It seems Norwegian Air Shuttle is going after Alialtia, with plans to commence long haul transatlantic services from Rome.
Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 787 arriving onto stand at London Gatwick, Image – Norwegian Air Shuttle //CC3.0.
The new destinations are from Rome Leonardo Da Vinci-Fiumicino to:
- Newark Liberty International Airport – Four times a week. Lead in prices start at US$189 in economy, $539 in premium economy one-way. Commences 9th November 2017, and scales to 6 times a week from February 2018
- Los Angeles International Airport – twice week weekly service. Lead in prices start at US$229 in economy, $719 in premium economy one-way. Commences 11th November 2017, scaling up to three times a week from February 2018
- Oakland International Airport – twice weekly service starting in February 2018. Lead in prices start at US$229 in economy, $719 in premium economy one-way.
The published timetables are on RoutesOnline and bookable through Norwiegan’s web site.
Thomas Ramdahl, Norwegian’s Chief Commercial Officer is happy, stating:
“Rome is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, and a favourite among Americans, so it was an obvious choice for us as we continue to expand our transatlantic presence. Soon Norwegian will offer more transatlantic routes than any other airline in the world. More transatlantic routes mean we will create more US and European jobs and offer travellers even more affordable fares.”
The timing of the announcement is interesting – mainly with the state the Italian flag carrier Alitalia is in. With the airline floundering, it seems Norwegian is trying to steal a march on the incumbent flag carrier in case it does hit the wall.
Is Norwegian ready to step in Altialia’s shoes to fill in the long haul capacity? Hardly – but it’s an intention. And Norwegian Air Shuttles intentions has always been one thing – growth.
Growing out their network of Rome could be a seen as a statement of intent.
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