Departing IRO Pål Kildemo promoted to head of finance for primary metals division.

Finance executive Stian Hasle has been promoted to lead the IR team at Norsk Hydro.

Hasle has been with the Norwegian firm since graduating from SKEMA Business School and the University of Westminster in 2005, starting as a finance trainee and later joining the IR team for five years. Since 2012, he has been serving as a senior analyst in primary metal portfolio development.

Head of IR of two years Pål Kildemo is moving on to serve as head of finance for the primary metal division at the Oslo-headquartered firm. A former energy trader, Kildemo is also chairman of Nirf, the Norwegian IR association.

Norsk Hydro, which focuses on aluminum and hydropower production since its oil and gas business was merged with Statoil in 2007, is 44 percent owned by the Norwegian state with a further 6 percent held by the government’s pension fund.

SHANNON Airport is well positioned to tap into any potential deal for a new carrier to fly to the United States, if the way is cleared by US authorites for Norwegian Air International to fly across the Atlantic.

Industry sources have indicated that Norwegian will likely use Ireland as a major hub for flights to North America from Europe, if it gets approval from the US Department of Transportation.

Norwegian’s attempts to get the green light to operate low cost flights to the US have become an issue in the Presidential campaign, with Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders recently voicing his opposition to the deal. Shannon has lodged a submission in support of the carrier’s attempts to win a permit to operate services between Ireland and the US.

Most of the major carriers into the US were against the Norwegian bid, including American, US Airways and Delta, and industry experts believe the deal will “level the playing field” for low cost operators looking at the transatlantic market.

Preliminary approval for permits for Norwegian has been granted, which Shannon has said would mean “having a new carrier on its runway”, as a result of discussions that are ongoing since 2014.

It is understood that a service between Boston and Shannon would be the first route if the deal gets the go ahead. Industry sources have suggested that there is a “big appetite” among Irish authorities for the deal to go ahead, with Ireland to become an “anchor point” for the States, offering a hub opportunity both for Norwegian and other carriers.

Shannon has formally stated its support for Norwegian’s bid in its submission, which has also been backed by the Irish Aviation Authority in a separate submission to the US transport department. Mary Considine, acting CEO of Shannon Group, said that the launch of these services would be a “boost for tourism and business”.

“We welcome the planned NAI services and the benefits to visitors and to businesses which they will bring,” Ms Considine said in the submission.

“We have been in discussion with Norwegian since 2014 and we are happy to have been able to demonstrate the strong and growing demand for travel between Ireland and the US and to have convinced the airline to launch Shannon-US service subject to regulatory approval.

“We welcome NAI’s plans to develop transatlantic service from Shannon to complement our existing and valued range of flights, and we are confident that NAI’s initial and subsequent routes will grow the overall market and develop more transatlantic trade and tourism.”

Meanwhile, Shannon this week announced details of a new programme to support airport users with autism and special needs and their families.

Launched by Marty Morrissey, the initiative includes a new instructional video and brochure – hosted on www.shannonairport.ie – for people with autism and special needs to help them to understand the process of getting through the airport.

(limerickleader)

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton looks on before presenting Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security’s (GIWPS) annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards for Advancing Women in Peace and Security at Georgetown University on February 25 2014 in Washington DC.Photo by Olivier Douliery/ABACAUSA.com

Hillary Clinton is urging the White House to reject Norwegian Air’s application to fly to the United States over questions about its labor practices, adding her voice to a growing chorus of criticism surrounding the low-cost air carrier.

“Hillary Clinton urges the Obama Administration against moving forward with final approval of Norwegian Air International’s application,” Hillary for America labor campaign director Nikki Budzinski said in a statement. “Too many questions have been raised about NAI’s practices and plans.”
Norwegian Air has for years been seeking access to more airports in the U.S. and European Union, by establishing a subsidiary — Norwegian Air International — in Ireland, a member of the EU.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) tentatively approved the application last month.

But critics have slammed the company for attempting to skirt more stringent Norwegian labor and tax laws by establishing itself in Ireland and say it is undermining competition by hiring pilots contracted through Asia, where labor costs are lower.

Clinton’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders, has already voiced strong opposition to the airline over similar reasons.

“Norwegian Air International’s attempt to undermine international labor laws by outsourcing cheap labor from Thailand and other low-wage countries is unacceptable,” Sanders’s campaign website says. “We must do everything we can to prevent a global race to the bottom in the airline industry.”

Norwegian Air currently flies to some airports in the U.S. under the banner of its parent company, Norwegian Air Shuttle. But the company says the model for its low-cost subsidiary, which would offer transatlantic flights for as low as $150 each way, requires access to more Open Skies airports in order to have more route flexibility.

The Transportation Department said that in approving applications, it does not have to consider a clause in the U.S. and EU’s Open Skies agreement that says “opportunities created by the Agreement are not intended to undermine labour standards or the labour-related rights.”

Norwegian Air maintains that it established its subsidiary in Ireland for access to future traffic rights to and from the EU and to secure better aircraft financing rates, and has agreed not to use any Asian-based cabin crew on transatlantic flights.

But that hasn’t stopped a group of bipartisan lawmakers from pushing a bill that would require the DOT to consider the labor clause when approving permits, which would effectively block Norwegian’s bid.

The legislation picked up its 100th co-sponsor last week.

“Workers in the U.S. airline industry deserve rules of the road that support a strong workforce with high labor standards — not attempts by airlines to flout labor standards and outsource good-paying jobs,” Budzinski said in the statement.
“That’s why our Open Skies Agreement with Europe explicitly calls for the maintenance of high labor standards to guide the parties in its implementation.”

Norwegian, however, does not appear threatened by the comments from Clinton’s camp.

“Norwegian is confident the Department of Transportation will approve Norwegian Air International’s application,” Anders Lindström, a spokesman for Norwegian, said in a statement. “Approval of NAI will result in more U.S. aviation sector jobs, enable Norwegian to expand its already large pool of American crew, and deliver much needed competition and affordable fares to consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.”

(thehill)