Norwegian Air Shuttle plans to scale back short-haul operations at London Gatwick as competition weighs on prices, freeing up scarce operating slots for new trans-Atlantic routes. The carrier may trim intra-European services at its UK hub as soon as next winter and add US flights using its fleet of Boeing's 787 wide-body jets, a spokesman said. Norwegian Air is reviewing its network as a capacity splurge among European carriers coincides with a dip in demand following a spate of terrorist attacks. As the UK's top leisure hub Gatwick is particularly exposed, and the airline forecasts prices will fall further as the pound's slump after the Brexit vote pares Britons' spending power. Norwegian Air currently operates 36 long- and short-haul routes out of Gatwick and serves 8 US cities, Las Vegas and New York among them.<br/>
unaligned
Emirates has rejected claims by Lufthansa and Air France-KLM in a letter to the EU that competition from Gulf airlines had forced them to terminate services to Asia. The letter from the CEs of the French and German carriers this week asked the EU executive to act over what they say are unfair practices by the Gulf airlines that have caused them to scrap flights to destinations in the Middle East, Asia and India. "It is baffling why two of the largest legacy airlines in Europe are alleging that Gulf carriers have caused them to contract their Asian services when the opposite is true," an Emirates spokeswoman said. "OAG (Official Airline Guide) data shows that between 2007 to 2017, the 6 European carriers combined actually grew capacity from Europe to Asia in terms of seats (17%), and flight frequencies (6%)," she added.<br/>
Wizz Air has announced a bumper rise in passenger numbers for last month. Passenger numbers rose 21.8% to 1.7m compared to the same month last year, while load factor rose from 86.4% in Feb 2016 to 91.9%. On a rolling 12 month basis, passenger numbers rose 19% to 23.44m. Last month the airline announced it was ramping up expansion efforts, adding 12 new routes across Macedonia, Latvia, the UK, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary and Poland. It also announced a new base in London Luton, which will open June 18, taking Wizz Air's number of bases to 28. CE Jozsef Varadi said that while there had not been a change in passenger demand since the Brexit vote, the sterling slide had diminished the euro value of its sales. Varadi said that this new announcement "underlines Wizz Air's commitment to the UK".<br/>