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Norwegian Air expands routes from Chicago and Denver

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea

Published: 16 November 2019 16 November 2019

Norwegian will add three more nonstop routes from the United States to Europe next summer: Chicago to both Paris and Rome; and from Denver to Rome. All three routes will be summer seasonal.

“The U.S. is now our largest and most important source market and we will continue to invest in expanding our network to offer more nonstop service to highly sought-after European destinations. As we know we’re becoming a beloved brand in America, we want to consistently strive to provide the best quality of service coupled with unbeatable fares. Rome and Paris are great additions to our growing presence in Chicago and Denver and we look forward to welcoming new and existing travelers onboard next summer,” said SVP Commercial at Norwegian, Matthew Wood.

In Chicago, Norwegian will double its presence to four nonstop routes: Barcelona; London; Paris; and Rome. The new Paris service will launch May 1, 2020, and operate through October 24, while the Rome service will launch June 2, 2020 and operate through October 19. During peak summer, the new Paris route will operate five times a week, while the service to Rome will operate four times a week. Similarly, both Paris and London service will operate four times a week. Fares start as low as $209.90 in Economy, one-way, including taxes, to Rome, and $219.90 to Paris, and as low as $629.90 in Premium class, one-way, inclusive of taxes to Paris, and $779.90 to Rome. The Chicago to London route launched in March, 2018, followed by Barcelona service earlier this year.

In Denver, Rome will be the third nonstop Norwegian route following London launched in September, 2017, and Paris service launched in April, 2018. This will be the first-ever and only nonstop service from Denver International Airport to Italy. The new Rome route will launch on March 31, 2020, and operate to October 23, with three weekly flights during peak summer, late April through early October. Fares start as low as $249.90 in Economy, one-way, including taxes, and as low as $999.90 in Premium class, one-way, inclusive of taxes.

All three new routes will be operated by the 787-9 Dreamliner with 35 seats in Premium and 309 in Economy. All Economy seats have personal in-flight entertainment on demand, USB charging ports and a power adapter. Norwegian is also the only airline to offer free WiFi on transatlantic routes, which is currently being rolled out, and also provided gate-to-gate.

Recently, Norwegian announced the launch of its first-ever U.S. credit card, the Norwegian Reward Card; its best-ever quarterly financial results; a new nonstop route from Austin to Paris; an upcoming partnership with JetBlue, which will become Norwegian’s first U.S. airline partner; and increased frequencies on some of its other popular U.S. to Europe routes, including Denver-London, Denver-Paris, Los Angeles-Paris, San Francisco-Barcelona, New York-Paris and Los Angeles-Rome.

With almost 50 nonstop routes to Europe, Norwegian offers more routes from the U.S. than any other European airline. The airline is the largest foreign carrier in a number of the markets it serves, including New York City in terms of passenger numbers, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Norwegian is also the largest airline to Europe in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Florida.

Emirates launches its new service from Dubai to Porto, the gateway for Douro river cruises

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea

Published: 16 July 2019 16 July 2019

Emirates has launched its new four times weekly service to Porto, its second destination in Portugal. The new service provides travellers from across Emirates’ global network with a direct flight to the popular city in the north of the country.

The inaugural flight, EK197, touched down at the city’s international airport on July 2, marking the start of the airline’s first service to northern Portugal. The Emirates Boeing 777-200LR, in a two class cabin configuration featuring Emirates’ newest Business Class and Economy Class seats and interiors, was welcomed by Porto Airport with a water cannon salute. The aircraft has 38 lie flat seats in Business Class in a 2-2-2 configuration and 264 spacious seats in Economy Class.

Speaking at an event at the airport to celebrate the new service, Thierry Aucoc, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe, Russian Federation and Latin America, said: “Travellers in northern Portugal will now have a convenient and direct flight option to our Dubai hub, from where they can seamlessly access Emirates’ global network, particularly to destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. This new service also opens up a new and exciting destination for travellers from across our network.

“The allure of Porto, with its rich historic and cultural attractions, world famous Port wine production and location on the Douro River, has seen the city enjoy an increase in visitor numbers. Our new service will therefore contribute further to the economic growth of Porto and the wider Northern Region,” he added.

Also speaking at the event, José Luís Arnaut, ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, Chairman of the Board said: "Emirates' investment in this route is the result of joint efforts between the airline, ANA as well as tourism and Northern Region stakeholder teams. We are therefore excited by this new service, as it shows the region’s development and attractiveness as both a business and leisure destination.”

Customers travelling on Emirates to and from Porto will experience the airline’s newest Business and Economy Class cabins, while enjoying the famed hospitality and service from its multinational cabin crew, including Portuguese nationals, regionally inspired meals, complimentary beverages and over 4000 channels of entertainment on ice, featuring the latest movies, music and games.

The flight will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and depart Dubai as EK197 at 0915hrs and arrive in Porto at 1430hrs. The return flight, EK198, will depart Porto at 1735hrs and land in Dubai at 0415hrs the next morning.

Emirates also operates two flights a day between Dubai and Lisbon with Boeing 777-300ERs, offering more than 700 seats a day.

Norwegian moves two more routes to San Francisco, adjusts Transatlantic winter season program

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea

Published: 10 July 2019 10 July 2019

Norwegian will move two existing routes from Oakland International Airport to San Francisco International Airport: the two nonstop services to Barcelona-El Prat Airport and to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, starting this winter season. This follows the change of the London service from Oakland to San Francisco on March 31 earlier this year.

San Francisco to Barcelona service will launch October 28, 2019, and operate twice weekly during the winter season, on Mondays and Fridays.

San Francisco to Paris service will launch October 30, 2019, and operate twice weekly during the winter season, on Wednesdays and Sundays.

“We are excited that Norwegian has chosen SFO for their nonstop flights to Barcelona and Paris this fall. This move gives travelers at SFO even more ways to enjoy Norwegian’s amazing value,” said Airport Director Ivar C. Satero.

Norwegian’s summer seasonal service to Copenhagen, Oslo, Rome and Stockholm will remain at Oakland International Airport. Both San Francisco to Barcelona and Paris are now out for sale on Norwegian.com/us. To find the most affordable fares, go to the low fare calendar.

Adjusted winter season program

Some year-round routes will become summer seasonal only services as demand is lower during the winter season, and aircraft will be utilized to operate more profitable long-haul routes elsewhere within the network, which is aligned with the airline’s focus on return to profitability.

Ten previously year-round long-haul routes from the United States will not operate this winter, but some might return for the winter season 2020/21. Las Vegas to London and Orlando to Stockholm have been discontinued indefinitely.

This summer, Norwegian is operating 188 weekly flights from the U.S. to Europe, compared to 163 weekly flights summer 2018, 85 in summer 2017, or 19 in summer 2016. This winter, the airline will operate 113 weekly flights from the U.S. to Europe, compared to 150 weekly flights winter 2018/19, 119 in winter 2017/18 or 78 weekly flights winter 2016/17.

“After a thorough review of our long-haul network and given that some U.S. markets are highly seasonal, it is a natural step to focus our operations this winter on counter seasonal routes that are more profitable, such as Asia, and also looking into growing our South America network," said Matthew Robert Wood, Senior Vice President Commercial Long-Haul and New Markets, Norwegian.

The following routes will not operate during the winter 2019/20 season:

Boston – Paris
Chicago - London
Denver – London
Fort Lauderdale – Copenhagen
Los Angeles – Copenhagen
Los Angeles - Oslo
Los Angeles – Rome
New York JFK – Copenhagen
New York JFK – Stockholm
Orlando – Oslo

Norwegian continues to offer close to 50 nonstop transatlantic routes and more than 550 routes overall with customers still able to access most European destinations through other routes within Norwegian’s network at any time of the year.

Most recently, the airline launched new nonstop service between New York JFK and Athens, Chicago and Barcelona; from Boston to both Madrid and Rome; to London from both Miami and San Francisco; as well as from Hamilton, Canada, to Dublin.

Finnair to operate first-ever non-stop flights from South Korea's Busan to Europe

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Air & Sea Air & Sea

Published: 10 July 2019 10 July 2019

Finnair continues to grow its Asian operations and adds Busan in South Korea as a new destination in summer 2020. Finnair will be the first and only airline connecting Busan to Europe with a non-stop flight.

In summer season 2020, Finnair will operate from Helsinki to Busan three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, starting on March 30th, 2020 (subject to regulatory approvals) with its modern Airbus A350 aircraft, with flights connecting smoothly to and from Finnair’s vast network of European destinations.

The addition of Busan into Finnair’s network connects over 100 European destinations with 20 destinations in Asia.

“We are excited to be the first European airline operating to Busan, which is a wonderful addition to our Asian network,” says Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer, Finnair. “Korea is one of our top markets globally, and we have been operating to Seoul for 11 years. We are delighted to be able to offer a new destination to our customers in Korea and to continue growing sustainably in Asia.”

Busan is South Korea’s second largest city with 3.5 million inhabitants. It is located on the south-eastern tip of the Korean Peninsula and is known for its beautiful scenery that combines mountains, rivers and the sea. It offers excellent beaches and great hiking trails in a temperate climate.

Finnair specialises in connecting Europe and Asia via the short Northern route through Helsinki, Finland, with timetables designed to support smooth transfers and short travel times.