I used to work there before I decided to move to a major (to get home).
When I joined just before they began the big expansion, the conditions were not great to be honest. Weird contracts, the whole Thai crew situation and many more things like that really was a departure from what Norwegian had going for it shortly before. The old scandi-contrats from the "K-area" were fantastic.
It was quite a mess for a few years, and unfortunately the stories of a "race to the bottom" type company stuck for quite a while... Some still do as one can tell from the latest few posts. We all know how it goes with the cockpit gossip...
But - Then something happened. Unions were welcomed for all bases (after some tension from the media etc.) and things began to go in the right direction. And pretty fast actually. The salary went up, conditions improved and there was room to grow in the company with openings for training positions and so on. If you liked working extra you could get some pretty good deals in the busy summertime. 2-3K extra per day for a skipper was not unusial at all! Also, most bases had a nice stable 5/4 roster.
Was/is it as good as a US major? No- not even close. But Europe is a different ballgame on all fronts to begin with... That conversation is DOA.
Was/is is as good as a major in Europe? Depends. Better than some, but worse than others. Somewhere in the middle I would say. The upside was fast upgrade and career progression. In any case it has been on par or better than most low cost in Europe.
If you have any financial trouble working for Norwegian in any base - It's definately on you! (pre-covid)
So, renumeration etc. has been somewhere in the middle with regards to the European market for the past 3 years or so... However....
The ethos on the people side has for the most part been great. It has a very scandinavian feel and you are treated like an adult. It's reflected in procedures, the management and the overall atmosphere in the company. It has been a very nice place to work for me at least. Norwegian is by no means perfect, but it has only moved in the right direction!
I honestly think Norwegian is good for European aviation. They now have a new management team with a real sense of responsibility and above all sustainability. No more throwing things at the wall to see if it sticks. The new CEO seems to be highly praised in scandinavia and there seems to be a clear vision of what is possible within the market. If Norwegian goes, we will se the likes of wizzair, RYR and other new players go on the offensive taking up the marketshare with covid as a excuse for poor T&C's. We all know how that story ends...