Norwegian Airlines have announced this week that they have taken some decisions in relation to the structure of their business to benefit customers, employees, and investors.
They have advised that they will continue to operate their flights on their network (already reduced due to Covid-19) and that at the moment, existing and future bookings are unaffected.
Restructuring of business operations
The company have requested to be considered for a process known as ‘Examinership’ in Ireland, which is a commonly known and recognised process of reorganisation that allow businesses that in normal situations are financially stable, to look at areas of the business which require restructure.
The process can take up to five months, and is in the interest of protecting jobs and benefiting customers, employees and investors.
Will my flight be cancelled?
Norwegian Airlines have stated that the process does not impact on flight operations and will continue to operate on a reduced schedule due to the impacts of Covid-19.
I am a member of Norwegian Airline’s CashPoint / Rewards Scheme – What will happen to my points?
Norwegian Airlines have stated that the requested restructure will not have an impact on CashPoints and they can continue to be used as normal. They have advised that they are looking to extend the validity for CashPoints that are due to expire at the end of 2020, so that customer’s do not have to worry about them losing validity before they can be redeemed.
Future Travel – additional protection for consumers
Norwegian Airlines have stated that consumers should be confident in booking tickets for future travel, as they plan to continue to operate their route network.
Advice when purchasing flights at this time, regardless of the airline chosen is to book using a credit card where possible when the cost of flights is more than £100.
By doing this, consumers will have the additional protections provided by the Consumer Credit Act, and if the worst was to happen (i.e. an airline entering administration), then the credit card provider would become liable ‘jointly and severally’.
This means that if consumers are unable to obtain a refund from the affected company, they can request this by contacting the credit card company.
Norwegian Airlines Flights Cancelled due to coronavirus
Norwegian Airlines offer rebooking or refund options on flights that have been cancelled due to Covid-19, and this can be done through their website at www.norwegian.com.
Their website also outlines what they will do for consumers who have cancelled flights and choose to travel on a later departure. In this instance, they may be entitled to food and drinks or telephone calls when waiting.
If you have concerns about travel, refunds for cancelled holidays, or any other consumer matter, you can contact consumeradvice.scot on 0808 164 6000. We are open 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday.
You can follow us on social media – Twitter: @advicedotscot and Facebook at www.facebook.com/advice.scot, Instagram: @advice.scot, or get ahead by visiting our knowledge centre at www.consumeradvice.scot.