The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has approved Norse Atlantic Airways’ application for the operation of flights between Norway/the European Union and the United States.
“We are thrilled by the Department of Transportation’s approval of our affordable transatlantic flights,” said Norse CEO and founder Bjørn Tore Larsen. “This significant milestone brings Norse one step closer to launching an affordable and more environmentally friendly service to customers travelling between Europe and the United States. We appreciate USDOT’s constructive and prompt approach, and we look forward to working with them in the months ahead.”
Norse Atlantic will deliver many jobs to American workers, including hundreds of US-based flight attendants, and will partner with local communities, tourism organisations, businesses, and labour to stimulate economic growth in regions throughout the United States and Europe. In May, Norse Atlantic reached a historic pre-hire agreement with the US Association of Flight Attendants.
“Our people will be our competitive advantage,” added Larsen. “We are building a high-performance culture and creating an environment where we value diversity, ensuring that all colleagues feel a sense of belonging. We look forward to starting recruiting our new colleagues in the US.”
Since its inception, Norse Atlantic has received wide support from communities, airport authorities, and labour organisations on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We are grateful for the support from community and labour leaders who are enthusiastic about the service we will deliver,” said Larsen. “We believe that transatlantic travel will resume with full force once the pandemic is behind us. People will want to explore new destinations, visit friends and family and travel for business. Norse will be there to offer attractive and affordable flights on our more environmentally friendly Boeing 787 Dreamliners to both the leisure and cost-conscious business traveller.”
In December 2021, Norse received its Air Operator’s Certificate from Norway’s Civil Aviation Authority and took delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Norse plans to start commercial operation in spring 2022 with the first flights connecting Oslo to select cities in the US.
