NEWS

Norwegian has announced its intent to recruit and hire American pilots for its crew base at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The airline aims to hire a large pool of American pilots over the next few years to ensure adequate staffing for its aggressive aircraft delivery schedule. Three new area managers also joined Norwegian’s United States team this month, responsible for ground operations and cargo at Fort Lauderdale, New York and Boston airports.

“Hiring American pilots for our long-haul operation has been one of Norwegian’s goals since launching our transatlantic service three years ago, and we are thrilled that we are finally able to do so.

“With the delivery of 31 additional Boeing Dreamliners over the next few years, Norwegian is excited to be adding American pilots to our ever-growing workforce.

“We already have more U.S.-based cabin crew than any other foreign airline, and now we will be the only European airline to hire U.S.-based pilots,” said Asgeir Nyseth, Chief Operating Officer of the Norwegian Group.

Norwegian started recruiting American cabin crew for its bases at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in October 2013 and will have more than 500 American cabin crew by the end of this year.

With the launch of several new routes, hiring American pilots over the next few years will allow Norwegian to adequately accommodate the growth of the airline’s long-haul network.

Norwegian will cover the cost of converting the pilots’ certification from a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot certificate to a European pilot license based on European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations.

“Continuing our U.S. expansion is one of the key factors to Norwegian’s global strategy, and we want to be able to support the local market and stimulate those economies as much as we possibly can.

“We are still looking at opening more crew bases across the U.S., and depending on the success of the American pilots in Fort Lauderdale, we’ll include pilots in each of those new bases as well,” said Mr. Nyseth.

Norwegian currently offers a total 44 routes from the U.S.; 37 of which are to Europe and seven are to the French Caribbean. Upcoming 2016 routes launches from the U.S. include: Las Vegas to London (October 31); Las Vegas to Oslo (November 1); and Fort Lauderdale to Guadeloupe (December 17).

Route launches from the U.S. for 2017 include: Oakland/San Francisco to Copenhagen (March 28); Los Angeles to Barcelona (June 5); New York/Newark to Barcelona (June 6); Oakland/San Francisco to Barcelona (June 7); and Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona (August 22).

Norwegian operates one of the world’s youngest fleets comprised of brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliners. All long-haul flights include dual class (Premium and Economy) service.