Some links to products and partners on this website will earn an affiliate commission.
Little-known Scandinavian budget carrier Primera Air is joining the low cost Transatlantic party, with fares between Birmingham/London/Paris and New York/Boston starting at just ~£77 ($99) one-way:
The outbound flights from the UK/France are more expensive at £149+:
What are the routes?
- London Stansted to Newark 1x daily starting April 19, 2018
- London Stansted to Boston 4x weekly starting May 18, 2018
- Birmingham to Newark 1x daily starting May 18, 2018
- Birmingham to Boston 4x weekly starting June 22, 2018
- Paris Charles de Gaulle to Newark 1x daily starting May 18, 2018
- Paris Charles de Gaulle to Boston 3x weekly starting June 21, 2018
Availability for the cheap fares looks pretty good:
Checked Baggage?
Primera is a low cost carrier so only a cabin bag is included in the basic fare – max 10 kg and size 54 x 45 x 25 cm.
A checked bag up to 23kgs appears to cost £25 from the UK and $35 from the USA.
What’s Primera like?
Honestly, no idea.
The Economy seats look just about ‘ok’, with usb charging available and Wifi for a fee.
Primera also offers a ‘Premium’ cabin, with prices starting at £499 one way:
At ~£1000 round-trip, I sincerely doubt they are going to be selling many of those seats!
Bottom line
I’m a huge fan of competition in the airline industry. Low cost carriers like Ryanair have revolutionised how people in Europe think about travel, and Norwegian/Wowair have started to do the same for long-haul flying. I’m not completely convinced by Primera’s choice of London Stansted and Paris, but the Birmingham services look inspired – if they can keep the prices low.
Hopefully we will continue to see more affordable, direct routes to interesting destinations from regional airports in the UK opening up!
I love the misleading fares they offer.
Lets not forget the credit card surcharge they add on at payment. And also if you want a seat then its going to cost you a bit more or obtain the Bag / Seat / meal combo for an Extra 50 Pounds.
What has made this a great fare is Norwegian have dropped prices even further on Key BOS/JFK – LGW routes to compete making the 787 with IFE much more attractive at fares from 130 GBP.
Aye – great to see the competition!
A 321 is just about bearable for a flight to Sardinia or Athens. 7.5 hours to the US with no IFE? No thanks.
I flew to Toronto on a budget airline Westjet with no IFE , as long as you have your own ipad / tablet loaded up with stuff then there is no difference really ….
Totally agree. A well-stocked smartphone/tablet with headphones can more than compensate for a lack of IFE.
Good to see more competition in that market.
However I will still look out for sale on Thomson or Thomas Cook..
Had brilliant flight with them to Florida for £300 with bags, meals, IFE..