Press release -
Enough is enough: Parat and NPU must meet at the negotiating table immediately
Norwegian will soon experience its seventh day of pilot strike - it's a state of emergency throughout the whole company. Enough is enough. Over 100,000 passengers have already been affected by the pilot strike. Norwegian Air Norway’s (NAN) management has received all authorizations from the management of the parent company Norwegian Air Shuttle to get the entire company out of the crisis that has been created. The management also has a clear desire to give the pilots in Norway, Sweden and Denmark a real opportunity to personally control their own professional future within the company.
Last night’s attempt to get the negotiations moving, were unsuccessful. Norwegian Air Norway’s negotiators wanted to bring Norway’s national mediator, Nils Dalseide, who was ready to step in. However, NPU and Parat did not want him to attend.
The situation is not the same for the three Scandinavian countries. Norwegian has been contacted by Swedish and Danish pilots who are very clear about not wanting to risk their own workplace as a result of the Norwegian pilots’ claim for contributory pensions. The Danish pilots are already on a Danish contribution scheme, while Swedes also have their own pension scheme.
Norwegian’s goal has always been to reach a solution together with NPU and Parat, but the management will not and cannot let one group of employees take control over the whole group. Therefore, NAN has now given NPU and Parat one last opportunity to come to the negotiating table immediately, where the demands for an agreement with the parent company and commercial control of the company are out.
The countdown begins; the deadline for NPI and Parat is 3 p.m. today.
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.
