NAI and the $65 (intro) US to Europe Fare
 

Released 2/23

Norwegian Air will fly you to Europe for $65 - Business Insider

The 737 routes so far:

http://i64.tinypic.com/2usefdl.jpg

I wonder how many have applied....

We all need to take a stand and refrain from helping them out! In any way. Don't apply!

Sweeeeet!!!!! Sign me uppp!!!!!!

Somebody made a hell of a good point on another thread. That is:

What is stopping AA, Delta and United from essentially running 75s on the exact same routes for even less? Sure they would lose money, but given their overall profits the last few years they would be fine.

I wonder how long it would take to dismantle them? Very interesting and I sure as hell hope to see it.

Heard second hand information that they had over 400 applications for the 787 base in FLL, for a base that is supposed to have around 35-40 pilots. That is on top of the supposedly numerous European pilots who have dual US nationality or somehow have the ability to get the right to work in the States and want to go to FLL. No idea about the SWF or PVD bases for the 737 though.

Are these fares similar to the 'bare fare' offered by spirit? Do they charge for every little thing like seat assignment?

No need to compete on the exact same routes when massive feed is already set up into BOS, NYC...just compete out of our fortresses I say.

I hear Ryanair is slated to provide Euro feed from Dublin and EDI - not that they will need it. I am predicting very high load factors in both directions. Weekend in Dublin anyone?

Sorta a painful weekend if you ask me to endure a 737 both ways across the Atlantic.

A coach seat is a coach seat. 6 hours in a 737 across the pond is no different than a 6 hour transcon in a 757. Or a 767. No matter how much we'd like to think it is. An infrequent traveler can't tell the difference. And if the choice is between a miserable seat on NAI and not going, people who don't regularly fly are going to complain about how bad the seat was.

I made a couple searches and it was 400$, guess the low fares are gone.

So true. How does a 6 hour United flight in a 737 from SFO to HNL feel more comfortable than a 737 from NAI, crossing a different body of water? Coach international travel on any US legacy carrier is not an enjoyable trip. So why wouldnt people pay less for essentially the same miserable experience?

NAI is a new competitor and Legacy carriers (management) needs to adapt or suffer from it. Like mentioned before, match their flights and undercut them. Blink and they may look back in 10 years and say "wish we would have gone after them when they were just starting out"

Awesome, competition in the marketplace is always healthy!

In this case, a healthy downward anchor on overall pilot compensation in the US. At the end of the day, all pilots are offering their services in the same market.

Unfortunately the non-pilot public (newly minted term) does not care for pilot compensation. Until there is an accident that is.

We're quite safe actually... the amount of money we get paid is a very small fraction of the actual cost of a ticket: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Oe8T3AvydU&t=132s

The amount you get paid is a small fraction of alot of things.

It's called yield management. Only the first 10-20 seats of any flight are sold at the cheapest price and they escalate in pricing tiers until the final seats are roughly $400. Sounds like those early flights are selling out.

OK sport, what does flying a 73Max Capt at NAI get paid? F/O? Hope it's enough to buy a ticket to work or it's provided by the company because you won't be jump seating.

I usually think it's a bad idea to use the jump seat as a weapon.

In this case....I agree with you.

Those guys better live in base. No way they're getting on my jump seat.

Cheap flights to Europe are the real deal — but is that $65 Norwegian Air fare the actual price?

Christy Rakoczy's avatar image By Christy Rakoczy
February 23, 2017

If you love to travel, getting a good deal (like awesome prices on flights to Europe) makes life even sweeter. So you might have been excited to read Norwegian Air's big announcement about $65 nonstop one-way airfares from a few small Northeastern airports in the U.S. to European cities — including Edinburgh, Scotland and Dublin, Ireland.

Europe for $65? You've got the luck of the Irish already and you haven't even been there. Right?

Well... maybe. While the deal is still a pretty good one, added costs like overseas taxes and in-flight perks (like the luxury of actually bringing luggage) means your flight could cost you more than these $65 fares suggest.

What's the real deal with the Norwegian Air flights?
Norwegian's marketers have clearly kissed the Blarney Stone and been granted the gift of persuasion, because their description of the flight deals sounds downright enticing: The airline claims the $65 tickets include taxes, and says it will launch 10 new routes in summer 2017.

The new flights allow travel starting in June at the $65 price: Travelers can fly direct to Scotland, Ireland or Northern Ireland, including the cities of Edinburgh and Belfast, or Dublin and Shannon, from Providence, Rhode Island, or Newburgh, New York. Those flying from Providence can also visit Cork, Ireland. From Bradley in Hartford, Connecticut, tickets are available to Edinburgh.

Assuming you want to come back someday, USA Today reports that return airfares could come in at around $100 to $150 from Ireland and around $225 from Scotland. This means roundtrip could still be less than $300 if you move fast.

And once the introductory $65 ticket offer expires, USA Today writes, regular fares on these routes will start at around $99. Still a pretty good price.

What is the catch — or fine print?
If you're getting out your credit card to book the flight, hold up a second. You're probably going to be cutting into your Guinness budget by spending a few more dollars than the Norwegian ad suggests.

According to USA Today, "overseas taxes can add the equivalent of up to $200 on Norwegian’s U.S.-bound flights."

But wait, Norwegian said taxes were included, didn't they?

Yup... but the included taxes were on the flights to Scotland or Ireland. On your return to the U.S., the taxman cometh for you — and he wants your $200.

And while taxes aren't optional, some additional choices you might make could end up adding even more costs. USA Today went through the process of actually trying to book one of these $65 fares.


They reported some additional expenses you might rack up including:

— $45 to check a bag. Sure, Norweigan doesn't charge for carry-ons but you're limited to only items that fit under the seat in front of you. This means packing pretty lightly for a Europe trip.

— $30 for a meal. The flight is six hours long, so you may get hungry. If you decline the $30 expense for a proper meal, you can buy snacks on flight. Or wait to get to Scotland and enjoy some haggis. (Googles: "What is haggis?" then books in-flight meal.)

— $30 for a little space: if you want to reserve a spot at the bulkhead in the front of the aircraft, which provides extra leg room.

Sign up for The Payoff — your weekly crash course on how to live your best financial life. Additionally, for all your burning money questions, check out Mic’s credit, savings, career, investing and health care hubs for more information — that pays off.
Christy Rakoczy is a graduate of UCLA School of Law and the University of Rochester. She is a full-time writer based in Florida and Pennsylvania.

I just bought a roundtrip ticket for my wife on United (coach) from FRA-EWR-FRA. Total cost was $539. The fare was $90 (roundtrip), taxes and fees were the rest.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...FRA%20Fare.jpg

Mine neither.

I will **** them every single way I can possibly imagine......

"Hey, tower..... Looks like NAI there might be dripping something from his wing.... Might wanna get that looked at."

And ****ing Trump......

What a lying sack of turds. "America first" my ass!

You have issues, dude.

It's not really a weapon when I believe they aren't even a Cass approved airline. Unless you live in base people will be crawling back to their regionals and cfi jobs real quick when their measly pay checks are blown on Amtrak tickets.

We used to do the same thing to PeoplExpress.

And New York Air.

Thus they will have to raise their wages

And their ticket prices: The $65 fare across the pond was just to get headlines and attention.
NAI is bleeding money, they are losing $13.44 on average for every ticket they sell and have accumulated massive debt.
They also have a problem recruiting pilots for their bases in Spain and other places in Europe: Some of the candidates being pushed through the B-737 simulators have as little as 180 hrs TT and are unable to land the plane.
Pay-to-play does not attract the best and the brightest I guess.

Excellent! Where did you source such good news?

Yeah, because there's never been low-cost airlines flying across the pond before :rolleyes:

Anyone remember what happened to Laker? How about People Express?

I am from Norway, I read the newspapers over there and know pilots and instructors for the real Norwegian. (The original Norwegian Airlines, based in Norway have decent pay and work rules, the shell companies with other bases and pay-2-fly schemes not so much, but same owner and same paint job, AND no scope-clause :rolleyes:)

I believe NAI's business model did not count on a real pilot shortage.
They have tons of airplanes on order and short of crews. The compensation package will have to go up, otherwise many pilots will quit and go to China or Japan once their contract is up and for 3 X the pay, or just go to the majors like KLM, SAS, BA, Iberia, etc.

As for the US bases: I doubt too many Americans wants to go through the hassle of getting EU tickets for mediocre compensation.
Been down that road before: I went to Japan and the Middle East to fly for the locals and had to sit for numerous exams and do several pain in the arse check rides, because the pay was a good it was worth the hassle.

Typically pay and benefits will go up to attract quality candidates, not too concerned that NAI will tear down the industry and make us all work for peanuts. Supply and demand..:cool:

There's a lot of us that hope you're right but it seems they'd have a healthy supply of Regional pilots here that would consider it a step up (however shortsighted that might be).

The regional pilots signing up for this deal may be stepping on their own d!cks if SWA, JetBlue or UPS call them for an interview while they are locked into a 3 year contract with NAI :eek:

I would do it out of sheer desperation only if in the event that no one else would be calling and I would have to remain a regional lifer forever. Especially with the FLL base.

Looks like everybody and his grandmother is hiring pilots so you should get the call from better airlines.
I am done now, turned 60 and quit flying, but if I was going to do this dance all over again, I would not waste time on something like this: You are a contractor in your own country, like an expat. You could be gone anytime, no seniority number on the books, no recourse.
Take a quick look at scheduled retirements and apply first to those who will have most immediate retirements, AA perhaps, then apply to everybody on a sliding scale towards fewer retirements. Get guys below you and get some job security. Then enjoy life with a unionized carrier.
Contract jobs used to be emergency jobs, nobody was hiring so you went overseas to put food on the table. Been there, done that.

The NAI subsidiary may be losing money, but the parent company, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, had a net profit of $135 million USD (1.135 Billion NOK) in 2016, and a net profit of $29 million USD (246 Million NOK) in 2015. The company has had a net overall profit in 10 of the last 12 years.

Sources:
Norwegian reports record result ? Air Cargo News

https://www.norwegian.com/globalasse...eport_2015.pdf

They are losing money based on every ticket sold, but making up for it selling food, drinks, ear phones, blankets, etc.