Wondering when European long-haul LCC Norwegian will bring its fleet to Canada? Keep an eye on 23 July 2018. That’s the date the carrier intends to launch service according to filings approved last week by the Canadian Transportation Agency. The filing in question exempts Norwegian from compliance with certain Canadian regulations around the sale of tickets for the service, though Norwegian will still be required to hold a proper operating license by the start of operation. The application for such is in process.
Norwegian is the latest carrier to announce Transatlantic LCC intentions. Canada is long served by Air Transat and WestJet, of course. Plus the Rouge arm of Air Canada delivers LCC offerings on many international routes. European carriers Level and Primera are also poised to fly between Europe and Canada starting in Summer 2018. And now Norwegian joins the fun as well. In many cases the service is not daily, suggesting that there is room for all these airlines to compete. It could also bring a glut of capacity and the attending fare wars that consumers tend to enjoy.
Specific routes or destinations for Norwegian’s new Canadian service are not yet announced. Service could be handled on the carrier’s 787s for larger/longer markets or on the 737MAX fleet on thinner routes from Ireland or the United Kingdom.
Header Image: Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos at London Gatwick in front of one of the company’s 787s. CC BY 3.0.
Never miss another post: Sign up for email alerts and get only the content you want direct to your inbox.
I see the pic at Gatwick was taken a while ago (well, 2017 at least), since there is a Monarch plane in the background.
Yup…old stock shot. But it gets the job done.
As a Canada-based traveler I hope that Norwegian’s arrival in Canada will really shake up the market and bring airfares finally down. In the non-competitive Canadian market, so called LCCs like Air Transat, WestJet and AC’s Rouge are compared to the U.S. not Low Cost at all – in the latter case, you pay prices comparable to mainline AC but with fewer services and benefits, and more restrictions!
You seem to be buying in to the idea that LCCs necessarily mean lower fares. They don’t. 😉
Yes they do, just look at Ryan Air and Air Asia.
I’m very familiar with those two. I’ve flown them both several times. Not always cheaper fares than the alternatives. Especially when bags get involved.
It all depends, if you’re backpacking with just one backpack and one piece of hand luggage then a LCC will do, if you’re traveling with several hugh suitcases then you’re better off using an expensive airline.