Norwegian Air is interested in operating domestic flights within Brazil, a govt official said Thursday, as it plans its debut in Latin America’s largest economy in March with a flight between Sao Paolo and England. The airline’s interest was made public by Brazil’s tourism minister Vinicius Lummertz, who said Norwegian can start operating international flights with approval earlier this month from Brazilian flights regulator Anac. Norwegian has not specified the destination in England. Foreign airlines cannot incorporate in Brazil, but Congress is reviewing a proposal to change the law. If approved, Lummertz said, Norwegian could slash domestic flight costs by half. The Brazilian domestic market is dominated by 4 main airlines, all of which posted net losses in the most recent quarter, due to higher oil prices and local currency devaluation. <br/>
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Ryanair and its Irish pilots’ union have announced an agreement on their labour contract, potentially bringing an end to the summer of strikes. After several days of mediation, the Forsa union said the agreement would go to a ballot of its members. The union recommended acceptance but declined to comment further. Ryanair said: “Ryanair will take these proposals to its board in due course after the Irish based pilots have voted on this signed agreement.” In an email to its members, the union said it had reached a tentative agreement on 2 issues regarding “seniority”, which determines a pilot’s pay, promotion and home bases, and was still discussing annual leave. Despite recognising a handful of unions for pilots and cabin crew, Ryanair has until now not concluded labour agreements with any of them. <br/>
Ryanair is to end its long-standing practice of allowing passengers to take a 10-kilogramme piece of hand luggage for free and will charge between E6 and E10 for the service from November. Under the new rules, passengers will still be allowed to take 1 "small personal bag" on board, to be placed under the seat in front. But if a passenger wants to bring a medium-sized suitcase of up to 10-kiogrammes, they will now have to pay. They can pay between E6 and E8 to take it on board and put it in the overhead locker or pay between E8 and E10 to check it in. The airline said it was making the change as planes were being delayed as passengers brought too much hand luggage. EasyJet, Wizz and Norwegian Air Shuttle currently all allow a medium-sized piece of hand luggage for free on short-haul flights. <br/>
Ryanair has announced a US$200m investment in London Luton Airport. The airline will have 2 new aircraft based at the Bedfordshire airport from November. It has also added 6 new routes to Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Bologna, Cork and Malaga from Luton. Ryanair CE Michael O'Leary said: "This is quite a significant milestone for the development of both Ryanair and Luton Airport." The investment means Ryanair will have 6 aircraft based at Luton, operating across 21 routes and making more than 100 flights per week. CE of Luton Airport, Nick Barton said: "The decision to expand its presence here is a testament to our transformation into a world class international airport. We are currently carrying out the single biggest investment in our 80-year history to meet continued demand from passengers". <br/>