Norwegian Air International and the European Union are about to walk a fine line of perception in a last-ditch effort to launch low-fare, trans-Atlantic service between Europe and the United States.
Frustrated by the U.S. Department of Transportation's delay on a final decision of its application, Norwegian Air has asked the European Commission to request an urgent meeting between the European Union and the United States to discuss Norwegian Air International's pending application. The meeting is being requested by the Commission on behalf of the European Union as a party to the U.S-EU Open Skies Agreement.
The long and the short of it is, Norwegian Air International plans to base its operations in Dublin, Ireland, but not fly from there. U.S. regulators and airlines and airline trade groups believe Norwegian Air is circumventing its own labor and tax laws in Norway by doing so. There are also U.S. concerns about using cheap(er) labor. Norwegian has countered by saying it will also have a pilot base in New York and more than 300 crew based in the U.S. NAI also believes U.S. complaints are more smoke and mirrors, and that it fears competition and a fare war.
The bottom line is, it has taken the DOT four times as long to approve this application compared to previous requests.
But this meeting request could be a risky tactic for NAI.
There are two things at play here. One, what NAI needs to know about American politics is that the actual business of passage/veto of anything never gets done on the congressional floor in front of the CSPAN cameras. That's too tidy. We in America like to have our "back-room" politics, where deals are struck and handshake agreements are made and votes are traded off.
Two, we also don't like to have our hand forced. The European Commission requesting an urgent meeting with the U.S. is tantamount to doing just that. Perhaps the DOT already IS working those back rooms with airlines and airline trade groups trying to swing a deal to make this work.
After all, competition and capitalism are what this country was built on. Of course the legacy carriers fear the implications. I mean, I can tell you right now from personal experience that I'd love to take my wife to Rome next year for our 20th anniversary. If I can do it for $300 roundtrip on Norwegian and its Boeing 787s, as opposed to say, $500 or more on another airline, well, you tell me, as a consumer, how you're going to choose.
Asgeir Nyseth, CEO of Norwegian Air International, said in a statement, "We are confident that the Department of Transportation will do the right thing and grant our application without further delay."
It might. It just might.
But NAI and the EC and the EU also might want to think twice abour forcing the DOT's hand.
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