NORWAY: Norwegian Boeing 737 Sustains Hydraulic Failure, Lufthansa In Talks With Norwegian

A Norwegian Air International Boeing 737-800, performing flight D8-6241 from Keflavik - Iceland to Madrid - Spain with 152 people on board, was enroute at FL350 about 20nm north of Belfast International - Northern Ireland when the crew reported a hydraulic failure and decided to divert to Birmingham,EN (UK).

The aircraft landed safely in Birmingham about one hour later.

The aircraft stopped on the runway, emergency services foamed the aircraft when a hydraulic leak was seen from the left main gear.

The airport reported the aircraft diverted due to hydraulic failure. Flights were suspended for about 4 hours as result.

The airline reported a techncial issue.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa’s CEO Carsten Spohr told German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung: "There's a new wave of consolidation approaching. That means we are also in contact with Norwegian.

International Consolidated Airlines Group PLC could face a tough battle if it were to bid for Norwegian Air Shuttle after the boss of Deutsche Lufthansa said the German airline was interested in making a bid for the low-cost airline.

Lufthansa’s CEO Carsten Spohr said In Europe, everyone is talking to everyone. There's a new wave of consolidation approaching. That means we are also in contact with Norwegian.

He added: Takeovers are always a question of strategic value, the price and anti-trust. There are no easy answers.

IAG - the owner of British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus - bought a 4.6% stake in Norwegian in April and has made two offers for the airline, both of which were rejected.

The spokesperson for Norwegian said: Norwegian confirms that it has received enquiries from several parties following IAG’s acquisition of shares in the company.

These parties have expressed indicative and preliminary interest in share acquisitions, mergers, structured transactions, financing of the group and various forms of operational and financial cooperation, the spokesman said.

Norwegian believes that interest from several parties demonstrates the attractiveness of our business, he added.

Norwegian carries more than 30mln passengers a year, including 5.2mln from the UK following a rapid expansion with flights costing as little as £99 one-way to New York.


Tourism Observer

Reducing Airline Leg Room And Seats

The thing about having everything Irish in one room is that sooner rather than later aviation talk will come up. The Irish consider themselves the godfathers of aviation. And who can hold that against them?

Whether by coincidence or suitable geo-location, Shannon Airport in Ireland was the key entry and exit point for all transatlantic flights back in the day.

The world’s first duty free shop was established at the same airport in 1947, and Ireland boasts of some of the oldest, largest and most successful airlines in Europe, like Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Norwegian Air International (yes, Norwegian Air is Irish).

One of the guests quipped that the Irish make some of the best airline executives in the world — I did not argue since I was outnumbered.

As the evening progressed and the Irish brews kicked in, I found myself in conversation about the evolution of aircraft cabins with two Dublin based executives who were in town for non-aviation business. Their knowledge on the subject was A class.

An aspect of aircraft cabin that was part of the discussion was the shrinking of the aircraft seat and legroom space over the years as airlines try to squeeze more rows into the same size of cabin.

For the frequent flyer who is not primarily motivated by fare factors, cabin comfort aspects like seat pitch and legroom are key considerations in selecting which airline to fly.

Seat pitch is the distance between one seat and the same point on another seat directly in front or behind, and legroom is the space available for passengers to stretch their legs while seated.

Normally, the first variable when it comes to seat pitch and legroom will be the class of travel, which is first, business, premium economy or economy.

Since airlines generally focus more on their first and business class seats and how far they can recline, let us talk about seats in economy class or if you prefer cattle class.

During acquisition of an aircraft, airlines will usually provide details to the manufacturer on their expectations on seating for each class.

The standard seat pitch for economy class will range from 71cm to a maximum of 86cm, with low cost carriers closer to the minimum while full service airlines keep it at an average of 78cm.

The second variable would be the route to be flown; on short haul and regional flights, airlines will usually deploy narrow body (single aisle) aircraft, often with less legroom and minimum recline in economy class. On long-haul flights airlines will use wide body (twin aisle) aircraft with more seat pitch and width.

In the past 20 years, the average distance between seat rows has shrunk by at least 10cms while the average seat size is down 5cm.

The net effect has been that airlines are packing more passengers in the cabin, especially in economy class, with adverse effects on their health. Statistics show that Deep Vein Thrombosis is affecting one in 5,000 travellers on long flights.

Consequently, legislators in the US are seeking to put an end to this shrinkage by introducing a bill dubbed the “Seat Egress in Air Travel (SEAT) Act of 2017,” which would task regulatory authorities to set limits and compel airlines to display their seat size and legroom prominently on their websites.

Under the prevailing circumstances, travellers could be left wondering if there are any remedies as far as seating goes.

Well, exit row seats and bulkhead certainly have more legroom than other seats on the aircraft. Some airlines charge more for these seats.

However, if travelling with children and infants you may not be allowed an exit row seat for safety reasons.

Seeing as most passengers do not like to sit in the middle, a sure way to guarantee a window or an aisle seat is to select it at the time of ticketing, preferably early.

Online check-in, which is enabled at least 24 hours in advance, is another way of securing your preferred seat, but the chances of getting it are narrow.

You can compare in advance the aircraft various airlines deploy on specific city pairs, mainly for long-haul flights, as seat pitch and legroom go a long way towards your health and comfort.

Norwegian Air International

Norwegian Air International is an Irish airline owned by Norwegian Air Shuttle, flying scheduled services within Europe and North America.

The airline operates Boeing 737-800 aircraft with bases at London Gatwick (LGW) in the United Kingdom, Helsinki (HEL) in Finland, Barcelona El Prat (BCN), Las Palmas (LPA), Madrid MAD), Tenerife South (TFS), Alicante (ALC), Malaga (AGP), Palma De Mallorca (PMI) in Spain as well as Rome Fiumicino (FCO) in Italy.

Its registration within Ireland and outside Norway allows the company to take advantage of European Union airline freedoms and agreements.

In February 2014, Norwegian Air International, received its operating licence and AOC issued in Ireland in order to access future traffic rights to and from the European Union.

These flights are operated under the IBK ICAO code flying under D8 locator, using fleet registered to the airline. Norwegian Air Shuttle, Norwegian Air International and the newest AOC Norwegian Air Uk, sharing the same branding under the Norwegian Group.

The Norwegian Air International fleet consists of 39 Boeing 737-800

US Authorities Fail To Provide Transatlantic Flight Permit To Norwegian Air International

Despite every effort, Dublin-based Norwegian Air International (NAI) has still failed to persuade the US authorities to issue a permit to enable it to fly transatlantic routes to America. This failure by the US authorities could have the potential to damage the proposed EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

The continued delays come despite the US Department of Transportation indicating in April that it intended to grant NAI the required permit. Now it seems that it will be left to the next administration to resolve matters.

In support of NAI, EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc has submitted a strongly worded letter to the US Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx, making it clear that there could be wide-reaching implications as a result of the continued delays.

“I am also concerned, as (are) some of my colleagues, about the consequences that this matter could have, not only in our aviation relations, but in the overall economic and trade transatlantic agenda,” Ms Bulc said in her letter.

“At a time when closer bilateral ties are being put into question by many sectors of our societies, we should carefully consider the implications that this long and protracted dispute could have, for example, in the TTIP negotiations after both sides’ legal teams share the assessment of the case.”

This letter was also copied in to US Secretary of State John Kerry, the White House Chief of Staff, Denis McDonough, and the US Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economic Affairs, Adewale Adeyemo, in which Bulc also stated that “I find it regrettable that this is the outcome after more than two years to deliberation and despite the patience and the goodwill that the EU has shown.”

With Norway not being part of the EU, Norwegian Air Shuttle set up the offshoot airline, Norwegian Air International, in Ireland so that it could benefit from the EU-US Open Skies agreement.

However, opposition has come from the US in the form of their aviation unions who fear that Norwegian Air Shuttle is trying to circumvent stringent labor laws and would likely use low-cost Asian staff to make it even more competitive, threatening thousands of jobs in the US. This is despite the fact that Norwegian Air Shuttle have repeatedly pledged to use only European and US cabin crew on transatlantic routes.