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Norwegian’s remarkable long-haul expansion from the UK continues, with new routes announced today to Chicago and Austin.
The flights are direct from London Gatwick and are due to start in March 2018.
Fares to Chicago are currently available from £179.90 one-way for the outbound, with the flights home starting at £124.90.
Austin is more expensive with fares starting at £239.90 for the outbound and £179.90 for the inbound.
If you fancy splashing out, Norwegian’s Premium Class starts at £499.
The two new cities add to the existing raft of US destinations already served from Gatwick
as well as the ultra low cost flights Norwegian has started from Belfast and Edinburgh.
Norwegian also recently announced even more exotic destinations, in the form of Singapore and Buenos Aires.
Is Norwegian any good?
On balance, I would say definitely yes – as long as you know what to expect.
You have to remember it’s a low-cost carrier, which means you have to pay extra for food & drinks, checked baggage, etc, even on long-haul flights.
On the plus side, Norwegian has a very modern fleet and my experience of the cabin crew and the food onboard has been very positive. The 787s (which are serving these new routes) have decent entertainment systems too. As long as the overall cost of flying Norwegian was cheaper than flying BA/AA/etc, I would happily do so.
I will be trying out the airline’s ‘ultra-budget’ 737-MAX later this Summer, which doesn’t even have onboard entertainment etc, so that should be interesting…
Bottom line
I think it’s great to see the continued expansion from the UK. Even if you don’t fancy long haul flights on a low-cost-carrier yourself, the increased competition should help keep fares low from the traditional carriers too and that is good for all passengers.
If you can find a cheap fair though, I really wouldn’t hesitate to recommend giving Norwegian a try. Just make sure that you calculate the full cost (including food & drink, bags, etc) and go in with your eyes open about what to expect.
Hoorah! More competition for BA is a good thing.
Norwegian’s Premium product is much better than most premium economy products.. their fleet modern, and best of all, they allow you to prince in single tickets so you don’t have the irritating Saturday night stay rule…
Great point about the one-ways! For me that’s a huge advantage, as I quite often don’t mind Economy for day flights (particularly given the price) but much prefer biz/first using Miles for night return.