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I was sad to see Norwegian Air file for bankruptcy during the pandemic and Norwegian Air's rewards program put on hold. But now Norwegian is back — although not nearly as big as they used to be. The fleet is smaller, the routes are fewer, and you can only redeem limited CashPoints for each flight.
Norwegian Air's Bankruptcy
Norwegian Air started in 1993, and by the end of the 2010s, it'd grown to the ninth-largest European airline. In 2019, the company began struggling with corporate restructuring. After the crash of international travel in 2020, Norwegian filed for bankruptcy. In February 2021, Norwegian Air paused its rewards program. Now in May 2021, Norwegian is “back” — as a banner proudly displays at the company's headquarters.
Although flights have resumed, Norwegian's route network pales in comparison to what it was before bankruptcy. Norwegian Air's fleet — which peaked at 165 planes in 2018 — is down to 50. The good news is that Norwegian plans to add 20 more within the next year.
Additionally, all long-haul flights have been permanently suspended — including those to several destinations in the USA, Bangkok, Shanghai, Singapore, etc. In fact, the subsidiary Norwegian Long Haul was liquidated in January 2021. So, those long-haul flights probably won't be returning anytime soon.
Norwegian Air's Rewards Program Returns
The Norwegian Rewards program is also back. You can once again use your CashPoints on flights, but only in limited numbers. For every 100 euro you spend on flights, you can use 500 CashPoints. So, if you spend 119 euro on a flight (an average price flying Norwegian Air around Europe), you can use 500 CashPoints. If your flight is 200-300 euros, you can use 1,000 CashPoints.
You can also use your CashPoints to purchase the following:
- Extra baggage
- Security fast track
- Seat reservation
- Pre-ordered meals
- Ticket changes
- Cancellation insurance
Any CashPoints that were scheduled to expire by the end of 2021 will now expire on December 31, 2022.
Our Take
My very first transatlantic flight was with Norwegian Air, and I've flown with them several times since then — including from Oslo, Norway to Krabi, Thailand. I'm saddened to see the long-haul flights disappear, but I'm glad Norwegian Rewards is still around and I can still use my accumulated CashPoints.
Of course, the restructuring will make it more difficult for US-based travelers to use their CashPoints, unless you're planning to travel around Europe in the next year. If you have a Norwegian Rewards balance, you can track it through AwardWallet. If you haven't already done so, use this link to set up your AwardWallet account to track your points.
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It’s good to see Norwegian have survived, it’s easy to be cynical about big airline businesses, but COVID has been catastrophic. We often moan as travellers, but we should be grateful there are still companies viable enough to fly us to places.
Airlines surviving the pandemic is welcome news. Hope Norwegian are able to recover.
Its a great news! Norwegian is a great airlines whit exclusive prices for all!
Great to have them back!
This is really good news. Good for Norwegian Air!
Me parece una excelente noticia por lo que significa. Son nuevas oportunidades para personas que reactivan sus trabajos, y sin dudas que contribuye a la reactivacion del sector aeronautico y turistico. Ademas de que siempre es una buena oportunidad poder sumar millas o puntos para poder canjear.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Norwegian flights I took and recommended them to friends. As a US-based traveler, their return as a short-haul carrier isn’t meaningful to me, at least not now during the pandemic, but hopefully one day…
That’s really good news! I love flying with Norwegian and I have account for me and also for my wife and two kids so I expect to use our Points as soon as travel restrictions allow. Thanks for share!
Great to hear this news!!! Norwegian is a great Airline!!
Wow they are really trying. Still with them having issues I would be wary to book with them, unless it’s immediate. I do applaud their attempts.
The program as it stands right now is of no utility to people NOT residing in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Unfortunate that Norwegian struggled, good low cost airline to keep others prices down!
I liked Norwegian for their prices and attractive rewards program – I certainly hope they’ll be back
Without any long haul flights, this is a very dubious proposition….they were in enough trouble pre-pandemic….so sad they won’t be resuming any long haul flying any time soon. They will be missed!
I will be heading to Europe hopefully this fall. Who knows, I might be using this airlines
Hope they can bring back the US transatlantic flight deals.
We love this airline and glad it is back. Will the previously earned points still be valid? thanks
It was really sad to see them closing their base in Buenos Aires. Flying non-stop with them to London (LGW) was a great deal, even in Premium Economy cabin.
If they’re not flying to the US then this program will be of no use to me. But the redemption structure looks simple enough, which isn’t a bad thing.
Currently it’s hard to see where they are flying in the EU. Hopefully they will soon be flying more than just intra-Norway flights!