Norwegian Air Discussion

The Premier Man

Noxegon wrote:

I haven't tried ORK-PVD, but I think that you're seriously pushing it with that plan Premier Man – essentially you're allowing 30 minutes for immigration and baggage reclaim *and* you're assuming everything will be on time.

Noxegon wrote:

In my experience many US sporting venues don't generally allow bags on the premises, too.

Thanks for the response, we will only have carry on and our hotel is 200yards from the arena so we will be dropping bags in reception and running. How long was immigration for you?. Thanks for the reply

c6ysaphjvqw41k

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billie1b

The Premier Man wrote: »

Thanks for the response, we will only have carry on and our hotel is 200yards from the arena so we will be dropping bags in reception and running. How long was immigration for you?. Thanks for the reply

You will clear immigration in Dublin, you’ll arrive into the airport as a domestic pax, in and out job

JCX BXC

billie1b wrote: »

You will clear immigration in Dublin, you’ll arrive into the airport as a domestic pax, in and out job

They won't clear, as they're flying from Cork!

billie1b

JCX BXC wrote: »

They won't clear, as they're flying from Cork!

Ahh missed that part, apologies

holly8

Benson Refined Vagrant wrote: »

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Check In was very quick and easy both times but we were early both times, arriving just as the check in desk opened .. so both times, our carry-on luggage was checked in free of charge.

We didn't ask for specific seating, maybe we should have had and I don't there would have been any issue - Norwegian are not Ryanair!

Planes are 3 + 3, there was 4 of us so we got 3 seats (window, middle, aisle) + 1 (aisle).

There was no wifi on the flight out from Dublin, I didn't check on the way back ... as our return flight was at 9:25pm so perfect time for
settling down for a nap after a pre-flight drink at Stewart airport - I slept all the way to Dublin!

conzy

I flew to SWF about 2 weeks ago. Great experience, 737 max had that new plane smell took off on time. Arrived early, free window seat both ways.

Going again Thanksgiving Eve 264 euro return transatlantic is unbelievable. And SWF is only 35 min drive from where im going vs 90 from JFK

Tenger

conzy wrote: »

.........
Going again Thanksgiving Eve 264 euro return transatlantic is unbelievable. And SWF is only 35 min drive from where im going vs 90 from JFK

That’s a superb price.
And your next line shows part of the attraction of their routes in my opinion. Previously the media had a few articles about Norwegian not being cheaper to NYC/Boston once you factor in travel. But not everyone is ending up in those cities (a similar logic follows for the EI Dublin-Hartford route)

SUNGSAM

Has anyone travelled on the bus from Stewart Airport to Manhattan? If so how was it and what area of Manhattan does it leave you? Travelling in May and just looking to get things booked early. Thanks.

Heisenberg.

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Idbatterim

Sure you can still pay e6 for fast track. Also agreed about the 30k per fought. But they'd be making a good bit on ancillary revenue... if the load factor out of Belfast is poor and there is no other provider, probably best off pulling service from there. They will likely just head down to Dublin then like they are used too. Decent chance they'll still fly Norwegian ...

JCX BXC

That's assuming an average fare of around €158, I think actual income would be a little higher with ancillary income, people booking the plus fares, purchasing food, check in bags, seats etc. Some of the larger airlines struggle with their winter €250 one way fares, so I don't know how Norwegian are managing to sustain such prices. Granted I don't have enough of a knowledge of airline economics to give a full analysis.

The Premier Man

Just an update, 6 of us travelled with Norwegian from Cork to providence last week. We left at 4.25pm on Thursday and returned to Shannon at 8am Tuesday morning after leaving providence at 9 the night before. To be honest I could not fault them in any way, check in was simple and if flight isn't packed they will let you choose your seats at the desk. The staff are very friendly. Clearing in providence took 20 mins max. There was 6 of us so we got an uber xl which was $125 so was the best option with a crowd. We had looked into public transport though and a train goes about every hour to Boston for bout $17 each and a bus goes every half hour for something similar. Time wise we got through clearance round 6.50 and were in the uber at 7.05...we arrived at the td garden(as we had tickets for basketball at 8)in boston at bout 8. 10. Unless you get caught in traffic the journey takes around an hour, we missed about 5 mins of the 1st quarter so we're happy enough. Going back was the same, we got to choose our seats, we all sat at window seats as we would sleep through the night. Security in providence was a breeze as it's such a small airport, it probably took 10 mins max. There is restaurants in providence after security aswell, an Eddie rockets, a pizza place and a bar that we saw so no problem on that front. Also on the flight there is inflight entertainment, you can log onto the WiFi for free if using the Norwegian site and access piles of films and TV shows on your tablet or phone. luggage was no issue, we all had a carry on case and a schoolbag and they didn't weigh them or mind about them at all, and offered to check them in for free but we declined as we were in a rush. I couldn't recommend them highly enough, I honestly didn't expect them to be as easy to travel with considering the flight cost €220 return.

Comhrá

Just an update, 6 of us travelled with Norwegian from Cork to providence last week. We left at 4.25pm on Thursday and returned to Shannon at 8am Tuesday morning after leaving providence at 9 the night before. To be honest I could not fault them in any way, check in was simple and if flight isn't packed they will let you choose your seats at the desk. The staff are very friendly. Clearing in providence took 20 mins max. There was 6 of us so we got an uber xl which was $125 so was the best option with a crowd. We had looked into public transport though and a train goes about every hour to Boston for bout $17 each and a bus goes every half hour for something similar. Time wise we got through clearance round 6.50 and were in the uber at 7.05...we arrived at the td garden(as we had tickets for basketball at 8)in boston at bout 8. 10. Unless you get caught in traffic the journey takes around an hour, we missed about 5 mins of the 1st quarter so we're happy enough. Going back was the same, we got to choose our seats, we all sat at window seats as we would sleep through the night. Security in providence was a breeze as it's such a small airport, it probably took 10 mins max. There is restaurants in providence after security aswell, an Eddie rockets, a pizza place and a bar that we saw so no problem on that front. Also on the flight there is inflight entertainment, you can log onto the WiFi for free if using the Norwegian site and access piles of films and TV shows on your tablet or phone. luggage was no issue, we all had a carry on case and a schoolbag and they didn't weigh them or mind about them at all, and offered to check them in for free but we declined as we were in a rush. I couldn't recommend them highly enough, I honestly didn't expect them to be as easy to travel with considering the flight cost €220 return.

It's great to hear such positive feedback as it will encourage more people to use the service. Norwegian seem to operate to pretty high standards and I hope they are able to make these transatlantic services viable for the foreseeable future.

PreCocious

Travelled Cork > Providence on Thanksgiving and back on Saturday.

Agree with the points made by Premier Man.

Because of Thanksgiving and Saturday the train wasn't running from the airport so I used Peter Ban buses - $66.50 return to Boston South Station. Took 1.5 hours, bus had free wifi and was comfortable though the return bus was more modern.

We had a 737-800 outwards so wifi was available (it was nice being able to tweet over Greenland) but a 737 MAX on the return which meant no wifi . Service was fine and needless the say the planes were in excellent condition. Onboard snack prices were the same as any other airline. There are videos shown on drop down screens but these are subtitled as there isn't any audio.

Providence airport is small so we moved through quite quickly. Border control was fast enough. On the return the TSA queue was minimal and they were calm and not stressed out (none of the roaring and shouting that you get in busier airports).

On both legs I was unable to connect to the free wifi in Providence airport on either of my devices. There are plenty of food places airside but do avoid Johnny Rockets - despite a longish wait for my order it was served totally cold. A number of other folk were giving out as well.

Both legs were around half-full as I mentioned on another thread the flight home had 86 on board.

I hope it survives - it's a good service, flying between relaxed airports and at a great price.

Blut2

The FT had a good in-depth article on Norwegian today:

https://www.ft.com/content/a013d226-daa8-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b482

Some highlights:

Analysts point to a poor summer, with Norwegian reporting a 6 per cent rise in unit costs for the third quarter. That followed a dismal second-quarter cost performance, with an operating loss of NKr863m ($104m). Worries over Norwegian’s numbers have also hit its share price: it has dropped 40 per cent in the year. At the same time EasyJet shares have risen 44 per cent, Ryanair 19 per cent and IAG, which also offers long-haul flights, 42 per cent.

“[Norwegian Air’s] unit cost has been creeping up. For a low-cost airline that’s not really ideal,” says Jonathan Wober, analyst at CAPA — Centre for Aviation. According to Bloomberg consensus forecasts, the combination of falling unit revenue and increasing unit costs will result in an operating loss this year of NKr1.482bn.

“They are not profitable this year in what is a very good year for the airline industry,” says Andrew Lobbenberg, an aviation analyst at HSBC. “The underlying business is losing considerable sums of money. This is not sustainable, something has to change.”

Hans-Marius Lee Ludvigsen, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux, says Norwegian’s 2017 performance has been worse than expected, “particularly considering the rather profitable times among other European names in a year with low oil prices, low funding costs”. He adds: “This should have been a year for an airline to make money, really.”

“If Norwegian is not able to improve its operating margins going forward, if there’s a negative demand shock in the industry then there’s huge downside risks for them,” says Mr Ludvigsen.

One of Norway’s most senior bankers says: “Norwegian are in trouble. They are over-extended and it’s clear that they have to do something. “The danger with their business model is that their margins are pretty thin so they can’t afford too big problems.”

Interesting that the experts seem to agree with a lot of posters in this thread - that something will have to give in Norwegian's current business model. Either prices go up or they're in trouble.

roundymac

Just going to show that LH/LC does not work as is evident in all the airlines that have tried it and failed.

Blut2

roundymac wrote: »

Just going to show that LH/LC does not work as is evident in all the airlines that have tried it and failed.

I don't think it necessarily shows that, just more that specifically Norwegian's model at the moment is not working. A LH/LC airline that expanded more slowly, and so was able to be more selective in picking its airports, would probably be doing OK.

The late 2010s are very different to the 1980s or 1990s in terms of airplane range and efficiency. And in lower passenger expectations of comfort. Its far easier for a LH/LC airline to exist now than ever before.

JCX BXC

Is there any successful LH/LCC in Europe at the moment?

Possibly Wow air, however many people try avoid them to my understanding.

marno21

Wow Air going with a strange expansion method by flying to a heap of niche US airports starting 2018. It'll be interesting to see how that works out.

IMO the Norwegian model is flawed for several reasons. Many forms of ancilliary revenue besides fares for flag carriers are absent on Norwegian.

1. Business/first class
2. Cargo
3. Demographic (Norwegian flights seem to be fairly heavily used by 18-34 year olds travelling to the US only because they got a cheap ticket. They wouldn't fly at all if there was no cheap flight. These people are likely to cut all costs, no checked bag, no food/drink on board etc)

They have issues also:

The primary one: aircraft utilization. Ryanair etc, or indeed DY short haul, can get 7/8 flights a day from a 737. Ryanair with 96% load factor would be transporting (189 * 0.96 * 8) 1451 passengers per aircraft per day. Norwegian, with a load factor of, guessing 80% per flight, would be transporting around 300 passengers a day. That's a significant drop when they are still paying staff hours for ~13/14 hours flying. This to me, is a massive killer for them.

I think there may be some merit in their 787 operations such as the ones ex Gatwick. But these aren't as constrained as the 737 flights as they have premium economy, major airports etc.

JCX BXC

However, is there a market for their 787 ops? Would you viably fill a 787 from Belfast to New York, or Shannon to Providence, or even hypothetically Cork to Providence in February?

L1011

JCX BXC wrote: »

Is there any successful LH/LCC in Europe at the moment?

Possibly Wow air, however many people try avoid them to my understanding.

The concept has never been succesful in Europe or the US/Canada. It is only of questionable success in Asia

Wow have shorter stage lengths which helps with the obvious passenger count per frame issues identified about.

kub

Ei FYA is operating a service from Windsor Locks to Cork this morning after operating from Providence to Windsor Locks.
Does anyone know why ?

LXFlyer

kub wrote: »

Ei FYA is operating a service from Windsor Locks to Cork this morning after operating from Providence to Windsor Locks.
Does anyone know why ?

Well it’s probably more correct to say that it’s operating Providence to Cork with a short stop at Windsor Locks en route (it’s the same flight number).

Johann.

Guys,

For anyone who has flown Norwegian to the US in the past; I'm flying on the 15th of Jan, have sent them my passport details & all prior to flying, entered the address in which I'll be staying in NYC, is there anything else that they request which I've still to do? Have flown to the US on many occasions however never been asked to enter any passport deetz prior to airport check in.

Has anyone paid for a seat? I can sit apart from the OH for the flight, no problem. If we haven't paid for them in advance, is there any history suggesting that we will be sat together anyway after airport check in?

Sorry for all the questions!

Thanks guys.

Homer

Loads should be fine in January so even if their system doesn't put you beside each other you could move after take off or before once you speak to cabin crew.
Or maybe you would prefer to be separated

The Premier Man

Johann. wrote:

Has anyone paid for a seat? I can sit apart from the OH for the flight, no problem. If we haven't paid for them in advance, is there any history suggesting that we will be sat together anyway after airport check in?

5 of us flew with them in November and they had us together going out, but asked us if we wanted that changed for windows, aisles etc at check in. Coming home was a red eye so we asked at check-in for all window seats and that was no problem either. Very nice to deal with

Johann.

Homer wrote: »

Loads should be fine in January so even if their system doesn't put you beside each other you could move after take off or before once you speak to cabin crew.
Or maybe you would prefer to be separated

I didn't think it would be particularly busy, so I figured it wouldn't be an issue

It wouldn't bother me either way, no doubt i'll be used as a pillow - rather it be her than some random divil :P

The Premier Man wrote: »

5 of us flew with them in November and they had us together going out, but asked us if we wanted that changed for windows, aisles etc at check in. Coming home was a red eye so we asked at check-in for all window seats and that was no problem either. Very nice to deal with

Excellent, that's good to know!

Thanks very much for your responses!

c6ysaphjvqw41k

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Johann.

Benson Refined Vagrant wrote: »

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Probably, yeah. I've flown direct with Delta on a few occasions & now that you mention it, somebody always takes the passports in the check-in queue.

Otherwise, I've gone to London & got a connecting flight.

It just made me wonder when it said something along the lines of failure to enter the details will result in you not being able to fly etc, which just got me thinking why would pther airlines not require the details or allowed take them on the day! The saving made through ground staff makes sense.