Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA has acknowledged it may have to delay its service from Cork, Ireland to Boston in the absence of US approval for flights using the discount carrier’s Irish subsidiary. Norwegian had hoped to start the service in May under its Irish operating license, but US regulators have so far failed to approve the plan more than two years after the airline submitted it. Norwegian, among a handful of carriers pioneering no-frills long-haul air travel, could push back the start of the new service to 2017 if US regulators don’t give their blessing soon, CE Bjørn Kjos said. “We have to have a pre-sale period for the operation,” Kjos said. The airline has so far held off starting to take bookings for the service while regulators haven’t said how long they may take, he said.<br/>
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Slovenia has sold state-owned Adria Airways to German investment fund 4K KNDNS, state investment firm Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH) said. SDH, which is coordinating the country's privatisation efforts, said the state would inject E3.1m into Adria while 4K would inject E1m. Adria is one of 15 companies that were selected for privatisation in 2013 and the eighth of those to be sold.<br/>
US regional carrier Republic Airways, which warned last year it could be forced to file for bankruptcy-court protection amid a pressing pilot hiring and retention challenge, has seen a significant slowdown in pilot losses after sealing a new pay accord. “Our attrition rate is half what it was prior to the pay accord,” airline President and CE Bryan Bedford said. The majority of Republic Airways’s 2,100 pilots in October backed a three-year labour pact that raises pay and improves working conditions. The pilot shortage meant Republic wasn’t able to meet contractual schedules for major airline customers American Airlines, United Continental and Delta. “We are starting to come back into balance,” Bedford said of the pilot situation. The airline begins the year around 300 pilots short and will have to work throughout 2016 to fill the positions. Still, Bedford worries the pressure on retaining pilots will remain. <br/>
Southwest said it plans to appeal a federal judge’s decision to issue a temporary injunction that is allowing Delta to continue operations at Dallas Love Field. On Tuesday, the carrier filed a “notice to appeal” with the federal court, showing its intent to file an appeal with the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. “We are appealing the decision as part of our ongoing efforts to protect our right to fully utilize our gates at Love Field,” said a Southwest spokesman. At issue is gate space at Love Field, which is limited to 20 gates by the Wright Amendment Reform Act, which ended restrictions on long-haul flights from the airport in 2014. Delta had been leasing gate space from United until the end of 2014, when United transferred its leases on two gates to Southwest for $120m.<br/>
THAI Smile Airways will add Siem Reap to its overseas route map next month in a move welcomed by Cambodia to woo more tourists to the historic town. The subsidiary of Thai Airways International will start offering services five days a week from Suvarnabhumi airport to Siem Reap from Feb 1, the airline said on its website. It will join Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia and Cambodia Angkor Air in the route popular for tourists to the home of Angkor Wat. <br/>