A Brief Guide To Norse Atlantic Airways’ Various Fare Types

Summary

  • Norse Atlantic Airways offers 3 types of economy fares, each with distinct benefits and restrictions.
  • Premium economy also has 3 fare types, providing extra baggage allowances, meal services, and priority boarding.
  • The carrier, established in 2022, operates a growing fleet of Boeing 787-9s and recently reported its first profit in Q3 2023.

Norwegian low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic Airways has been making waves over the last couple of years. Indeed, the airline has begun to establish itself as a viable long-haul option out of London Gatwick Airport (LGW) for travelers looking to cross the Atlantic on a budget. The carrier also offers transatlantic connections from a number of other European gateways, including Paris Charles de Gaulle Airports (CDG), Berlin Brandenberg Airport (BER), and Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO).

There are two classes of travel onboard Norse Atlantic Airways’ Boeing 787s – economy class and premium class, but there are several different options when it comes to ticket types.

Three economy fare types

Economy class passengers make up the bulk of Norse Atlantic Airways’ traffic, with its economy cabins accounting for 83% (282 of 338) of the seats onboard its twin-engine Boeing 787-9s. With the airline offering some of the lowest transatlantic fares, these are the place to be for passengers wanting to hop across the pond cheaply. In this regard, it has picked up where Norwegian left off.

However, as is often the case with low-cost carriers, there isn’t a blanket fare type covering all economy class tickets. Instead, there are three different tariffs:

  • Economy Light
  • Economy Classic
  • Economy Flextra.

The cheapest of the three is, unsurpisingly, Economy Light. Passengers traveling on such tickets may only bring an underseat bag for free, with any other baggage (including a carry-on) costing extra. This tariff also has the strictest ticket change rules, and does not have any meal included.

Norse Atlantic Economy Seats

Photo: Jake Hardiman | Simple Flying

Moving up a level, Economy Classic tickets allow passengers to additionally bring a second piece of hand luggage, as well as a checked bag weighing up to 23kgs/50lbs. Ticket change fees are lower, and a meal service is also included. Meanwhile, Economy Flextra tickets, the most expensive of Norse Atlantic Airways’ economy class offering, gets you extra baggage and a meal service, as well as priority boarding, seat selection, and no change fees apart from the fare difference.

Premium economy has a similar system

The front section of Norse Atlantic’s Boeing 787-9s features 56 premium economy recliners in a 2-3-2 configuration. These offer a generous seat pitch of 43 inches, among the best in the market. Passengers in this cabin also have three ticket types to choose from:

  • Premium Light
  • Premium Classic
  • Premium Flextra.
Norse Atlantic Airways Boeing 787-9 Premium

Photo: Pranjal Pande | Simple Flying

Let’s start with Premium Light, the cheapest of the three options. This gets you two cabin bags and meal services, as well as priority boarding and check-in. However, ticket change fees still apply to passengers choosing to travel on fares under the Premium Light, with this also ringing true for Premium Classic tickets. This middle tariff offers the same benefits as Premium Light, as well as perks such as a single piece of checked baggage up to 23kgs and lower ticket change fees.

Norse Atlantic’s most expensive tickets come under the Premium Flextra category. Much like its economy counterpart, this tariff allows passengers free seat selection and no ticket change fees apart from the difference in fare. As well as the usual premium economy perks of priority check-in and boarding and two meal services, this tariff stands out by being the only one with two checked bags included.

Is premium economy worth the upgrade?

Having assessed the various fare types available, this begs the question of whether Norse Atlantic’s premium economy cabin is worth the cost of an upgrade. Seating-wise, this part of the aircraft offers slightly larger entertainment screens than those in economy class. When it comes to seat pitch, ch-aviation.com shows that the premium economy cabin offers 43 inches, vs 31-32 in economy.

A Norse Atlantic Airways Boeing 787 Taxiing At Oslo Airport.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

When the airline first commenced operations in 2022, Simple Flying flew from London to Oslo in Norse’s economy cabin, and back in premium economy. For the return leg, the difference in (light) fare was around £28 ($35.87), with upgrades on the day being offered for $50. The extra space, at this price, was a nice perk, and worth the cost. However, such routing is no longer available, and on the carrier’s longer US-bound flights, the fare difference can be hundreds of dollars, and thus may require more consideration.

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Two years in the books

Norse Atlantic Airways recently reached a key milestone – its two-year anniversary. The carrier commenced operations in June 2022, and despite some initial challenges such as low winter load factors, the airline seems to have come into its own, and in Q3 2023 reported its first profit.

Norse Atlantic Boeing 787

Photo: Jake Hardiman | Simple Flying

The latest data from ch-aviation shows that Norse Atlantic Airways today has a fleet of 12 Boeing 787-9s, five of which are operated by its UK-registered subsidiary, Norse Atlantic UK. The carrier’s largest base is at London Gatwick Airport (LGW), from where it plans to launch flights to both Las Vegas (LAS) and Cape Town (CPT) later this year, bringing its total number of routes from the UK’s second-largest airport to six:

Norse Atlantic routes from LGW

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What do you make of Norse Atlantic Airways’ various fare types? Did you fly with the carrier in its first two years of operations? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below.

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