OAK Emerges as a Top California Gateway to Europe
Oakland, CA – (Sept. 8, 2016): Together, Oakland International Airport (OAK) and Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian) announce another major expansion from the increasingly popular San Francisco Bay Area airport to two new high demand destinations in Europe. Norwegian will launch its award winning Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights from OAK to Copenhagen, Denmark on March 25, 2017, followed by Northern California's first ever nonstop service to the Catalonian capital, Barcelona, Spain, on June 7th.  Joining existing service to Oslo and Stockholm, Copenhagen completes the "triple crown" of service to the largest Scandinavian capitals, all three offered from the Bay Area exclusively at OAK. Barcelona is one of the largest and most requested unserved destinations in Europe from the Bay Area. The news follows Norwegian’s new Oakland-London Gatwick service that commenced in May.  The new flights will make Oakland the third-largest California gateway to Europe. Norwegian, by offering nonstop service to more destinations than any other airline, becomes the Bay Area's top choice to Europe.   “The addition of these two highly-sought markets is key for Oakland International Airport,” said Port of Oakland Aviation Director Bryant L. Francis.  “Norwegian has been an excellent partner and we’re proud to serve as its Bay Area Gateway.”  “Continued U.S. expansion is key to Norwegian’s global strategy, and we’re excited to announce two new routes out of Oakland International Airport.,” said Thomas Ramdahl, Norwegian’s Chief Commercial Officer. “We offer Bay Area residents more nonstop European destinations than any other airline, which means more affordable fares coupled with our award-winning onboard service.”   Norwegian will begin its new services with launch fares starting at $179 one-way to Copenhagen and $199 one-way to Barcelona. Seats are now for sale, and selling fast, at Norwegian.com The lowest fares are subject to availability. Norwegian will operate Oakland-Copenhagen twice weekly. Oakland-Barcelona will initially operate twice weekly increasing to three times weekly in August, 2017. Airlines serving Oakland International Airport have now announced or initiated service covering five new international routes in the past four months.  In July, Southwest Airlines announced it will launch flights next February to the popular Mexico beach destinations of Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta.