Norwegian Air Shuttle will launch nonstop transatlantic flights from 2 more US airports this fall, the airline announced Wednesday, ramping up pressure on larger carriers to compete with the emerging low-fare airline. Beginning in mid-September, Norwegian will offer nonstop flights from Denver International and Seattle-Tacoma International airports to London's Gatwick, bringing the carrier's total number of nonstop US-to-London flights to 9 routes. An escalating fare war to court transatlantic passengers has pushed down ticket prices even among established carriers. Air France and IAG have both announced plans for low-cost flights to compete with budget upstarts like Norwegian. Lufthansa is expanding services to long-haul cost-conscious travellers through its Eurowings business. <br/>
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Alaska Air Group will keep flying from 2 gates it recently acquired at the secondary Dallas airport, retaining a foothold in a hub dominated by discount powerhouse Southwest Airlines. Virgin America, which Alaska bought last year, offers nonstop flights to 5 cities from Dallas Love Field, which is popular with business travellers because of its proximity to downtown. Alaska already serves Portland and Seattle from the larger Dallas-Fort Worth International, a hub dominated by American Airlines Group. By retaining a presence at Love Field, Alaska will offer service from 2 airports in an area that was an epicentre of a 2015 fare war triggered when American took on Southwest and Spirit Airlines. Pricing power for US carriers has yet to recover fully from the scuffle, which eventually spread to most of the domestic industry. <br/>
Emirates airline said Wednesday it would start lending first and business class passengers tablets in response to the US ban on most personal electronic devices from passenger cabins of US-bound flights. March 25 the US banned electronic devices larger than a mobile phone from cabins on direct flights to the US from 10 airports in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, including the United Arab Emirates. Emirates is introducing the service to mitigate the inconvenience of the ban on passengers, the airline said. The service started Wednesday. The decision follows similar measures introduced last week by Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, which are also affected by the ban. Industry experts have warned the ban could push premium business and first class travellers to carriers not affected by the ban. <br/>
The Austrian regional carrier People’s Viennaline—which will close its Altenrhein-Friedrichshafen-Cologne route April 14—anticipates a move into the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) market as it attempts to offset the effect of the route closure. The service was axed after only 6 months because of overcapacity. People’s Viennaline said a poor load factor of only 2,300 passengers on the Cologne route in March showed the route is not developing as expected and operating costs became too high. Its main routes are 4X-daily flights between Altenrhein and Vienna (Austria). The carrier bases 2 former Finnair Embraer E170s at Altenrhein, Switzerland. The second aircraft, which joined the fleet in February, should be placed on leisure and ACMI flights. <br/>