Norwegian plans new flights in $4.3b Argentine expansion

Norwegian Air Shuttle’s Argentine unit is planning direct flights from Buenos Aires to Los Angeles, New York and Istanbul as part of a $4.3b expansion in the South American country over the next 10 years. The discount airline is also eyeing service to such cities as Dallas, Honolulu and Johannesburg, said Ole Christian Melhus, head of Norwegian’s operations in Argentina. US flights are scheduled to begin by the end of 2018, after the carrier begins serving domestic and South American destinations, Melhus said. Norwegian is vying for a chunk of the incipient market for low-cost flights in Argentina, where state-run Aerolineas Argentinas has held a virtual monopoly on air travel for the past 15 years. Norwegian has been accumulating planes and expanding destinations at a torrid pace worldwide, from smaller US cities to Southeast Asia, prompting CEO Bjorn Kos to reject assertions that the company is stretched too thin. The plan to establish Argentina as a stronghold in the Americas will require the leasing of between 50 and 70 planes and the hiring of 3,200 employees, Melhus said. Norwegian is looking at Boeing 737-800 jetliners for domestic flights, 737 Max planes for regional service and the 787 Dreamliner or the Airbus SE 321neo for long haul, the company said.<br/>