Norwegian considering secondary U.S. airports for Cork link

Norway’s low-cost carrier Norwegian Air, which is planning to launch flights between Ireland and United States next summer, has confirmed its plans that it is actively considering landing of its flights at secondary U.S. airports in order to keep the costs down. Media reports said that Norwegian’s Irish subsidiary Norwegian Air International had already secured regulatory approval in November end this year to launch direct flights to Cork from Boston.

According to the reports, Norwegian Air had planned to operate the new flights to Cork out of Boston’s Logan International Airport, which is the city’s primary or main airport. The airline has now changed its plans and would now be operating its direct Cork flights either out of Hampshire’s Portsmouth International Airport, which is nearly 60 miles away from Boston (an hour’s drive north of Boston), or TF Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island (60 miles away or a 70-minute drive south of Boston). The route will be served with the help of a Boeing 737 aircraft.

A spokesperson of Norwegian Air while putting forth the airline’s arguments over the change of its plans said that Boeing 737 is a single aisle aircraft. It is smaller than the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and would be carrying 150 less passengers in comparison to Dreamliner. The cost of operating the route would therefore be expensive if the flights are to land at a main city airport. The decision to operate out of a secondary airport in the given circumstances is surely pragmatic. It may be noted that Norwegian is already operating a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft between London’s Heathrow Airport and Boston’s Logan International Airport.

The reports further stated that Norwegian has also planned to establish Stewart International Airport in New Windsor as its New York base. The airport is 60 miles north of Manhattan. According to its plans, the airline will be able to avoid larger New York City airports.