More than 100 members of Congress have sent a letter to President-elect
Donald Trump, asking him to revoke or suspend the foreign air carrier permit of
Norwegian Air Group's Ireland-based subsidiary on his first day in office.
The Department of Transportation approved the permit for Norwegian
Air International on Dec. 2 after a review process that lasted nearly three
years.
In the letter, which was spearheaded by Rep. Peter DeFazio
(D-Ore.) the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, Congress members asserted that Norwegian has set up in Ireland in
order to take advantage of that country's labor laws, which are laxer than Norway's.
Norwegian Air International, the letter says, hires
employees on short-term contracts under Singapore law.
"If DOT's decision stands, other airlines are likely to
follow suit and organize subsidiaries in foreign countries with lax labor laws,
tax loopholes or weak safety and security oversight," the letter says.
Norwegian has long disputed those allegations, which have
also been levied consistently by opponents United, American and Delta, as well
as by U.S. airline unions. In its ruling this month, the DOT made reference to
assurances Norwegian has made to use only U.S- and EU-based crew on
transatlantic flights.
In an email Wednesday, Norwegian spokesman Anders Lindstrom
restated that point.
"Norwegian has clearly confirmed multiple times to both
the Department of Transportation and our opponents, that Norwegian Air
International has no Asian-based pilots or crewmembers, nor does it intend to
hire any Asian-based employees," he wrote." Yet, these opponents
continue to ignore the facts and maintain creating a fear-mongering and wildly
inaccurate scenario."
Lindstrom said that Norwegian's commitment to the U.S.
stimulates hundreds of thousands of American jobs, "including the 100,000
jobs supported by our order of more than 100 Boeing aircraft."
He declined to say whether Norwegian believes there would be
a legal mechanism for the Trump administration to revoke Norwegian Air
International's permit by executive order.
DeFazio's office didn't immediately respond to a Travel
Weekly inquiry about that same issue Wednesday.
Norwegian Air Group currently operates 47 routes to Europe
and the Caribbean from eight U.S. cities under its Norwegian Air Shuttle brand.
The company has said it will soon add routes between the
Northeast and Ireland as a result of the Ireland subsidiary's approval, and
that it will open pilot and flight attendant training bases in New York and
Boston next year to accompany its base in Fort Lauderdale.