At the departure gate, the airport’s mascot, a cuddly bear named Gatwick Gary, greeted passengers on Norse Atlantic Airways’ inaugural flight to New York last week.
Cabin crew handed out slices of raspberry sponge cake, and new Norwegian airline CEO Björn Tore Larsen led a cheer of “Norse! Nordic! Nordic!’
After the first flight celebrations, we were called through to our Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Of the 338 seats, 301 were sold: Word had gotten around about the new long-haul low-cost airline.
Tom Chesshyre flew Norse Atlantic Airways on the first flight from London Gatwick to New York. Norse, a new long-haul low-cost airline, is offering return economy flights to NYC from £303. Tom notes that this is “conspicuously low” compared to the airline’s competitors
Pictured left is Tom in his economy seat, which had “reasonable legroom.” He said that 301 of the 338 seats on his 787-9 Dreamliner flight had been sold – “word had got around about the new long-haul budget airline”. The premium economy area is shown on the right
“The service felt relaxed,” writes Tom. “A 15-minute ‘happy hour’ has been announced on the way to New York with ‘Dreamliner’ cocktails for £8.27.”
Premium economy seats (above) on Norse have a “generous” 43-inch seat pitch, recline 12 inches and cost from £611 round-trip to New York; 56 of the 343 places are “Premium”
No wonder, as Economy returns to the Big Apple from £303. Given that BA sells the equivalent from £357 and its closest rival, Play, sells from around £340 via a 100-minute pit stop in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, it’s strikingly low.
Norse was founded in 2021. It leases planes previously operated by Norwegian that went bust during Covid, but at a fraction of the cost as plane owners are keen not to let them go unused. This allows Norse to fly cheaply over long distances. But is it good?
On board, in Economy Class, the gray leatherette seats had reasonable legroom (31-32 inches, see comparison chart). Large overhead containers meant no stowage in hand luggage, costing an additional £21 each way.
My neighbors in row 30 had a complaint. No headphones were included for the “state of the art entertainment experience”. These had to be bought for £2.90. Blankets were hired at £4.15.
So began the dawning realization that the £303 rock-bottom price, which is only available for short periods when the airline is issuing tickets (it can be much higher), got you a seat – and not much more.
A hot meal is £25 at the time of booking; Snacks such as sandwiches were available for £8.27. On the maiden flight, the menu options were chicken, salmon, or vegetarian. I opted for the salmon with puree and spinach, and it was as good as any dish I’ve had on a flight, even in “plush” cabins.
What happened? The answer was that the salmon is fresh from the fjords as the airline is Norwegian and flights to Gatwick start in Oslo and some passengers continue on to New York. On my return flight the Thai chicken was terrible: tasteless and rubbery.
The table above compares Norse to New York service with other major airlines
Economy (above) does not include drinks in Norse, Tom notes. A 33cl can of Carlsberg was £5.79, a small bottle of wine £7.45, a Coca-Cola £3.31 and mineral water £2.90. “No wonder the wisest passengers brought their own sandwiches and filled water bottles to the fountains at Gatwick,” writes Tom
Left is Norse Chief Executive Björn Tore Larsen, who led the pre-flight celebrations. More transatlantic routes from Gatwick are to be announced soon – perhaps to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Los Angeles
One of Tom’s complaints about his flight was the food. He said his Thai chicken on the return flight was “awful: tasteless and rubbery”.
Tom said his flight arrived on time at JFK Airport in the Big Apple. His verdict? “Grab the cheapest fares, but don’t expect an airline Ritz”
Gatwick’s mascot, a cuddly bear named Gatwick Gary, was on hand to see the passengers off, along with Mr Larsen (above).
In Economy on Norse, drinks are not included. A 33cl can of Carlsberg cost a whopping £5.79, a small bottle of wine £7.45, a Coca-Cola £3.31 and mineral water £2.90.
No wonder the wisest passengers brought their own sandwiches and filled water bottles from the fountains at Gatwick.
After getting headphones, I watched the movies. The selection was decent (I enjoyed the recently released King Richard, via tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams), but it wasn’t as extensive as BA or Virgin.
The service had a freewheeling feel. A 15-minute ‘happy hour’ was announced on the way to New York with ‘Dreamliner’ cocktails for £8.27.
Additional transatlantic routes from Gatwick are to be announced soon – perhaps to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Los Angeles – each with economy and “premium” seats.
The latter have a generous 43-inch seat pitch, recline 12 inches and cost from £611 return to New York; 56 of the 343 seats are “premium” seats, which correspond to the premium economy offers of other airlines.
We arrived at the Big Apple’s JFK airport on time (the drive takes about 7 hrs 20 mins, depending on the wind direction). So full marks for that.
The judgment? Grab the cheapest fares, but don’t expect a ritz from the airline – just be patient and look out for the lowest fares when the airline first publishes them online.
