Airline alliance could lower fares to Europe

There could be a cheap trip to Iceland in your future.

Airlines JetBlue and Norwegian Air have struck a deal to partner on flights from Fort Lauderdale and other major U.S. airports to Europe and the Caribbean and Latin America to offer more “affordable fares to Europe.”

The agreement would allow passengers to book interconnecting flights with a single “low fare” on either JetBlue or Norwegian, the airlines said Thursday.

If completed, the partnership will connect more than 60 U.S. and nearly 40 Caribbean and Latin American cities to Norwegian’s network via Fort Lauderdale, New York-JFK and Boston airports. Norwegian currently offers more than 20 nonstop routes to Europe from these three airports. Customers will also be able to check in their luggage to their final destination.

The partnership is planned to launch in early summer 2020 with flights bookable during the first half of 2020 through both airlines’ sites.

Norwegian Air offers about 50 nonstop transatlantic routes from the U.S. The European budget airline became popular in the U.S. and Europe for its fares as low as $99, but has been struggling with financial losses and high debt. The airline has recently added nonstop flights including to London from Miami.

“This partnership will create a plethora of new route connections for customers on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Norwegian’s acting CEO and chief financial officer Geir Karlsen.

Robin Hayes, JetBlue’s CEO, said the partnership “will bring competition and low fares to the transatlantic market.”