DOT Gives Tentative OK To Norwegian Air

Photo: Biggerben

The U.S. Department of Transportation gave tentative approval to Norwegian Air International, a subsidiary of Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAI), to operate service to the United States. 

Several U.S. carriers and labor unions had waged a protracted battle against the launch due to the carrier’s structure. Its parent company is based in Norway, but the subsidiary is based in Ireland, and it intends to hire crews from a third-party company based in Singapore. The carriers and unions said the arrangement raises safety and labor concerns. 

Mindful of the legal effect of the U.S.-E.U. Agreement, the DOT “went to great lengths to give full consideration to such issues,” it said. 

In addition to its own international law analysis, it took “the unprecedented step” of formally consulting the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel and the Department of State. 

Based on the record as a whole and on those consultations, the DOT concluded that the labor provision in the U.S.-E.U. Agreement “does not afford a basis for rejecting an applicant that is otherwise qualified to receive a permit. In this regard, the order states that NAI appears to meet DOT’s normal standards for award of a permit and that there appears to be no legal basis to deny NAI’s application.” 

The DOT said it will allow additional objections to be filed through May 13 before it grants full approval. 

When it first applied to serve the U.S. in 2013, Norwegian planned to use NAI and another subsidiary, Norwegian Long Haul. NLH has been operating the services to New York, Oakland, and Los Angeles  

Bjørn Kjos, chief executive officer of Norwegian Group, said final approval will allow the company to expand its operations in the United States.” Our continued presence in the U.S. will create thousands of jobs and generate tens of millions of dollars of economic activity for the group’s U.S. destinations,” he said.