Earlier today, European low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic Airways launched the sale of two new Florida routes from London's Gatwick Airport. Beginning at the end of May, the airline will fly to Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL) from London.
Expanding summer routes to the US
Continuing the trend of summer expansion, Norse Atlantic announced two new routes from Gatwick.
Gatwick to JFK
The new routes will be added to the current daily service to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City.
Norse's new Orlando route will have four weekly services in May and June, and during peak summer travel, it will increase to daily flights. Flights to Fort Lauderdale will be three times weekly through June and increase to four times weekly for the rest of the summer.
All flights will be operated on one of the airline's Boeing 787 Dreamliners, set in a two-cabin configuration, Economy and Premium. Though there is no business or first-class product with lie-flat seats, Norse says its premium cabin features industry-leading pitch at 43" "and 12" of recline.
"We are very pleased to announce two new routes from London Gatwick to the popular holiday destination of Florida. In addition to our current daily New York flights, we will also be releasing for sale further destinations between London and the US by the end of February. As a result, our UK-based airline, Norse Atlantic UK, will serve more destinations to the US from London Gatwick than any other carrier this summer."– Bjorn Tore Larsen, CEO, Norse Atlantic Airways
Through Norse's partners easyJet, Norwegian, and Spirit Airlines, passengers can access more than 600 weekly connections worldwide. This month, the airline has 144 flights from Berlin, Oslo, and London Gatwick to the United States. By May, Norse will offer its passengers 222 flights to and from the US. The low-cost carrier has 284 flights scheduled in its network in May.
Below is a breakdown of Norse's US schedule in May (one-way):
Origin | Destination | # of flights | seats |
|---|---|---|---|
BER | JFK | 18 | 6,084 |
CDG | JFK | 31 | 10,478 |
LGW | JFK | 31 | 10,478 |
OSL | FLL | 9 | 3,042 |
OSL | JFK | 13 | 4,394 |
OSL | LAX | 9 | 3,042 |
Recent Norse Atlantic news
Late last week, Norse Atlantic Airways announced that Charles Duncan would take over as the airline's president. Over the past two-and-a-half decades, Duncan has held senior executive roles in Canada and the United States at Continental Airlines, United Airlines, WestJet, and Swoop. At each airline, Duncan gained extremely valuable experience that has made him a "Swiss-Army knife" and sets him up well for the role with Norse.
Duncan said,
“Norse Atlantic Airways is on track to become the first successful low-cost long-haul airline, and I am very pleased to be joining at this important stage in the company’s growth. The journey to reach the full potential of Norse Atlantic’s business model is well underway, and I look forward to being part of this dynamic and agile company.”
What do you think of Norse's new routes? Have you flown them before? Let us know in the comments below.