US thwarts Norwegian Air's long-haul plans

[LONDON] Norwegian Air Shuttle AS said that a planned long-haul discount network operating out of London risks being stymied by US opponents who claim that a push to trim costs by basing planes in Ireland undermines labour standards.

While a largely trans-Atlantic timetable planned for the next two years could be performed under the carrier's existing Norwegian license, flights to other long-haul destinations from the UK capital require aircraft to be registered in the European Union, of which Norway isn't a member.

"When you start flying to the Far East, South Africa and South America you need the EU licence," chief executive officer Bjoern Kjos said. Splitting the fleet between two jurisdictions would be too expensive, he said. "It's very stupid and not very cost effective to have one airline flying east and another airline flying west."