Surely, legacy carriers have long had the upper hand in the competitive flight world, but the big three U.S. long haul leaders American, Delta, and United are feeling the heat of low cost airlines who continue to disrupt the trans-Atlantic market. It used to be that low carriers led by Ryan Air and Easy Jet stuck to short-haul markets, leaving long routes to the legacy carriers. The next evolution is low cost transatlantic flights using smaller non-traditional hubs. Using a more efficient single-aisle configuration could prove to be the new wave of the future.
Norwegian Air International is extending routes flying from U.S. secondary markets; T.F Green Airport in Providence, R.I.; Stewart Airport in New Windsor, N.Y. 60 miles to the north of New York; and Bradley Airport in Hartford, Ct. to U.K. and Ireland gateways of Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Edinburgh and Shannon. Needless to say that these new departure airports have raised a few eyebrows. Also slated for the summer season are flights from Providence and Stewart to Bergen, Norway.
The carrier plans to use fuel efficient, new B737 Max 8 aircraft to cover the new flights, further lending to the low-cost model. Flights departing in the evening allow for daily connections throughout Europe. Norwegian will also fly with a configuration of 189 seats compared to 291 seats that it uses for longer routes of Boeing 787 Dreamliners Services. The new trans-Atlantic routes will commence in June.
Thomas Ramdahl, Norwegians chief commercial officer said, “As soon as we have the 321 with a longer flying distance, you will see Norwegian flying into airports and to smaller markets.” Ramdahl mentions possible future gateway might include Baltimore, Buffalo, and Raleigh-Durham. Also pointing out that people in these regions have disposable income, yet have not been well served by the legacy airlines.
There are not many routes that will work with the this aircraft due to range of limitations. Some will argue that the new smaller airports might prove challenging with these new planed hubs. However, the facts are that these new airports and regions are some of the most affluent and well-traveled people in the U.S.
How legacy carriers will attempt to fight back to hold their ground is yet to be seen.