COPENHAGEN, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Low-cost airline Norwegian is to open a new base in the Danish capital city of Copenhagen for long-haul routes, local media reported Thursday.
"It is natural for us to establish a base for pilots in Copenhagen given the size of our long-distance operations in Scandinavia today," HR director of Norwegian Helga Bollmann Leknes was quoted as saying by Danish news agency Ritzau.
"The base in Copenhagen will help simplify and strengthen our business and create local jobs," Leknes added.
The new base will create 80 new pilot jobs in Copenhagen, said Norwegian.
Norwegian currently has 500 employees in Copenhagen, primarily serving its short-haul European routes. Of those, just under 200 are pilots.
The new base will be set up in partnership with the Flight Personnel Union (FPU), Norwegian confirmed, adding that it had reached an agreement on working terms with the union.
The company has grown rapidly over the past years, expanding international traffic and adding new bases, destinations and markets to its portfolio. It has previously announced an increased number of flights from Copenhagen to Thailand from this winter.
