Norwegian has been shaking up the transatlantic market with low fares, which is great for consumers, regardless of whether or not you actually fly Norwegian (since other airlines are forced to compete).
Today Norwegian announced that they’ll be adding flights from London Gatwick to both Denver and Seattle as of later this year. The details of the flights are as follows:
London Gatwick to Denver as of September 16, 2017
The London to Denver flight will be operated 2x weekly (Tuesdays and Saturdays) with the following schedule:
DY7171 London Gatwick to Denver departing 9:50AM arriving 12:40PM
DY7172 Denver to London Gatwick departing 2:40PM arriving 6:40AM (+1 day)
The flight will be operated by a Boeing 787-9, featuring 35 premium economy seats, and 309 economy seats.
Norwegian 787 economy, from Daniel’s review
London Gatwick to Seattle as of September 17, 2017
The London to Seattle flight will be operated 4x weekly (Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) with the following schedule:
DY7131 London Gatwick to Seattle departing 9:50AM arriving 11:45AM
DY7132 Seattle to London Gatwick departing 1:45PM arriving 7:05AM (+1 day)
The flight will be operated by a Boeing 787-9, featuring 35 premium economy seats, and 309 economy seats.
Norwegian 787 premium economy, from Daniel’s review
Low introductory fares
Norwegian is known for their low fares, and these new routes are no exception. Fares on the new routes start at just $199 one-way, though that’s based on a roundtrip purchase, and the return will be a bit more expensive.
You can find all the promo fares surrounding the new route on this page. For example, roundtrip fares start at just $480 all-in.
That’s a good deal for sure, though keep in mind that Norwegian charges fees for just about everything, including seat assignments, blankets, food, etc. And it’s not cheap. On a longhaul flight, pre-reserving a meal costs $45 each way.
So while these fares are cheap, even the legacy airlines have pretty cheap transatlantic flights nowadays, so you’ll want to compare the all-in costs.
Bottom line
I’m always thrilled to see Norwegian’s transatlantic expansion, as it’s shaking up the industry. It’s causing airlines to compete with them directly by adding new routes, as British Airways has done with new routes from London Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale and Oakland.
But beyond that, it’s causing other airlines to drop their fares to compete. Soon Norwegian will be launching transatlantic 737 service from the East Coast, which will really shake things up.
@Chim, United has declared that Denver is their most profitable hub, mainly because it is so cheap to connect domestic passengers. United has very little longhaul international service out of Denver to begin with. The high altitude(And operational issues that come with it during the summer), smaller O&D traffic, and lesser cargo demand make it hard to justify TATL flights, especially since most connecting customers can easily connect through another UA hub with a strong...
@Chim, United has declared that Denver is their most profitable hub, mainly because it is so cheap to connect domestic passengers. United has very little longhaul international service out of Denver to begin with. The high altitude(And operational issues that come with it during the summer), smaller O&D traffic, and lesser cargo demand make it hard to justify TATL flights, especially since most connecting customers can easily connect through another UA hub with a strong TATL network. Consider that as far as European carriers, we only have LH and BA (And Norwegian coming in September). SLC can support the service since Delta really doesn't have a strong connecting hub other than SLC to cover the mountain and pacific timezones (Seattle is growing, but still relatively small). United Has SFO.
Does BA still have that $450 fuel surcharge on flights out of the US?
Best thing about Norwegian is that the one way cost isn't astronomical like it is with the traditional carriers. Good for us who don't earn enough miles for return transatlantic flights. Norwegian one way, cheap redemption the other way.
Hopefully this gives us Denverites some price relief, the BA flight is usually outrageous. Curious if anyone knows why UA doesn't have a single TATL out of DEN?
Thank you Norwegian for completing screwing me over, ruining my flight home from Dubrovnik, cutting my upcoming vacation short, and causing me to incur a few extra hundred dollars of charges (for additional accommodations for long ass layover you rebooked me for). You're the worst.
Four daily flights from Seattle to London? They are going to destroy the market! I am going to miss seeing my BA 744 as lack of demand inevitably gets them off the route :(
The 2nd cabin photo is premium economy, not economy.
@ niko jas -- Whoops, fixed, thank you!
UA really needs a TATL flight from Denver.
@James. Even if you don't fly Norwegian, the competition should lower the price of your AA ticket.
This launch worked out perfectly for me. Take the Inaugural from Denver, and then fly back to the states on the TAP J deal.
I find after a certain amount of time for Norwegian from Europe to the US. After the crazy sale to kick off a route, Norwegian normally come out only a tiny bit less than say BA/AA.
And for that reason I stick with BA/AA over the water so to keep my status and earn FF miles.
But I guess if you don't travel very often these are great deals.