Budget airline Norwegian to offer cut-price fares to US

Budget airline Norwegian is finalising plans to launch ultra-low cost flights for as little at £56 to New York as it ramps up the pressure on its rivals.

The carrier, which already offers one-way fares from Britain to the US from £135, is expected to slash prices further in summer 2017 in a bid to shake up the transatlantic airline market.

The company will use fuel efficient aircraft to lay on flights from Edinburgh, Scotland, and Cork and Shannon in Ireland to secondary airports in New York and Boston where airport charges are cheaper.

A Norwegian spokesperson said: "We are working on plans for new transatlantic routes from Edinburgh and Ireland which we expect to launch in 2017, and a key part of our plans are to make sure they are truly affordable, allowing as many people as possible to fly.

"A number of airports are being looked at while we finalise our plans but smaller airports in the US present us with an opportunity to offer some ground-breaking fares to passengers in the UK, Ireland and the US."

The move will see it take on the likes of British Airways, which flies a number of transatlantic routes.

Norwegian currently flies to eight US cities from London Gatwick: New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San-Francisco-Oakland, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Las Vegas and Puerto Rico.

Earlier this month, Norwegian said it will increase the number of flights to the US by 55% from next summer.

The company is expected to publish full details and prices in February.