Press

Russia only allows one airline per country to use its airspace and under the terms of a 1956 Soviet-era deal with Denmark, Norway and Sweden only Scandinavian Airlines and Aeroflot can fly the route. Since Scandinavia is three countries and SAS, which is partly owned by all three, only flies direct to Asia from Denmark and Sweden, Norway should rework the deal, Norwegian Air argues. Norway's transport ministry said it plans to bring up the case during the first half of 2017. "Norwegian authorities are continuously assessing how these rights may best be secured in the negotiations with Russia," it wrote in a statement. Scandinavian Airlines said it would not stand in the way of a new deal, while Russia's flights authority did not immediately comment. Norwegian Air, which has previously said it would be interested in flying direct to China, Japan, Hong Kong, India and Pakistan, hopes a new deal will open up the route to other airlines and aims to take a larger share of the Asia-to-Europe market, helped by its ability to offer cheaper airfares. (New York Times)