Just to disclose, I am fully aware that Norweigen is a low-budget airline. I have no problems with low-budget airlines, I've flown with Vueling, Ryan-Air, and Level, and I've never ever had a problem. Until Norweigen.
I purchased a direct flight from Oakland to Barcelona. I was flying with my ESA who is an 80 pound husky/lab mix, and notified the airline weeks prior that she would be on board with me, and so I would need a small row so she had plenty of room to stretch out on the floor. I was guaranteed and assured that this would happen.
The flight was scheduled to leave at 8:05 PM Wednesday night. I had a connecting flight from SLC to OAK, so my dog and I arrived early to the OAK airport, around 11 am. Finally, I go check in at the Norweigen desk at 5 PM, and the woman again assured me that I would get a row to myself for my dog. I head to the gate and wait with many others. 7 PM turns into 8 PM, which turns into 9 PM, which turns into 10 PM. No one knew what was going on and why our flight was so delayed. No one from Norweigen was communicating with us, so we were all left in the dark. Finally at 10:30, someone announced that a drunk passenger on the previous flight broke the screen on the seat in front of him, and the airlines were trying to repair it- and by doing so, blew a fuse with the electrical system of the plane. They were trying ti fix it, with no success. Our flight was delayed until 1 AM when FINALLY they cancelled the flight. We waited in the terminal for 5 hours before they cancelled. Not once during that time was there food vouchers given out, or anything. We were told to go back down to the ticket counter and we would be provided vouchers for hotels. Again, we waited in line for an hour before someone finally said that they were searching for hotels in the area with no luck (Its 2 AM at this time, are you kidding me??) I took matters into my own hands, seeing that this airline was completely incompetent and bought a hotel to the tune of $200 dollars for the night, out of my own pocket. I woke up the next morning with still no news of what time our new flight would be departing. Around 11 AM, I received a text informing us that our new flight would take place at 4 PM that same day (Thursday). At 1 PM, I headed to the airport with my poor dog, who is starving at this point because I didn't bring enough food for 2 days for her. I also tried to complain to the airline that as a passenger with a disability, they were doing a horrible job at making sure me and my animal were taken care of, and I was just met with consistent "File a claim, there's nothing we can do here about it."
At 3:15 PM, we were told that the flight would be delayed AGAIN because the part needed to fix it hadn't arrived it. Why in the hell would you have us come to the airport when you knew the part hadn't even arrived? Around 6 PM with no communication again from Norweigen, I decided to catch the other flight leaving at 8 PM that evening. When I called to make a reservation, I reiterated the fact I was traveling with a large dog and would need room for her. The guy on the phone "guaranteed a large spot for her". Turns out, this moron booked me a middle seat on a full flight. Luckily some very kind people were willing to trade seats with me so my dog could have some room. After ALL of this (and more) not once did I feel like Norweigen gave a sh*t about their passengers at all. The worst customer service of any company I've ever dealt with. I doubt I will see back the money I spent on the hotel.
Turns out, the original flight that was delayed was cancelled AGAIN that night. Worst company ever. read more