4.15.16 – (LAA/LUS) – Norwegian Air International

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Norwegian Air International

FORT WORTH, TX (April 15, 2016) – “APFA is deeply disappointed in today’s tentative approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation to allow Norwegian Air International to begin regular flights to the U.S.,” said Bob Ross, National President of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. “In addition to the battle against aggressive carriers based in the Persian Gulf region, this is an important fight for us to take on for the 25,000 Flight Attendants at American Airlines, and for our sisters and brothers at other airlines in America. Airlines based in the United States want to compete, but we expect the U.S. Government to insist on a level playing field.”

The decision paves the way for Norwegian Air International to increase competition across the Atlantic with U.S. carriers and offer cheap tickets to passengers, as its operating and labor costs are low. APFA has joined other Labor Unions by opposing this approval, as we believe it gives Norwegian Air International an unfair advantage, and allows the airline to bypass established labor rules, which in turn will force Flight Attendants to work at substandard wages and in discriminatory conditions.

APFA believes that by allowing Norwegian Air International into the U.S. market, thousands of jobs in America will be put at risk. For the Department of Transportation to even tentatively approve this, just as airline industry workers are regaining wages lost over the last decade, is simply wrong. APFA will continue to fight this decision and will make it part of the broader debate about trade and economic fairness in this election year for the President of the United States of America.