Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
AIR RAGE AS AIRLINE AXES ROUTE
Norwegian ends its Belfast to US flights
NORWEGIAN Air’s withdrawal of its Northern Ireland to US routes has been blamed on its “limited and inferior” flight schedule.
The airline announced yesterday that after a comprehensive review of its services, it decided to pull its flights from Belfast to New York and Boston. Its last trip will be on October 27. Belfast International said while it was “extremely disappointing”, the flight schedule provided by the airline from Belfast was “neither flexible nor attractive enough to appeal to the local travelling public”. The statement added: “Regrettably, the limited and inferior product offered by Norwegian was creating awareness within the market, but moronically channelling much greater levels of Northern Ireland passengers on to Dublin flights [where the airline were offering flexible two daily services, rather than the limited three weekly product from Belfast].
“It is of greater concern at a time when vital direct access from critical markets for trade, investment and tourism is becoming increasingly focal that the lack of any economically-driven strategy to develop and sustain Northern Ireland air routes from essential markets is creating setbacks of this nature.
“The Northern Ireland – North America market remains strong. We will continue to work to ensure that partner airlines are encouraged to serve our market in an appropriate and sustainable manner.”
A Norwegian spokesperson said: “Customers can still book flights between Belfast and the US on our website for travel up to October 27.
“New York and Boston-providence remain well served by Norwegian from Dublin, Shannon and Cork with up to 33 weekly departures, giving customers an alternative for booking daily affordable flights to the US.”