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EXCLUSIVE: Norwegian drops lounges for Premium and will charge for carry on baggage

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In an effort to “move from growth to profitability,” Norwegian is continuing to tweak both its route network and its offering.

Norwegian will no longer be offering lounge access to PremiumFlex passengers.

The airline has quietly removed details of lounge access from its website, although they missed a few references to it, and it is no longer showing as a perk for new bookings.

It is unclear what this means for passengers who booked PremiumFlex before today on the assumption they would have lounge access.

MyLounge Gatwick South seating

Previously, Norwegian bundled access to certain lounges – including the My Lounge at London Gatwick South – into its premium economy tickets.  My Lounge at Gatwick South even has “The home of Norwegian” written on the wall!

And yet, if you look at the benefits of booking Norwegian Premium now, there is no mention of lounge access at all.

Norwegian began retrenching on lounge access in early 2019, when it was removed as a benefit for ALL Premium passengers.  As we covered here, it was restricted to only those on its fully flexible PremiumFlex tickets.  Lounge access on what was effectively a premium economy seat was a major differentiator for Norwegian as most airlines only include lounge access for business class passengers and above.

It’s hard to imagine this move will have much of an impact on Norwegian’s financials.  How many Premium customers were travelling on the more expensive Flex tickets?

We can safely assume that Norwegian was not paying the £24 for My Lounge Gatwick South advertised on the No 1 Lounges site, given the ongoing Virgin Flying Club promotion selling £15 passes to anyone.  If Norwegian was paying £12 per head I’d be surprised.

Cutting lounge access can can only be saving Norwegian a couple of hundred pounds per flight at most, and if just one Premium passenger decides to fly with another airline as a result, it will be a loss-making move.

Norwegian is now charging for carry on baggage too

Norwegian has also tweaked its baggage policy this week.

The airline has decided that it will be pursuing a full-on ‘scorched earth’ Ryanair-style policy when it comes to inclusive baggage on its cheapest fares …. although, to be fair, it is also increasing the size and weight limits of its personal items and checked luggage allowances. The new policy applies to flights booked on or after 23rd January 2020.

The new size limits are:

Under-seat personal item: 30cm x 20cm x 38 cm (free on all ticket types)

Overhead cabin bag: 55cm x 40cm x 23cm (chargeable for LowFare ticket holders)

Checked bag: 23kg per piece (chargeable for LowFare ticket holders)

…… with the personal item and overhead cabin bag not exceeding a combined 10kg in weight, or 15kg on Premium tickets.

That means that now, depending on which fare you book, you will get:

On a LowFare ticket, you can now only bring a personal item which must fit under your seat. An additional normal sized cabin bag which will go in the overhead lockers must be purchased for $8-$12 each way, depending on the route.

The LowFare+ ticket includes a personal item, to fit under your seat, as well as a normal sized cabin bag

Flex and PremiumFlex all include a personal item, cabin bag and two pieces of checked luggage (23kg)

Whether these changes really do help Norwegian “move from growth to profitability”, or put it on the road to ruin, remains to be seen ……

Category

General

Comments (57)

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  • NFH says:
    24 Jan24 January 13:45

    It is high time that the EU imposed a minimum size and weight of cabin baggage allowance to be included within the price of every ticket. I would suggest 55x40x20cm and 15kg. The only purpose of excluding cabin baggage allowances from headline fares is to factilitate a misleading indication of price, which is widely considered to be an unfair commercial practice.

    There is no more justification in limiting the weight of cabin baggage any more than limiting the weight of passengers’ bodies or the content of their pockets. I find that my maximum-size 56x45x25cm Rimowa is 15kg when fully-laden, so this is why I suggest 15kg. British Airways and EasyJet go much higher than this with cabin baggage weight limits of 23kg and unlimited respectively.

    • Shoestring says:
      24 Jan24 January 16:06

      respectfully disagree, this is not remotely a matter/ area for the EU (or any other legislating body) to impose rules

      perfectly happy with airlines deciding rules and they all communicate these clearly with penalties for non-compliance also made clear

      (and yes: I would love for somebody to establish that Flybe have got the sizer a few mm too small)

      • Piper says:
        25 Jan25 January 00:00

        Yes it is. Not necessarily the EU but a global body. Time for minimum standards in seat pitch and baggage offering. And at least a complimentary hot drink and water. All of the above cost diddly squat. Then let airlines compete over and above that minimum standard.

        • guesswho2000 says:
          25 Jan25 January 07:47

          I don’t think it is, people know what they’re getting when they purchase the ticket, it’s not like the airlines are deceiving people in restricting pax to 7kg carry on, etc.

          We do not need endless legislation in a free market over trivial matters such as these.

          • Riccatti says:
            25 Jan25 January 11:32

            But that is also called strategic price obfuscation.

            There are so many rules when purchasing an airline ticket — it really does put externality cost on consumer to keep track of them or be penalised. The small print, conditional conditions reach the incomprehensible. Plus the dictatorial way how airline staff (ground handling staff) exercises their duties: they might see a cabin bag — in their view — be 0.3 mm larger than dimensions and there is no way to correct them.

            Also, I would err on the side of corrective action on the human standard of flying:

            Aviation regulators became lax and complicit — all construction and design decisions are in the hands of engineers, product management, top management and airlines.

            Regulators accept the outcome of plane design and config and have zero opportunity to say: “these new reduced space toilets are anti-sanitary, the plane cannot fly”. It is one thing to have a space toiled used by 5 people, another is by 150+.

        • Callum says:
          25 Jan25 January 12:14

          It’s about time people woke up and realised that there’s nothing special about flying anymore – it’s public transport.

          What next – force Megabus to serve free tea and coffee? They have plenty of routes longer than most of Norwegians…

      • Riccatti says:
        25 Jan25 January 11:14

        These rules are not the issue (except for them multiplying and varying).

        The issue is that all of them are used, and constructed in the way that clearly facilitates the main purpose: to present the cheapest “basic price”.

        Then one discovers that basic price does not allow the enjoyment (use without suffering in human needs and yes with a degree of pleasure) of the whole product.

        • Shoestring says:
          25 Jan25 January 11:18

          OK that would be fair comment if the extra cost were exhorbitant – but it’s not, we’re talking $8-12 extra each way, very similar to Ryanair’s Priority + cabin bags Extra

          • Riccatti says:
            25 Jan25 January 11:41

            Quick reasoning: what if everyone on board choses to buy Ryanair Priority +. Then airline will not be able and provide this service.

            That doesn’t change a slightest about the strategic price obfuscation.

          • Shoestring says:
            25 Jan25 January 11:48

            I honestly didn’t mind Ryanair’s £6+£10 on my wife’s booking last week – I was expecting it and thought it was cheap for a 10kg bag (plus the underseat bag on top/ for free can be any weight) – plus of course the ticket itself was cheap enough

            I think Norwegian passengers will get used to the small extra charge for a 10kg cabin bag pretty quickly as well

          • Riccatti says:
            25 Jan25 January 13:35

            @Shoestring It is good that Norgwegian exists and runs its routes. It does prevent BA to collect hiked fares during peak times, and that’s why BA ‘annoyed’ and tried to run LGW-FLL service and the like to push Norwegian out of the route.

            But people think they got a good deal, when on average it’s not the case.

        • Callum says:
          25 Jan25 January 12:18

          Ryanair caps the number of priority tickets, so that can’t happen…

          As to your insane claim that a large cabin bag is required to prevent “human suffering”… Give me a break.

          • Riccatti says:
            25 Jan25 January 13:29

            Give me a break from perverting my words then.

            First, see comments on experience with Ryanair Priority+. The reason it is sold (and generates 1bln+ in extra revenues) because the cabin luggage is included. There is nothing “priority” about proverbial half a plane having it (so the cap is set at a number of hard bags in overheads). But notice the service is not marketed as “mandatory cabin bag payment”, it uses sexy “priority” and “plus”.

            Second, selling a long-haul ticket to another continent with personal item only — is a deliberate play on the consumer being myopic. When buying a ticket we focus on fare, then a day before travel we start packing… the consumer is likely to overpack and likely to accept extra charges. Captive market.

            Third, “suffering in human needs” summarised, in my view, all issues being noted — the whole trajectory of where the industry/plane configuration goes: reduction in seat width and length, reduction in material (thin seats), reduced space toilets — impossible not to touch many surfaces. How many ask for free tap water even if feeling slight dizziness/acid reflux — good proportion will just sit tight. Yes, we learned to bring own water, but again at the captive cost of goods sold airside, or remember to bring an empty bottle (together with remembering dimensions of carry on luggage, personal items… and restrictions on their kind and weight).

            Forth, my problem is not with commercial conditions and freedom of contract. I merely pointed out that strategic price obfuscation is present and proactively practiced. These limitations/charges on cabin luggage are not there for the reasons of safety and security, they are there to be able to present the cheapest fare and generate the proverbial billion in revenues.

            Now if you think the unregulated “development” of aviation product will not bring us 3 x 4 seating on shorthaul or suchlike… population is only growing, and more people are going to afford flying (and more frequently) than ever before.

    • RussellH says:
      24 Jan24 January 18:16

      I only saw this about 30 mins ago and have been mulling it over. I think it is an excellent idea. It would need to be combined with a standard bag sizer, which should come under the jurisdiction of Trading Standards, like traders weighing machines and petrol pumps. An easily visible mark, built into the case – rather like the TSA lock symbol would be a good idea too, though it would have to be retricted to rigid cases.

      The current situation, I feel, can be regarded as “confusion marketing”. 55x40x20cm / 15kg is simple and reasonably memorable. It would be a simple way for governments to show that they can be on the side of customers rather than large businesses. Why should “ordinary” people, (though, of course, people who fly a lot seldom can be so described) have to use a calculator to to compare prices?
      TBH I do not see it as any different from the way airlines used to be able to publish cash prices without including all taxes, fees and charges.
      There would be no reason for a “premium” airline to offer a better deal than 55x40x20cm / 15kg, naturally.
      Minimum standards are surely always a good thing!

  • Matt says:
    24 Jan24 January 13:59

    I seem to remember travelling on Norwegian in late 2018. It was only £15 extra for luggage and seat selection (I think the seat selection came free with the luggage fare).

    I priced up a ticket recently to Oslo from Gatwick in May with Norwegian. It was £79 one way. This included £25 for seat selection and was £154 return. I don’t think the fare included luggage. I managed to book a return flight for £68 with BA from Heathrow for the same dates. I get seat selection free with BA. I don’t need to take any luggage to check in.

    I think Norwegian are in a bit of trouble.

  • Brighton Belle says:
    24 Jan24 January 14:05

    Nuts. I was thinking of using them to EZE as Gatwick is convenient. I can do 6 nights on hand baggage so removing that as free and making it a chargeable extra for a long flight is just pushing me to go to Heathrow. What marketing numtpy thinks we can’t see beyond the ultra low headline price with only a carrier bag for free. Behaving like Ryanair with latent penalties and charges for a bag that is a few microns outside their gauge says AVOID NORWEGIAN because they’re going to find a way to penalise me for £££

    • Anna says:
      24 Jan24 January 20:14

      I think that’s true – I certainly can’t be doing with the brain ache of calculating which is the best fare depending on what size/weight luggage is included. I was pricing up Jet2 holidays as I want direct flights from MAN in the autumn and was pleasantly surprised to see that their prices include hand and checked luggage which I thought was refreshingly transparent!

    • Callum says:
      26 Jan26 January 01:39

      If a £9 fee makes you this angry, it looks like they’re right that customers are extremely price sensitive so they need to unbundle their fares to get a cheaper base rate.

  • ankomonkey says:
    24 Jan24 January 14:20

    What next? Extra charges based on amount of hair?

  • TGLoyalty says:
    24 Jan24 January 14:29

    Surely Norwegian’s lounge deal was to buy space in the lounge before every flight to guarantee room for x amount of passengers that buy a ticket on average? Therefore, it would be a larger cost save than ‘just’ £15 a head because they would be paying for access regardless of he number of flex tickets actually sold.

    • Rhys says:
      24 Jan24 January 14:43

      Still can’t imagine it will be many

      • TGLoyalty says:
        24 Jan24 January 14:51

        I know probably still not a lot of money but obviously enough for the cut to be made. Norwegian customers loss could be a PP holders gain in some airports.

  • M R Bennett says:
    24 Jan24 January 15:31

    Well we know they are in trouble. Could this be the beginning of the end?

    • Shoestring says:
      24 Jan24 January 16:11

      more likely they have seen Ryanair’s latest result and how much they make out of ‘extras’ esp the cabin bag policy
      https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-10/ryanair-raises-guidance-after-stronger-than-expected-christmas

      • Shoestring says:
        24 Jan24 January 16:13

        Ryanair will release results for its third quarter on February 3 with a further update.

        • Shoestring says:
          24 Jan24 January 16:26

          Fancy that!
          [In a hurry? Act fast and purchase Priority & 2 Cabin Bags! EUR6-12 (typically)
          Priority & 2 Cabin Bags gives customers the benefit of boarding the plane via the Priority Queue and carrying their small personal bag (40x20x25cm) and 10kg wheelie bag (55x40x20cm) with them on board. This will mean you won’t need to wait for your bag at the terminal at the destination.]
          https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/baggage/bag-policy

          It’s pitched at a very low level that most people won’t care about, I got my wife Ryanair tickets from Bristol to our place in the sun for a 5 day trip over the late May bank holiday last week and it was £10 out, £6 back for priority and the 10KG cabin bag.

          But that small extra £s is enough to earn Ryanair £1 billion of extra revenue which can drop to bottom line, I exaggerate to make my point but you get the drift.

          • EwanG says:
            24 Jan24 January 16:35

            Ryanair Priority is a joke though – in my experience >50% of the customers purchase Priority so there is no real advantage to getting on first. The guaranteed wheelie bag is the differentiator and customers take that instead of purchasing a hold bag, so it cannibalises those revenues/profits.

          • Shoestring says:
            24 Jan24 January 16:48

            until this new change, 2018, it was free to take on a cabin bag and a smaller bag – it was a pretty generous Ryanair policy and most/ many people never checked in a bigger bag then either

            I would guess almost 100% of the people booking Priority extra do so not so much to get priority boarding but to get a 10kg cabin bag

            as such, it’s all extra revenue that wasn’t there pre-2018

          • Anna says:
            24 Jan24 January 20:23

            You can have a bag of duty free as well, just keep an empty carrier bag and put your surplus stuff in it!

          • Tom1 says:
            24 Jan24 January 21:42

            The reason Ryanair bundle priority boarding with ‘2 bags’ is because they need passengers with wheelie bags to board first.
            If they didn’t, all the pax that just bring a ‘personal item’ for free – I.e. rucksack- would put those bags in the overhead lockers and there wouldn’t be space for those who have paid to take their wheelie bags.

  • Andrew says:
    24 Jan24 January 15:42

    Interesting story but in what way is this ‘exclusive’? It’s on loads of other sites.

    • Rob says:
      24 Jan24 January 17:01

      The lounge story is exclusive, and you will see it now slowly making its way around the internet 🙂

      • marcw says:
        24 Jan24 January 17:10

        I doubt it’s that revolutionary tbh. Who booked Premium Flex fares anyway?

        • Rob says:
          24 Jan24 January 17:18

          All the people travelling on Norwegian for Business – could well be far more than we think.

          • Mr(s) Entitled says:
            24 Jan24 January 17:23

            The article speculates that it is very few.

          • Rob says:
            24 Jan24 January 17:48

            A well placed lounge contact has been in touch since lunchtime and told me that it is chunky.

          • Lou says:
            25 Jan25 January 06:03

            From what I’ve heard, a lot of companies are changing their flight policies from biz to econ/prem econ. Given that situation, do you want a choose a meh seat with BA, or a spacious seat with Norwegian?

            Unsurprisingly a lot go with the latter. The interesting experiment here will be, what do people value more, the leg room or the lounge?

        • Tom says:
          25 Jan25 January 06:42

          Me! I fly them Transatlantic on flex fares all the time for work. Luckily I have LoungeKey so not going to lose much sleep over this change

  • Craig says:
    24 Jan24 January 17:56

    I wonder what would happen if an airline bucket the trend and started including hold luggage, say 15Kg as standard?

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