NEW YORK CITY (April 17, 2019)- Norwegian has been named ‘Best Low-Cost Carrier in Europe’ at the prestigious 2019 Passenger Choice Awards™. The APEX Passenger Choice Awards is one of the highest accolades in the industry as winners are directly voted by passengers on all aspects of the flight experience, ranging from seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, entertainment to Wi-Fi.

Norwegian was the first airline to offer passengers free in-flight Wi-Fi on all European flights in 2011. The airline became the first to introduce live television over the skies of Europe in 2015 and in late 2018 it took delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner equipped with inflight Wi-Fi. In 2019 Norwegian became the first low-cost airline to offer customers free Wi-Fi for the full duration of intercontinental flights. Customers can choose the service that suits their requirements between a completely free package to a premium service allowing the streaming of video and other multimedia content.

“It is truly an honor to receive such recognition from our passengers who value not only the excellent service, product and network that Norwegian offers but also the benefits such as free Wi-Fi that put us ahead of the competition. We would like to thank everyone who voted for us and for choosing to fly Norwegian. We will continue to innovate and invest in our passenger journey to provide an industry-leading benchmark for others to follow,” said Bjørn Kjos, Chief Executive Officer at Norwegian.”

The APEX Passenger Choice Awards are based on passenger feedback gathered through APEX’s partnership with TripIt® from Concur®, the world’s highest-rated travel-organizing app. Using a five-star scale, more than one million flights were rated by passengers across nearly 500 airlines from around the world between July 1, 2017 and June 31, 2018. First, passengers rated their overall flight experience from one to five stars. On the same screen, passengers were given the opportunity to provide anonymous ratings in five subcategories: seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, entertainment, and Wi-Fi. The single screen rating allows airline passengers to easily rate their flight in less than 15 seconds. The Passenger Choice Awards were independently certified by a professional external auditing company hired by APEX.

Norwegian is was one of the world’s most awarded low-cost airlines in 2018 being named the Most Fuel-Efficient Airline on Transatlantic Routes by the ICCT for a second time; World’s Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline for the fourth consecutive year and Europe’s Best Low-Cost Airline for the sixth consecutive year by Skytrax; Value Airline of the Year by Air Transport World; Favorite Budget Airline by Global Traveler Magazine; Best Wi-Fi in Europe and Best Overall Passenger Experience Low Cost Carrier Europe at the Passenger Choice Awards; Airline Program of the Year Europe and Africa at the Freddie Awards in recognition of the airline’s customer loyalty program – Norwegian reward; and Europe’s Leading Low-Cost Airline 2018 at the World Travel Awards.

The airline operates a young and therefore more environmentally-friendly aircraft fleet with an average age of just 3.8 years. The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has named Norwegian the most fuel-efficient airline on Transatlantic routes for two consecutive years which further demonstrates the airline’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions. 

NEW YORK CITY (MARCH 25, 2019) – Following the suspension of Boeing 737 MAX operations by European aviation authorities, Norwegian would like to provide further information to customers booked to travel from the United States to Cork and Shannon, as well as on its new route from Hamilton, Canada, to Dublin, between March 31 and April 10.

Norwegian has worked continuously since the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX to ensure that customers travel plans can continue with minimal disruption. The airline has re-routed customers and offered passengers the chance to rebook or receive a full refund free of charge if they no longer wish to travel. The airline is also combining flights and reallocating aircraft within its own network to keep cancellations to a minimum and minimize inconvenience for its customers.

Norwegian announced on March 13, it would temporarily deploy a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to operate daily flights between Dublin Airport and New York (Stewart). The service combines the Dublin to New York and Providence flights and bus transportation has been arranged for passengers travelling onward to/from Providence.

These flights will continue to operate under a temporary schedule, but as from March 31, Norwegian will temporarily operate additional services from Dublin Airport using a Boeing 737-800 to cover other affected routes, including the launch of the new Canadian service.

The ETOPS-certified 737-800, which enables the aircraft to fly an efficient direct-routing, will operate the Hamilton to Dublin route, four times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The aircraft will also be used on flights between Dublin and Providence on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Travel information for Shannon customers: Travel period 1-10 April

New York (Stewart) and Providence-Shannon:

-Passengers travelling from New York (Stewart) and Providence to Shannon have been re-accommodated on flight D8 1762 from New York (Stewart) to Dublin on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Norwegian has arranged bus transportation, departing at 9:30am, for customers at Shannon Airport to arrive at Dublin Airport Terminal 2 at 12:30pm to meet their flight. Customers travelling on 31 March can also benefit from the bus service. Buses will also meet arriving passengers at Dublin Airport’s coach park at 8:30am for those travelling to Shannon.

Shannon-New York (Stewart) and Providence:

-Customers travelling from Shannon to New York (Stewart) and Providence have been transferred to flight D8 1763 on Norwegian’s Dublin to New York (Stewart) service using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Travel information for Cork customers: Travel period 2-9 April

Providence-Cork:

-Those booked to travel on flight D8 1820 from Providence to Cork have been re-accommodated on flight D8 1822 from Providence to Dublin on the Boeing 737-800.

Norwegian will also arrange a bus service for passengers from Cork Airport to Dublin Airport to meet their onward flight. The bus departs at 9:00am.

Cork-Providence:

-Customers booked to travel from Cork to Providence on flight D8 1821 have been transferred to flight D8 1823 from Dublin to Providence serviced by a Boeing 737-800.

Affected customers have been contacted by SMS text messages which include their options to rebook or receive a full refund.

Travel information for Dublin-Hamilton customers

-Norwegian’s brand-new service from Dublin to Toronto’s Hamilton airport will operate as normal using a Boeing 737-800 from 31 March.

Customers booked on flights D8 1840 from Dublin to Hamilton and D8 1841 from Hamilton to Dublin will be able to travel on the airline’s newest route for the start of the summer season, four days per week.

Norwegian continues to temporarily withhold further sales of all routes operated by the 737 MAX to ensure the airline can meet customer expectations in light of the suspended operations of this aircraft.

The airline will provide further updates to customers booked to travel on affected routes beyond 10 April as Norwegian continues to work on operational plans to minimize inconvenience for customers.

Previous announcements relating to the grounding of Norwegian’s Boeing 737 MAX flights can be found here.

In an effort to minimize the inconvenience of the currently suspended 737 MAX 8 operations, Norwegian will operate a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on a temporary, daily basis from New York Stewart International Airport (SWF) to Dublin Airport. The airline will deploy the Dreamliner to operate flights in order to provide service to affected customers scheduled to fly from either Providence’s T.F. Green Airport (PVD) in Rhode Island or Stewart to Dublin.

Customers currently booked on flights to Dublin will be rebooked on flights operating the 787-9 Dreamliner. Passengers scheduled to depart from Providence will be accommodated on buses from T.F. Green Airport to Stewart Airport. Customers will receive notifications and updates via SMS, on our website and through customer care services to ensure they are informed of the latest information.

Norwegian would like to apologize to customers affected by this extraordinary situation as we remain committed to ensuring our passengers can continue to travel on Norwegian’s network.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner has 338 seats, of which 282 are in Economy and 56 are in Premium. Norwegian’s Boeing 737 MAX has 189 seats.

Following the decision by the relevant aviation regulatory bodies to temporarily suspend operations of Boeing 737 MAX, Norwegian will not operate any flights with this aircraft type until further notice. All aircraft that are currently airborne will continue to its destination or return to home base. We are now working on re-allocating our fleet options with other aircraft types, re-bookings to other flights and combining flights to minimize inconvenience caused to our passengers. We would like to apologize to customers who are affected, but the safety and security of our customers and colleagues will never be compromised. Affected passengers will be informed via SMS and our web pages. 

Tomas Hesthammer, Norwegian’s acting Chief Operating Officer said: “In response to the temporary suspension of Being 737 MAX operations by multiple aviation authorities we have taken the decision to not operate flights using this aircraft type, until advised otherwise by the relevant aviation authorities. We would like to apologize to customers for any inconvenienced caused, however, safety will always remain our top priority.”

OSLO (March 12, 2019) - Following the decision by the relevant aviation regulatory bodies to temporarily suspend operations of Boeing 737 MAX, Norwegian will not operate any flights with this aircraft type until further notice. We remain in close dialogue with the aviation authorities and Boeing, and follow their instructions and recommendations.

Norwegian has more than 110 Boeing 737–800 aircraft in its fleet, which are not affected by this temporary suspension.

We would like to apologize to customers who will be affected by temporary cancellations and delays, but the safety and security of our customers and colleagues will never be compromised, and once authorities advise to cease operations we will of course comply.

Tomas Hesthammer, Norwegian’s acting Chief Operating Officer said:: “In response to the temporary suspension of Being 737 MAX operations by multiple aviation authorities we have taken the decision to not operate flights using this aircraft type, until advised otherwise by the relevant aviation authorities. We would like to apologize to customers for any inconvenienced caused, however, safety will always remain our top priority.”

Norwegian has 18 Boeing 737 MAX 8 in its fleet today. The total order of these aircraft is 110.