The third-largest budget airline in Europe, Norwegian Air Shuttle, has apologised after criticism was leveled at it for refusing passengers’ requests for blankets, food and water on its recently launched flights to Bangkok and New York.
The first complaint came when a Thai woman had her cup of coffee taken from her by crew members after they found out she only had money and a Thai credit card with her. She was then not able to purchase food or water for the remainder of the flight.
Then a 16-year-old boy spent his flight from Oslo to New York freezing because crew members would not accept cash to pay the $5 fee for renting a blanket.
Airline spokesman Lasse Sandajer-Nielsen acknowledged that this was “totally unacceptable” and said that all passengers must be treated well. He apologised for the incidents, and admitted that there have been several start-up issues on the long-haul services.
Sandaker-Nielsen went on to say that Norwegian will now review its policy of accepting only credit cards in a bid to improve communication with customers. The airline also expects to have its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner operating before the end of June, nearly two months behind schedule because of complications with the plane’s batteries.