Norwegian Airlines (NA) said on Tuesday that it will end "transatlantic trips from two US cities and a Canadian city in September" as the Boeing 737 Max jet remains grounded, reported the Hill.
"Since March, we have tirelessly sought to minimise the impact on our customers by hiring, so called wet leasing, replacement aircraft to operate services between North America and Ireland. However, as the return to service date for the 737 MAX remains uncertain, this solution is unsustainable,” senior vice president for the airline of commercial long-haul and new markets, Matthew Robert Wood, said in a statement.
The famous and popular flight has been grounded since March regarding safety concerns after 2 fatal crashes.
The 2 crashes resulted in a reduction in manufacture from Boeing.
The temporary measure to ground planes will now become permanent as Norwegian Airlines attempts to reduce flights that create losses and increase profitability.
The news came to the dismay of customers:
How disappointing that Norwegian airlines would strand it's passengers after their plane lost an engine in flight. What an awful mess. You'd think after almost killing their passengers that they'd take care of them.
— Teresa Yung (@laluna1919) August 11, 2019
A pair of Norwegian Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft grounded at Dublin Airport. pic.twitter.com/ztIvIbeycY
— John Murray (@MurrayData) March 24, 2019
The decision will ultimately end all flights from Stewart, New York; Providence, R.I., and Hamilton, Ontario, and Dublin.
The last flights will leave US airports on 14 September and land in Dublin on 15 September.
NA claimed that there will be no rearrangements to the 46 direct routes which the airline operates with the Dreamliner from the US to Europe.
Customers who have booked flights which have been affected by the decision have been informed and offered to be rerouted or given a full refund, according to the airline.
Flights travelling from the US, as well as from Cork and Shannon in Ireland saw flights grounded in March and rerouted through Dublin.
At least 80 administrative staff for Norwegian airlines based in Ireland will not be affected by the route closures. Cabin crew and pilots could potentially be made redundant as a result of the rapid shift in flight arrangements.
NA said in a statement that anyone made redundant will be made a “last resort” and that the airline's decision is also being made with the approval of trade unions to ensure that the affect on staff is limited.
The airline has requested compensation from Boeing for the grounded planes.
"It is quite obvious we will not take the cost related to the new aircraft that we have to park temporarily [...] we will send this bill to those who produce this aircraft," Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos said to customers in a recorded message.
Norwegian Airline was established in 1993 and grew from a small-scale flight in 2002 to Europe's third largest low-cost carrier, as low prices helped it to rapidly expand.
NA became an innovative company due to operating low-cost long-haul transatlantic travel in 2014.
