Norwegian får pepper, igjen, fra amerikanske flygere - Curt Lewis

United Airlines pilots getting angrier about Norwegian Air's operating tactics

United Airline pilots are infuriated again in their ever-more-vocal struggle to get President Donald Trump's administration to better regulate Norwegian Air's ever-more-aggressive encroachment into United States airspace.

The United Airlines pilots union, a unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, fired off a statement this morning lambasting the United States Department of Transportation for tentatively approving Norwegian Air's newest subsidiary based in London and known as Norwegian Air UK (NAUK). The Norway-based parent Norwegian Air Shuttle has a similar subsidiary in Ireland called Norwegian Air International (NAI).

United Airlines pilots now have a new reason to be angry about Norwegian Air's growing presence in the United States.

Though its unclear how many flights operated by NAUK would fly to the United States, a number of Norwegian Air flights to the U.S. are technically being operated by Norwegian's Irish subsidiary. A Norwegian Air spokesman today said the airline's flights between Chicago and London scheduled to start in March of 2018 would be operated by the Norwegian Air Shuttle parent company.

In their statement today United pilots called the DOT's move to greenlight a second Norwegian Air subsidiary in the United Kingdom "unfathomable" because it would allow a "Norway-based company to tilt the playing field in their favor by operating out of Ireland and the UK with pilots hired in Asia expressly to avoid Norwegian labor protections."

United pilots also said Trump and his administration need to do more to ensure Norwegian Air is held in check. The United pilots statement said "the president promised that 'we will protect our workers, promote our industry and be proud of our history because we will put America first.' "

United pilots fear that if Norwegian Air's presence in the United States continues to grow it could negatively impact U.S.-based carriers and potentially lead to layoffs.

In recent months Norwegian has repeatedly countered that argument by saying it has opened recruitment centers in the United States to hire U.S.-based pilots and cabin crew. But United pilots contend that qualified U.S. pilots are leery of going to work for Norwegian Air, which has led in some instances to a shortage of staff to man Norwegian Air's rapidly-expanding flight schedule from the U.S.

Indeed a Norwegian Air spokesman confirmed today that some flights operating out of Providence, Rhode Island, one of Norwegian's newer U.S. gateways, have been cancelled in recent weeks - some due to crew issues and others for mechanical reasons.

The United pilots closed their statement today by underscoring their wish to see Trump and his administration get tough with Norwegian: "Instead of listening to the Norwegian Air CEO's hollow promises that he will hire U.S.-based pilots, the DOT needs to amend their approval and make such hiring a requirement to operate to the United States. Otherwise, we will be listening to Norwegian Air's foreign investors laughing at the expense of American workers."

A Norwegian Air spokesman also confirmed today the airline isn't stopping with subsidiaries in Ireland and the UK. Plans are afoot to launch a third subsidiary in Argentina.

United Airlines is a subsidiary of United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL).