Norwegian airline’s Cork plans on hold
Norwegian airlines announced planned flights from Cork to the US have been postponed pending receipt of a permit to enable the flight plan to commence.
A spokesperson from Cork Airport has said the airport is awaiting a receipt of Norwegian Air International’s foreign permit from the US Department of Transportation. The matter has now entered arbitration between the EU and US authorities under Open Skies.
A Cork to Boston service had been planned to begin in May with a service to New York scheduled for 2017.
However, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA Chief Executive Bjrn Kjos said while direct flights between Paris and the US will begin this summer, the Cork service is on hold.
The Paris flights underscore the ambitions of Europe’s third-biggest budget carrier to rapidly expand its long-haul business from the United States.
The airline has relied on the fuel-efficient 787 jetliner from Boeing Co to keep its costs low and cut fares on trans-Atlantic routes dominated by traditional flag carriers.
Norwegian, is the third largest low-cost carrier in Europe. The company operates 100 aircraft of which 92 are Boeing 737s and 8 are Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and is known for its distinctive livery of white with a red nose, with individual portraits of noteworthy Scandinavians on the aircraft’s tail fin. The airline was founded in 1993 and operates 416 routes to 126 destinations in 35 countries on four continents.
