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From Avelo Airlines and Breeze Airways in the United States to Norse Atlantic Airways and Play Airlines in Europe, budget airlines have recently been popping up like mushrooms after a rainstorm. These carriers allow flyers to stretch their budget further by offering no-frills flights at a lower price with fewer amenities than full-service airlines.
For travelers seeking a thrifty transatlantic trip, Norse Atlantic Airways operates several budget flights between select European and U.S. airports. Here’s everything you need to know about this low-cost airline.
What is Norse Atlantic Airways?
Norse Atlantic Airways is a Norwegian low-cost long-haul carrier headquartered in Arendal, Norway. It was founded in 2021 with its first flight taking off from Oslo, Norway’s capital, in 2022.
The Norse Atlantic fleet includes 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
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Does Norse Atlantic fly to the United States?
Yes, Norse operates transatlantic service between Europe and the United States, with an additional flight to Asia between Oslo, Norway, and Bangkok, Thailand.
The airline flies the following routes as of May 2024, some only seasonally:
- Athens – New York-John F. Kennedy.
- Berlin – Miami.
- Berlin – New York-JFK.
- London-Gatwick – Cape Town, South Africa.
- London-Gatwick – Las Vegas.
- London-Gatwick – Los Angeles.
- London-Gatwick – Miami.
- London-Gatwick – New York-JFK.
- London-Gatwick – Orlando, Florida.
- Oslo – Bangkok, Thailand.
- Oslo – Los Angeles.
- Oslo – Miami.
- Oslo – New York-John F. Kennedy.
- Paris – Los Angeles.
- Paris – New York-JFK.
- Rome – New York-JFK.
According to the Norse Atlantic website, more routes are coming in the future.
Classes of service
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft from the Norse airline are equipped with two cabins: economy and premium. Seats are arranged in a 3-3-3 configuration in economy class and 2-3-2 in the premium cabin.
Every seat in both cabins offers a seatback TV, USB charger and power outlet.
Premium class sweetens the deal by offering passengers a dedicated cabin, complimentary in-flight meals, a wider seat and 43 inches of pitch, blankets, pillows, ear plugs, and an eye mask.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
Seat "pitch" is the distance from any point of a seat to the same point of a seat behind it in the same cabin. Fare types
The two service cabins are then subdivided into the multiple fare bundles — a common pricing model among low-cost airlines.
Each cabin offers fares at Light, Classic and Flextra levels. Light fares charge the most to change or cancel ($200) and do not include even a carry-on. Flextra fares, meanwhile, offer free changes or cancellations and include carry-on and checked baggage, a meal, seat selection and priority boarding.
Economy Light, Classic and Flextra
Economy cabin tickets are divided into three fares: Economy Light, Economy Classic and Economy Flextra. You’ll customize your flight experience by selecting one of these options during the booking process. Here’s what each fare includes.
Economy Light
- One personal item not exceeding 15.5 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches (40 x 30 x 15 centimeters).
- Changeable for $200 plus fare difference, if any.
- Last boarding group.
Economy Classic
- One personal item not exceeding 15.5 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches (40 x 30 x 15 centimeters).
- One carry-on bag not exceeding 22 x 18 x 10 inches (56 x 45 x 25 centimeters) and up to 22 pounds (10 kilograms).
- One checked bag not exceeding 50 pounds (23 kilograms).
- One meal service with one nonalcoholic beverage (on flights longer than six hours).
- General boarding.
- Changeable for $125 plus fare difference, if any.
Economy Flextra
- One personal item not exceeding 15.5 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches (40 x 30 x 15 centimeters).
- One carry-on bag not exceeding 22 x 18 x 10 inches (56 x 45 x 25 centimeters) and up to 22 pounds (10 kilograms).
- One checked bag not exceeding 50 pounds (23 kilograms).
- One meal service with one nonalcoholic beverage (on flights longer than six hours).
- Seat selection.
- Priority boarding.
- Free changes and cancellations (for a travel credit).
Premium cabin tickets on Norse are also divided into three fare classes: Premium Light, Premium Classic and Premium Flextra. Below is what is included with each fare class.
Premium Light
- One personal item not exceeding 15.5 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches (40 x 30 x 15 centimeters).
- One carry-on bag not exceeding 22 x 18 x 10 inches (56 x 45 x 25 centimeters) and up to 22 pounds (10 kilograms).
- Two meal services (on flights longer than six hours) and complimentary beverages.
- Premium boarding.
- Priority check-in.
- Changeable for $200 plus fare difference, if any.
Premium Classic
- One personal item not exceeding 15.5 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches (40 x 30 x 15 centimeters).
- One carry-on bag not exceeding 22 x 18 x 10 inches (56 x 45 x 25 centimeters) and up to 22 pounds (10 kilograms.).
- One checked bag not exceeding 50 pounds (23 kilograms).
- Two meal services (on flights longer than six hours) and complimentary beverages.
- Premium boarding.
- Priority check-in.
- Changeable for $125 plus fare difference, if any.
Premium Flextra
- One personal item not exceeding 15.5 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches (40 x 30 x 15 centimeters).
- One carry-on bag not exceeding 22 x 18 x 10 inches (56 x 45 x 25 centimeters) and up to 22 pounds (10 kilograms).
- One checked bag not exceeding 50 pounds (23 kilograms).
- Two meal services (on flights longer than six hours) and complimentary beverages.
- Premium boarding.
- Priority check-in.
- Seat selection.
- Free changes and cancellations (for a travel credit).
Does Norse Atlantic partner with other airlines?
Because Norse Atlantic operates a rather small fleet, its route network is limited. However, the Norwegian carrier partners with several other low-cost airlines across the globe via a service that helps customers book self-connected flights, known as the Dohop connection service.
Norse Atlantic partners with the following carriers:
- Aegean Airlines.
- EasyJet.
- Norwegian.
- Pegasus Airlines.
- VietJet Air.
If you book a connecting flight operated with a Dohop connection on any airline above, your flight will be booked on one ticket, but multiple airlines will operate the segments.
In the example below for a trip from London-Gatwick to Austin, Texas, the two flight segments are flown by Norse Atlantic and Spirit Airlines, respectively.
Despite one ticket, you are still flying on multiple airlines when you book via a Dohop connection. As such, you need to have visa clearance to enter any country you transfer through, and your checked baggage will have to be collected and rechecked during your transfer.
To the good, if your flight is delayed or canceled and you miss your connection, Dohop will rebook you on another flight at no extra cost to you.
» Learn more: Which cheap European airlines are worth flying?
Is Norse a good option for budget travelers?
Norse Atlantic describes itself as a low-cost airline, but are the prices really as low as advertised? Let’s take a look at a few scenarios.
Cost of a bare-bones ticket
We began our search on the Norse website. Right off the bat, we noticed that a sale was happening, and it was possible to fly to Europe and back for as low as $362. However, it quickly became apparent that the sale price applied to select routes and dates only.
For example, the itinerary that’s priced out at $362 is for a departure in March and a return in May. Most leisure travelers can’t travel for that long and therefore opt for shorter trips.
Let’s say you want to travel from Miami, Florida, to Oslo, Norway, in the summer and for a shorter time period. Norse gives you the option to view airfare prices by list view or calendar view. The calendar view allows you to see a month at a time, which is useful when your dates are flexible.
The prices that you see upfront are Economy Light and Premium Light fares, meaning if you want to book a higher fare class like Classic or Flextra, it’ll cost you more than what you see initially.
Based on this calendar, we’ve found a round-trip Economy Light fare between Miami, Florida, and Oslo, Norway, for $475. This ticket type includes just a personal item that fits under the seat in front of you and puts you in the last boarding group.
You'll probably need to pay out-of-pocket to add on a carry-on bag at minimum, depending on your travel style.
» Learn more: Should you fly on international budget airlines?
Cost of a ticket after the add-ons
If you’d rather get all the comforts of a full-service airline, you can spice up your ticket with extras, like a carry-on or checked bag, seat selection and maybe even a meal. Let’s take a look at how these options would affect your final ticket price.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
If you want to bring a small carry-on suitcase or check a larger bag, you don’t necessarily have to purchase a higher fare class. You can select an Economy Light fare and add a bag during the booking process. For example, on the Miami-Oslo route, additional baggage exceeding a personal item will cost the following:
- $45 for a small carry-on bag (22 pounds or less).
- $60 for a light checked bag (33 pounds or less).
- $75 for a standard checked bag (34 to 49 pounds).
- $170 for a heavy checked bag (50 to 70 pounds).
The listed price is per direction, meaning you’d have to pay double for a round-trip journey.
Let’s be reasonable here and say you want to add a carry-on suitcase or backpack weighing no more than 22 pounds (10 kilograms) to your trip. This increases your total airfare cost by $90.
Picking a seat is going to cost you another $25 to $120, depending on where in the plane you pick. You also can skip seat selection if it’s not important and you can live with a random seat assigned to you.
Meals cost extra as well if you select an Economy Light fare — prepare to pay $20 to $30 for each one.
You’re then asked whether you want to pay $20 for a priority airport check-in and another $15 for priority boarding. Then you’re offered a fast-track option to get through security for $12 and access to an airport lounge in Oslo, Norway, for $38.
Let’s say you’ve chosen an Economy Light fare and added the following to it:
- $90 for a carry-on bag on both the departure and return flights.
- $70 for an aisle seat in both directions.
- $100 for two vegetarian meals in each direction (four meals total).
Your custom airfare between Miami, Florida, and Oslo, Norway, is now $735.
How its cost compares to a full-service airline
Now, let’s compare it to a similar itinerary on a full-service airline.
At the time of writing, we’ve found a trip operated by a mix of Oneworld alliance partners for about $1,100 — but it has lengthy layovers in both directions.
Given that Norse Atlantic is the only carrier that provides nonstop service on this particular route, and it is less expensive — even with all the add-ons — it ends up being the best option for saving both time and money.
Cost of a custom ticket vs. a bundle
Is a fare bundle more economical than a ticket with a la carte add ons?
For example, let’s say you’re considering the Economy Classic bundle instead of the no-frills Economy Light experience. This bundle includes a personal item, a carry-on bag, a checked bag and one meal service. Norse is selling this bundle for $655 on the aforementioned Miami-Oslo route.
In this case, the same perks would cost the following when added a la carte to an Economy Light fare:
- $90 for a carry-on bag on both the departure and return flights.
- $150 for a standard checked bag in both directions.
- $60 for two meals (one in each direction).
If you were to book an Economy Light fare for $475 and add on the items above, the round-trip ticket would cost $775. So in this case, purchasing a bundled fare saves you $120.
🤓 Nerdy Tip
Crunch the numbers before booking your airfare, especially when you’re dealing with low-cost airlines that charge a la carte for services. Is Norse Atlantic a good airline?
Generally speaking, yes. Norse Atlantic Airways reviews are mostly good, praising the carrier’s use of Boeing 787 planes, its cabin crew and seat comfort. However, it’s important to manage expectations properly and be mindful of luggage restrictions and ancillary fees.
Make sure to compare bundle prices with a la carte add-ons before purchasing, and compare costs with full-service carriers to ensure you get the best possible price for what you receive.
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