After waiting over 3 years for an approval that normally takes only months, Norwegian International, the EU subsidiary of Norwegian Air Shuttle, has been approved for flights to the U.S. by the Department of Transportation.
The application has been a political football, with U.S. carriers, their unions and a raft of politicians opposing the license. The carriers clearly don't want more low-cost competition, and complained that Norwegian might hire low-wage Asian crews. The complaint continued even after Norwegian pledged to hire only from North America and Europe.
On the other side of the controversy, airport operators in many cities, as well as travel industry groups, have urged approval; they see more low-cost flights as a benefit, from their points of view.
In the meantime, Norwegian International's parent carrier has been expanding into the U.S. market with flights from both Scandinavia and Britain; some of those routes will likely be passed over to the subsidiary which is home-based in Ireland, an EU country.
For more details on the arguments of both sides from USA Today, click HERE
Photo: Norwegian 787 at Oakland, CA (Matias Raknes/Wikimedia)
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