Norwegian (Oslo Gardermoen) has confirmed it will start longhaul operations out of Rome Fiumicino during the final quarter of the year. The Scandinavian budget carrier said 4x weekly return flights to New York Newark would commence on November 9 followed by Los Angeles International on November 11 (2x weekly) and Oakland International on February 6, 2018 (2x weekly). Operations are on-board B787 equipment.
“Rome is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, and a favourite among Americans, so it was an obvious choice for us as we continue to expand our transatlantic presence. Soon Norwegian will offer more transatlantic routes than any other airline in the world," Thomas Ramdahl, Norwegian’s Chief Commercial Officer said in a prepared statement. "More transatlantic routes mean we will create more US and European jobs and offer travelers even more affordable fares."
According to the ch-aviation capacity module, the Rome-US direct market is currently dominated by a quartet of Full-Service Carriers (FSC) including Alitalia which offers 13,173 seats per week (36.73%), American Airlines with 9,352 seats/week (26.08%), Delta Air Lines with 7,875 seats/week (21.96%), and United Airlines with 5,460 seats/week (15.23%).
Fiumicino is an existing Norwegian base albeit offering regular services to each of Bergen, Oslo Gardermoen, and Stockholm Arlanda in Northern Europe. As such, with the roll out of flights to the United States, the Italian capital airport will become Norwegian’s seventh long-haul European gateway following Barcelona El Prat, which will launch this June; Paris CDG; London Gatwick; and the three Scandinavian capitals of Copenhagen Kastrup, Oslo Gardermoen, and Stockholm Arlanda.
