Press release -

Mediation between Norwegian Pilot Union/Parat and Norwegian Air Norway (NAN) was unsuccessful

Norwegian regrets to inform that it was not possible to reach an agreement in the mediation between Norwegian’s subsidiary Norwegian Air Norway (NAN) and Norwegian Pilot Union (NPU). Norwegian’s goal is still to operate all flights on Saturday and Sunday as planned, as only a limited number of pilots are on strike this weekend.

Prior to the mediation, Norwegian had proposed several essential cost reductions to ensure a sustainable company and secure jobs in the future. Unfortunately, NPU/Parat did not meet these criteria. Instead, they had demands that conflicted with the collective agreement signed in 2013. NPU’s goal has been to control the company and the company’s production, obtain a collective agreement in a company they are not employed by, and that the Norwegian collective agreement should also apply outside Norway. Norwegian could not agree with the requirement of a common seniority list for all pilots; i.e. seniority in a company they are not employed in. In practice, this would mean that Scandinavian pilots could have an unfair advantage over colleagues at other bases in Europe.

“We would like to apologise to our passengers for the uncertainty this situation has caused. Our goal has always been to avoid a strike. Our wish has been to work out a common platform that takes into account the tough competition in the industry, secure everyone’s jobs and build a strong company for the future. We will now do everything we can to ensure that all our passengers are taken care of in the best possible way,” says Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos.

Norwegian’s goal is to operate all flights on Saturday and Sunday as planned, as only a limited number of pilots are on strike this weekend. Pilots from the administration and pilots from our subsidiaries are on standby to ensure that only a limited number of passengers are affected.

Norwegian’s long-haul routes between Scandinavia/England and the USA/Asia will operate as normal. The conflict only applies to Norwegian’s Scandinavian subsidiary, Norwegian Air Norway (NAN).

We will do our utmost to ensure that passengers are taken care of in the best possible way according to EU regulations. Passengers can find information regarding specific routes on our Flight Status-page and general information regarding today’s traffic here.

Media Contact:
Norwegian’s Press Office, + 47 815 11 816

Topics

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, commercially branded “Norwegian”, is a low-cost airline listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Norwegian is the second largest airline in Scandinavia and third largest low cost carrier in Europe. The company reported its highest ever passenger figures in a single year with almost 24 million passengers in 2014. Norwegian has a route portfolio that stretches across Europe into North Africa and the Middle East, as well as long-haul flights to the US and Southeast Asia. The company has a total of 424 routes to 130 destinations and employs approximately 4,500 people in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, UK, Spain and Thailand. The company has 258 undelivered aircraft on firm order. Norwegian was founded in 1993 and its headquarter is in Fornebu, Norway. Norwegian offers better leg room than most competitors, in-flight WiFi on short haul, world-class punctuality and a fleet of 96 aircraft with an average age of only four years. In 2013 and 2014, Norwegian was voted Europe’s best low-cost carrier of the year by the renowned SkyTrax World Airline Awards. In 2014, Norwegian also won three prizes at the prestigious Passenger Choice Awards for Best Airline in Europe, Best Inflight Connectivity & Communications and Best Single Achievement in Passenger Experience for its moving map on the 787 Dreamliners. In addition, Norwegian was awarded Europe's best low-cost airline by AirlineRatings.com for the second year running.

Contacts

For journalists only

For journalists only

Press contact Norwegian Press Office +47 815 11 816
Marketing/sponsorhip requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Marketing/sponsorhip requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Press contact Marketing/sponsorship requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Norwegian.com

The Norwegian group is a leading Nordic aviation company, headquartered at Fornebu outside Oslo, Norway. The company has over 8,200 employees and owns two of the prominent airlines in the Nordics: Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe’s Flyveselskap. Widerøe was acquired by Norwegian in 2024, aiming to facilitate seamless air travel across the two airline’s networks.

Norwegian Air Shuttle, the largest Norwegian airline with around 4,700 employees, operates an extensive route network connecting Nordic countries to key European destinations. In 2023, Norwegian carried over 20 million passengers and maintained a fleet of 87 Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Widerøe’s Flyveselskap, Norway’s oldest airline, is Scandinavia’s largest regional carrier. The airline has more than 3,500 employees. Mainly operating the short-runway airports in rural Norway, Widerøe operates several state contract routes (PSO routes) in addition to its own commercial network. In 2023, the airline had 3.3 million passengers and a fleet of 48 aircraft, including 45 Bombardier Dash 8’s and three Embraer E190-E2's. Widerøe Ground Handling provides ground handling services at 41 Norwegian airports.

The Norwegian group has sustainability as a key priority and has committed to significantly reducing carbon emissions from its operations. Among numerous initiatives, the most noteworthy is the investment in production and use of fossil-free aviation fuel (SAF). Norwegian strives to become the sustainable choice for its passengers, actively contributing to the transformation of the aviation industry.

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