Originally Posted by
dc9-32
I'm going to add my theory:
Norwegian buy into Monarch.
Monarch take-over the Norwegian short haul routes but branded as Norwegian i.e. the Monarch AOC remains intact and effectively becomes the Norwegian UK side of the business under the skin.
Monarch is the feeder to Norwegian long haul
....
See i've been thinking the opposite. If it is the case Norwegian are to "take-over" rather than just "tie-up" with Monarch, i can see the Monarch name/brand remaining for all short-haul - including any scheduled shorthaul flights currently operated by Norwegian ex-UK - except those to and from Norway.
The benefits of this would be the use of a better known and respected brand for the UK market, instant feeder traffic to the Norwegian network (both long-haul and short-haul) whilst eliminating costs to the likes of rebranding / contract changing / AOC / engineering etc etc.
It obviously would give Norwegian the chance to play around with the slots at Gatwick too and make a short-haul / long-haul balance that they feel will best suit them.
With many current short-haul Norwegian routes not yet for sale ex-LGW for next summer (after the recent tie-up with easyJet) i can only imagine this is the plan to increase the use of the slots to serve their long-haul operations?