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Norwegian 737 in the sunset (Photo: Norwegian)
Norwegian 737 in the sunset (Photo: Norwegian)

Today Norwegian Air Shuttle announces that the airline will fly from Boston, Baltimore/D.C. and New York City to two Caribbean destinations: the Guadeloupe Islands and Martinique. The new routes will begin on December 3.

Consumers may wonder how Norwegian can launch flights from U.S. and Caribbean destinations when they are known as a low-cost airline based in Europe. Well, Martinique and Guadeloupe are part of the French West Indies; flights from the islands are protected by the Open Skies agreement between the U.S. and EU. This means the European airline has full privileges to fly between U.S. and certain Caribbean territories.

Why is Norwegian doing this? The airline is taking advantage of extra fleet capacity during the slow winter months in the EU. It’s common for airlines to focus on their North-South routes during this time as travelers seek to escape cold temperatures for warmer climates. Therefore, this allows the airline to make money when the aircraft would otherwise sit idle.

To celebrate the new routes, Norwegian and Guadeloupe Islands Tourist Board launched a sweepstakes for one winner in Boston, Baltimore/ D.C. and New York City metro areas to win a trip for two to the Caribbean destination. The trip includes flights on Norwegian and six nights at top resorts. Check out the sweepstakes here.

When the Caribbean service begins, Norwegian will be the largest foreign airline at JFK in terms of route numbers. It already offers a total of seven nonstop routes to Bergen, Copenhagen, Guadeloupe, London, Martinique, Oslo and Stockholm. Overall, Norwegian will operate 31 routes from 10 U.S. airports.

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