Press release -
Norwegian flies three million low-cost long-haul passengers in three years
- Over 90% load factors on transatlantic flights as Norwegian gets ready to launch its latest low-cost route from London to Las Vegas
Norwegian has now flown three million low-cost long-haul passengers between Europe and the U.S. since low-cost transatlantic services began in 2013.
Norwegian first launched low-cost flights from Scandinavia to the U.S. in May 2013, followed by services from London to the US beginning in July 2014. Today, the airline offers 37 nonstop routes between Europe and the U.S. with a steady load factor of 90 per cent or more – in August this year, Norwegian’s long-haul flights achieved a 96 per cent load factor.
The low-cost long-haul model has proved particularly popular in the UK where Norwegian remains the only airline offering British passengers direct, low-cost flights to America – next month, Las Vegas becomes the 8th U.S. destination served from London Gatwick, with flights from £179 one way.
Along with low-cost flights to the U.S, Norwegian has also obtained a UK Operating License, allowing the airline to access to key bilateral traffic rights to other markets. With the UK license, Norwegian has the long-term ambition of establishing a seamless global operation, using the same aircraft on both U.S. and other long-haul routes to potential new markets such as Asia, Africa and South America.
Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos said: “Three million passengers in three years shows the huge demand for affordable long-haul travel.Our low-cost long-haul flights are now the driving force behind Norwegian’s growth but this is only the beginning. We will continue to offer passengers affordable transatlantic flights, with new routes and increased flights from the UK, but in the future we also have ambitious plans to spread our long-haul wings into other global destinations.”
Norwegian uses state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its transatlantic flights and the airline has additional Dreamliner aircraft on order that will more than quadruple its current long-haul fleet. Last year, Norwegian was named the most fuel-efficient airline on transatlantic routes by the International Council on Clean Transportation.
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Norwegian in the UK:
- Norwegian first launched UK flights in 2003 and now operates from London Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester Airports to more than 50 destinations worldwide
- Norwegian is the third largest airline at London Gatwick, with 3.9 million yearly passengers, and with more than 700 pilots, cabin crew and staff working from its Gatwick base
- In 2014, Norwegian introduced the UK’s first low-cost, long haul flights to the U.S. - the airline now flies to 8 U.S destinations with fares from just £135 one way
- Norwegian is the only airline to offer free inflight WiFi on UK flights to European destinations
- The airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world with an average age of 3.6 years, including next-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Boeing 737-800s
- Norwegian has been voted ‘Europe’s best low-cost carrier’ by passengers for four consecutive years at SkyTrax World Airline Awards from 2013-2016, along with being awarded the ‘World's best low-cost long-haul airline’ in both 2015 and 2016
