Business
Norse Airlines' AI Customer Service Faces FTC Complaints
Over 75 FTC complaints allege Norse Airlines' AI-driven customer service led to scams, with 21 people losing over $1,000.
Photo: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels
On March 31, I received an email from Norse Atlantic Airways informing me that my $940 flights to Rome had been canceled, and I had 14 days to request a refund. Initially, I didn’t panic, but the company’s refund request page wouldn’t load on multiple devices, and Norse didn’t respond to several emails. A phone number was absent, and on Reddit, I found dozens of posts about the airline’s allegedly poor customer service. The same day, I filed a public records request with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), hoping to understand how widespread this issue was. I eventually received around 75 detailed complaints from people who had bought or tried to buy tickets from the airline. Many described a customer service operation where the inability to get in touch with a human created a vacuum that scammers appeared happy to fill. Of the 41 complaints that reported a dollar figure, 21 claimed they lost more than $1,000. Norse Atlantic Airways does have human customer service workers, but in recent years, the airline has leaned into a tech-forward approach, deploying AI agents to help power its operation. 'Technology will help us have a higher level of availability and customer support, while still maintaining low fares for more people to enjoy travel between continents,' Bård Nordhagen, the company’s chief customer and communications officer, tells WIRED. Yet if what I and dozens of other people experienced is any indication, this version of customer service is time-consuming, frustrating, and at times expensive. *Source: [wired](https://www.wired.com/story/norse-airlines-ftc-complaints-ai-scams/)*
Key points
- Norse Atlantic Airways canceled flights for a $940 round trip to Rome, prompting a refund request.
- Over 75 FTC complaints allege Norse Airlines' AI-driven customer service led to scams, with 21 people losing over $1,000.
- Norse Atlantic Airways uses AI agents, including Freya, which now manages 99 percent of inquiries from passengers.
- The airline removed its customer support email from its support page to make Odin the 'primary support channel.'
- Norse had 'sunset' the chatbot Odin and replaced it with Freya, developed by Delight.ai.
- Many FTC complaints claimed customers were scammed after Googling Norse’s customer service information and finding scam websites and phone numbers.
- A customer described trying to buy tickets over the phone and giving their credit card information to a scammer, resulting in a $1,258.88 charge.