Norwegian has confirmed it will launch transatlantic service from Paris airport this summer with service to three US destinations. The launch of service from Paris was previously reported but, at the time, expected to only connect Orly airport to Los Angeles based on slot allocation filings. Things have changed a bit but the general idea remains: Norwegian is flying between Paris – Charles de Gaulle and the USA starting this summer; introductory fares start at $175 each way (mostly for travel in September from what I can see) and are on sale now. Service begins on 29 July 2016.
Service will operate four times weekly to JFK (M/W/F/Su), twice to Los Angeles (Tu/Sa) and once to Ft. Lauderdale (Th). This is the fifth European destination served from the US by Norwegian and brings the total route count to 38, though most are not daily service. That said, a spokesman indicated that “this is still in the early days of our European-US long-haul strategy” implying that there is more growth yet to come. This keeps with the previously suggested idea that other bases could be established in Europe to further such growth; Rome and Barcelona are the most commonly suggested locales for such but the company remains quiet regarding further details.
Establishing service at CDG does bifurcate the Norwegian operation across both Paris airports which raises some logistical challenges but the carrier does not anticipate that they will be significant. Most of its customers at Paris are O/D traffic rather than connecting onward and needing the short-haul and long-haul operations in the same airport. Which is not to say that operations will not consolidate at CDG at some point in the future – that is under consideration – but for now the carrier is happy to run the spilt given challenges of acquiring sufficient slots at Orly.
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