Norwegian’s bid to fly from Ireland to the US has caused intense controversy in the States, with many organisations lobbying for its application to be denied by the Department of Transportation. One such body is the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD) and its member unions, which have been lobbying the Federal Aviation Administration for the past six months to deny US landing rights to Norwegian.
TTD President Ed Wytkind has commented that approving Norwegian’s application would “open the floodgates for them to scour the globe for the cheapest labor and the most favorable laws". The aspect of the airline’s business model that object most vociferously to is the tactic of getting a flight certificate from Ireland, hiring flight crews from Thailand and covering them with Singapore's labour laws, which they say will distort the marketplace. Three US carriers – Delta, United and American – have also lodged their protests against Norwegian’s application to fly to the US.
Some consumer groups are in favour of Norwegian’s move into the US market. Specifically Consumer Action, which notes that airline consolidation in the US has caused the average airfare to increase by almost 10% since 2009. It states that the regulators should be encouraging new carriers to enter the marketplace and as such is “disturbed” that the US DOT is considering denying Norwegian Air’s application to launch transatlantic flights from Europe to US cities. The body points out that rather than causing damage to US business, Norwegian is actually helping the US economy since it has purchased Boeing aircraft to service these new routes. And the airline will be subject to US labour protections, regardless of the nationality of their airline.
Ken McEldowney, executive director of Consumer Action, states that: “It’s crucial that the DOT follow that principle and grant Norwegian Air’s application. Otherwise, the price of your seat on the plane will get higher and higher.”