Latest Salvo In Fight Against Norwegian Air Shuttle Foreign Carrier Permit

The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) launched a new social media campaign today, “Why I Deny NAI” or #WhyIDenyNAI, that will feature photos and videos on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter explaining why pilots are urging the White House to reject Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) application for a foreign air carrier permit.

On April 15, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) tentatively approved NAI’s request for a foreign air carrier permit to allow it to operate flights to the United States. NAI’s business plan, which was devised to allow it to avoid Norwegian labor, tax, and regulatory laws, is not consistent with the U.S.–EU Air Transport Agreement (ATA).
 
“ALPA pilots and other aviation workers have been speaking out against Norwegian Air International’s application and shining a light on its business model that disrupts fair competition and threatens U.S. jobs,” said Capt. Tim Canoll, ALPA’s president. “By highlighting the real-life effects that NAI will have on the lives of ALPA pilots, this new campaign will send a strong message to the Obama Administration on the impact to frontline crewmembers. If one airline is permitted to ignore U.S. air transport policy, others will surely make the same attempt. It is imperative that our country stands by its own agreements, which is why NAI’s application must be denied.”
 
Since NAI applied for a U.S. foreign air carrier permit, ALPA pilots have been voicing concerns about the detrimental effects of NAI on U.S. jobs and American aviation workers.

More than 200 Members of Congress have sent a letter to the DOT asking to deny NAI’s application, and Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) introduced bipartisan legislation (H.R. 5090) in the U.S. House that directs the DOT to deny applications from foreign airlines seeking to fly between the US and EU if approval of the applications would be inconsistent with the intent of the US-EU agreement that labor standards and labor-related rights and principles not be undermined.

(Source: ALPA news release. Image from ALPA YouTube video)

FMI: www.alpa.org