times. Hopefully it won’t happen, but something will have to change to their business model.

Yeah I remember when United Airlines owed billions of dollars back in 2002 and could not make the payment filed for the largest airline bankruptcy ever (and I continued flying with them not thinking like some doomsday was coming) and they are still around today even with lousy service compared to Norwegian

Until a few short years ago, Norwegian were only flying short haul routes intra Europe, with the staff being repatriated each day, thereby saving lots of money on hotel bills and not needing double staff for the return flights from say America. They have dropped many European routes to focus on transatlantic routes, thereby needing a very different business model.

The seats are cheap, so they make their money by people paying to put their luggage in the hold and by selling food, drink and duty free items onboard. Whilst most Europeans travel with checked luggage if travelling for more than a few days, if this forum is typical, then few Americans pay for a checked bag. You can buy food and drink at the airport, so you don’t need to buy this onboard.

United have operated transatlantic routes for years. I don’t know how quickly they grew, but Norwegian have expanded very quickly.

British Airways has been in talks to buy Norwegian but it seems
Norwegian was hesitating.

IAG, the company that owns BA, bought 4.6% of Norwegian earlier this year. But it has been hard for them to buy more and I'm not sure they are interested in doing it anymore.

Business-friendly US bankruptcy law saved United (and Delta and American). European Airlines do not have access to that, so they have no choice but to cease operations (Primera, Air Berlin, Monarch), unless their home country gives them a cash infusion (Alitalia).

For BA, it’s a tough decision. Invest more in a company that depresses fares to an unsustainable level or let that competitor die.

I find myself wondering a little if Icelandair decided to allow WOW Airlines to die to kill off a competitor (despite the public statement that it didn’t have time to put together the financial details of its deal), but the plan backfired when Indigo Partners stepped in to save WOW.

A similar event for Norwegian has to go into BA’s calculation, too.

IAG, the company that owns BA, bought 4.6% of Norwegian earlier this year. But it has been hard for them to buy more and I'm not sure they are interested in doing it anymore.

Press speculation has suggested that IAG and DY have been in talks earlier this month with Kjos being more willing to sell but IAG no longer willing to offer the price it did back in the spring. If IAG thinks that it is now only a matter of time before DY will fail, it might make more financial sense for them to negotiate to take what bits they really want in due course from a liquidator.

After Ryanair and EasyJet, Norwegian Air Shuttle is the largest budget airline in Europe. They've been expanding to North America as fast as Boeing has been delivering new 787's and now the 737 Max planes for flights to New England. I wonder how many planes are owned and how many are being leased?

I sincerely hope Norwegian Air will resolve their financial issues. Their demise would severely impact my future European travels.

Oh, say it isn't so!
I've been able to travel from Oakland California to Europe 4 times in the last 2 years because of Norwegian's pricing (and I will sometimes check a bag.)
I will sorely miss them if they disappear.

According to the Danish newsagency, it looks like they have secured the capital they need for now. https://ekstrabladet.dk/nyheder/samfund/presset-norwegian-sikrer-penge-til-allerede-bestilte-fly/7451362

Thanks for the info about secured funding. We're booked on Norwegian to CDG late March and got a little worried! We're trusting your brief translation :).

Yaay! I guess..
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norwegian-refinancing-idUSKCN1ON0MX

While I haven't flown Norwegian or WOW, I have a feeling that the low fares I've gotten to Europe in the last few years may be partly due to the competition from those airlines. So hopefully they can straighten out their operations and stay solvent.