Norwegian To Double 787 Fleet If US OKs Subsidiary

Norwegian Air Shuttle will order least 17 Boeing 787 Dreamliners to double its long-haul fleet as soon as US regulators approve flights on its Irish subsidiary, chief executive Bjørn Kjos said.

If Norwegian does not get approval for US flights by its subsidiary, it would scrap its 787 order and increase the number of US flights on the parent company's existing aircraft, Kjos said.

A larger fleet of 787s would allow Norwegian's Irish subsidiary to expand its route network to South America, South Asia and South Africa, Kjos said. However, the carrier first needs approval from the US Department of Transportation to allow planes to land in the United States and fly from there.

Norwegian has waited more than a year for the green light, slowed by opposition from US airlines and unions that allege the subsidiary would undermine wages and working standards. The airline revealed in April 2014 that it had called off talks with Boeing to buy 787s because of this.

Kjos said the airline expects US backing eventually and has not looked into taking legal action because of the delay. He has dismissed claims about labour unfairness, noting that Norwegian has a crew base in New York and is unconcerned if its workers unionise.

Rather, he says US airlines fear Norwegian's low fares and vowed to ramp up flights if its application is blocked. Norwegian flies to the United States currently under a unit separate from its Irish subsidiary.

"If we don't get (approval), we'll fly everything into the US It works exactly the opposite for our competitors," he said.

Rather than buying more 787s, Norwegian would use the eight in its fleet and nine others on order to add daily departures to the United States along with new destinations, Kjos said.

Kjos said US flights across the Atlantic are high-priced, suggesting Norwegian could lower fares.

The fall of the euro and Norwegian kroner against the US dollar has made Norwegian's staffing costs relatively lower than those of US airlines, as it employs more European employees, he said.

"It's easy to compete," Kjos said.