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Airlines in Norway criticised for treatment of passengers

Air passengers in Norway risk not getting compensation or treatment that they are entitled to from airlines, the Norwegian Consumer Council warned on Tuesday.

Published: 30 May 2023 15:33 CEST
Airport
The Consumer Council has sent an urgent letter to Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård demanding that the ministry get involved in protecting passenger rights. Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash

A significant majority of passengers in Norway who have had their case heard by the relevant aviation industry complaints body (Transportklagenemnda for flyreiser) this year have won against airlines.

So far in 2023, a full 85 percent of the complaints that the relevant entities have dealt with have ended in full or partial favour of the passenger.

“Such a high share of positive decisions is not at all positive, but unfortunately rather a clear sign that the industry does not take customer treatment seriously and in practice deprives consumers of compensation to which they are entitled,” Consumer Council director Inger Lise Blyverket said in a press release.

“The fact that so many (cases) end up (in favour of the passenger) tells us that the airlines, in practice, have too poor of a customer service. Instead of acknowledging when the consumer is right, the companies force them to go to the complaints body. That is unacceptable,” Blyverket said.

Furthermore, the Transportklagenemnda for flyreiser seems to be swarmed by cases.

Cause for concern

The Consumer Council believes that this indicates that many consumers, in practice, do not get what they are entitled to from the airlines.

“The situation is so precarious that we believe the minister of transport must step in to ensure that the airline passengers’ consumer rights (are safeguarded,” Consumer Council director Inger Lise Blyverket noted in a press release.

When a flight is cancelled or delayed, passengers in Norway have rights. For example, they may be entitled to new tickets on the next flight, food and drink, or standardised compensation, the Consumer Council said.

However, if the passenger and the airline disagree on the settlement after a deviation from the agreed-upon flight, the appeal body can be used to deal with the case.

The Consumer Council has sent an urgent letter to Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård demanding that the ministry get involved.

“No consumer wants to spend time and effort on complaints. A complaint body neither can nor should be a substitute for a customer service apparatus in the business sector,” the consumer rights watchdog said.

Most complaint cases involve SAS

One company, in particular, stands out negatively in this year’s case statistics, according to the Consumer Council.

“Unfortunately, we see that SAS is overrepresented in the statistics. The feedback from the company is often short or non-existent both to the consumer and the complaints body,” Blyverket said.

You can find out more about your rights as an airline passenger via the Consumer Council’s online wizard.

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TRANSPORT

Why a Norwegian airline wants to charge tourists more than residents

Widerøe, a Norwegian regional airline, is pushing for a new ticket pricing strategy that will see tourists charged more than residents on some flights.

Published: 16 April 2024 13:47 CEST
Why a Norwegian airline wants to charge tourists more than residents

The airline Widerøe has propsoed a new approach to ticket pricing, over concerns that the recently halved maximum prices on short-haul flights provided by the government may actually make travel less accessible for residents in Norway’s rural districts, regional newspaper Brønnøysunds Avis reports. 

The airline has suggested adopting a Spanish model, where different fares apply to permanent residents and tourists, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.

This model, according to the airline, would aim to strike a balance between making air travel in rural areas accessible for local residents while ensuring that routes are not filled up by tourists.

Norway’s FOT route system

In Norway, the vast majority of air traffic operates under commercial arrangements.

However, to maintain a comprehensive network of flight services across the country, the government pays for transportation by procuring flight route services through public competitions among airlines on routes that may not be economically viable for commercial operators.

These routes are primarily located in western Norway and northern Norway (you can find the full list on the Norwegian government’s website), and Widerøe is one of the largest providers of these flights.

These arrangements, known as FOT routes (forpliktelser til offentlig tjenesteytelse på flyruter in Norwegian roughly translates to a ‘public service obligation on flight routes’), impose requirements such as maximum ticket prices, capacity, frequency, and routing.

Typically, the contract is awarded to the airline offering the lowest cost to the state, granting them exclusive rights to scheduled traffic on the designated route for the contract period.

Higher demand prompts reaction from Widerøe

Effective from April 1st, 2024, and August 1st, 2024, new agreements will govern these FOT routes. One of the tweaks will see the maximum prices that airlines can charge on some routes halved. 

While these agreements are expected to enhance accessibility and affordability for travellers across Norway, Widerøe has already noted a surge in demand on some of the routes, particularly from holidaymakers and leisure travellers.

Concerns have also been raised regarding potential adverse effects on patients reliant on air transportation for medical purposes.

Lina Lindegaard Carlsen, Widerøe’s communications advisor, acknowledged the issue and suggested exploring alternative pricing models to address them effectively.

“It remains to be seen how it will actually turn out, but if it becomes difficult to get people in need to be served, then we believe that other price models will work better for those completely dependent on aeroplanes as public transport,” Lindegaard Carlsen said.

The communications advisor added that Widerøe had recommended to the Ministry of Transport that a new price model be considered. Under this model, residents along the FTO network would get a solid discount on flights, regardless of whether the journey consists is a FTO or commercial flight.

“This would ensure a low price for the residents of Norway’s districts while at the same time ensuring that the most popular departures are not filled up by holiday and leisure travellers many months in advance,” Carlsen said.

Widerøe was formally acquired by Norwegian Airlines in January 2024.

When the takeover was first announced in July 2023, Norwegian CEO Geir Karlsen said, “With this transaction, we will now create a streamlined and more comprehensive offer for all customers, and we look forward to offering seamless travel across our entire route networks.”

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