What do you really get when paying as little as $110 for a one-way flight across the pond. And is it worth the savings?
That's the question I set out to answer on a recent Norse Atlantic Airways flight from Europe back to the states. Norse Atlantic is one of the newer budget airlines flying across the Atlantic to destinations like Norway and England, offering dirt-cheap fares in exchange for few (if any) bells and whistles.
While the Norse Atlantic flying experience might feel bare bones compared to flying full-service carriers like American, Delta, or United, there's an upside. The airline has a fleet of new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with seats just as comfortable and spacious as you'll find on most other, full-service airlines. Plus, those insanely low fares are impossible to beat.
Here's a look at what it's like flying Norse Atlantic economy from my flight on one of its many routes, from London-Gatwick (LGW) back to New York City (JFK). What I found was a cheap fare and a surprisingly comfortable (though lean on amenities) transatlantic experience.
Related Reading: A Full Review of Norse Premium Economy on the Boeing 787-9, JFK to London
Introducing Norse Atlantic Airways
Goodbye, Norwegian Air. Hello, Norse Atlantic.
That's essentially what's happened here. Before the pandemic, Norwegian Air had become one of the best-known ultra-low-cost carriers connecting the U.S. and Europe. But much as other budget carriers like WOW Air and Primera Air faltered and closed up shop, Norwegian eventually decided to scrap all its long-haul flights.
Some of the executives behind that airline quickly launched Norse Atlantic to swoop in and take its place, launching cheap transatlantic service to Oslo (OSL) from New York. Over time, the airline added more service to and from more cities like Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO), Las Vegas (LAS) and Los Angeles (LAX) and Berlin (BER), London-Gatwick (LGW), Rome (FCO), Paris (CDG), and Athens (ATH) followed in subsequent years.
On each of its routes, Norse operates a fleet of relatively new Boeing 787 Dreamliners – though the airline calls them “Longships.” Everything inside the plane reflects that. The planes are clean, bright, spacious, and (generally) sparkling new.
The 787 Cabin
The 787s are simple but lovely inside, even way in the back of the plane.
On my flight, the back of the plane was relatively full. But as you moved toward the front of the plane, the cabin got more and more sparse thanks to heftier seat selection fees.
The economy cabin, despite being a drab gray, was almost identical to any economy cabin on a mainline carrier. It's configured in a 3-3-3 fashion.
Each seat is about 17 inches wide, which is on par with other airlines – big and small – that fly the 787 Dreamliner.
Almost every seat has 32 inches of legroom – though you can secure a special, extra legroom seat for up to $100 more. I thought the legroom was wholly adequate. Not good, not bad, but nothing special: a very typical economy seat.
Fortunately, every single seat in Norse's fleet has an individual seatback screen. There's no moving map or navigation system that you'll find on other airlines, but the entertainment system itself is stocked with hundreds of movies and TV show titles, including many U.S. favorites to keep you entertained.
Below each screen, there was a headphone jack as well as a USB port to help keep your devices charged. Two universal plug-ins are also available in each three-seat section for passengers to share – a rarity for budget airlines. The power worked most of the time, though there were a few hours with reduced or no power.
The tray table is small but standard fold down surface with a cupholder.
Each seat features an adjustable headrest that can be raised or lowered, along with two small wings on either side that can be flipped in or out.
Norse Atlantic Premium seats at the very front of the plane are a significant upgrade from the economy cabin. It's far from a full-blown business class seat but akin to Premium Economy offerings on other airlines.
Read our full review of Norse Atlantic Premium seats!
All the Extras (Or Lack Thereof)
Norse Atlantic lures travelers with a cheap fare that gets you a seat with room for a backpack underneath … and that's it.
From additional bags to meals and drinks, there are plenty of extras available – you'll just have to pay for them. For example, here's an upcoming flight from New York to London-Gatwick with several different packages available.
On my journey home in economy, I booked the Economy Classic fare – another $90 above the cheapest, Economy Light fare – so I could store my carry-on bag. I could have also brought a checked bag, but had no need. The Economy Classic fare also included one meal service at the beginning of the flight.
The meal was uninspired, but plenty substantive. The chicken curry dish tasted better than it looked … but it was, frankly, not a good meal.
If I were to do it again, I'd just purchase the Economy Light fare, add a carry-on bag for $35, and purchase one of the light meals onboard or bring my own food.
Norse Atlantic is, at its core, an ultra-low-cost carrier and that means nothing comes free onboard. In the onboard menu are a comfort kit, earbuds, or a blanket – all available at a cost.
Beyond the warm meal included in my fare, additional food and drinks were available onboard. Again, they'll all cost you – unless you're flying in the Premium cabin, which comes with two complimentary drinks.
There's a modest selection of spirits, mixers, wine and beer on board.
There are also light meals and snacks available for purchase at fairly cheap rates.
There are also soft drink options and extra coffee and tea for purchase.
The food and drink aren't what make Norse a good option for your travels, but there are adequate options for the budget-conscious traveler who gets hungry or thirsty. The onboard purchasing process was very smooth. A simple tap transaction with a credit card and a printed receipt took all of 10 seconds for me to get a sparkling wine during my ride.
Seats & Baggage Will Cost You (A Lot)
Here's where you really need to pay attention if you're booking Norse Atlantic flights this year or next. While $144 one-way flights to Europe is a crazy value, what are you getting with that price?
If you choose the Classic or Plus economy fares, you'll get bags included, for instance. But if you choose a light fare, watch out for these additional baggage fees!
Paying $70 for a checked bag and $35 for a carry-on is no walk in the park. So do some napkin math before you book that Economy Light fare with bags in tow. Of course, seat selection will also cost you on Norse, with seats starting around $20 for a middle seat at the back to as much as $100 a pop!
Luckily, the seat selection is also pretty slick and easy on Norse Atlantic. It shows you rows from the $60 middle section of the plane all the way to the $20 seats in the very back of the bus.
For my flight, I booked row 28, just behind the second section of extra-legroom seats going for $100. I booked an aisle seat for $35, while someone grabbed the seat in the middle for $28. Almost the entire section was full except for the $100 seats that went out empty.
How to Book Norse Atlantic
Ultra-cheap fares to Europe just got even easier to find.
After initially only being available directly through the FlyNorse.com site, the airline now loads all its fares into Google Flights. That means you can search for Norse fares alongside nearly every other airline before you book.
After finding the dates and fares you want on Google Flights, click the “Book with Norse Atlantic” fare. Note that the price of your flight will go up during the course of booking because of baggage and seat selection fees.
Once you put in some dates and your desired cities, you can look at the lowest available fares for each date in each cabin. As of last year, you can also do a full-month calendar search to find the cheapest dates, too.
After choosing your fare class, you'll be prompted to go through a baggage selection page, a seat selection page, and then an extras page. Depending on the fare class you choose, all of these extras could cost you much more. Seat selection starts at $20 one-way, for instance.
Within seconds of booking, I received a confirmation email with everything I need. Managing your reservation was similarly clean and easy. I changed my assigned seat a few times to move to less-crowded parts of the cabin or move toward the front of the plane. Each time, it was painless.
Bottom Line
Norse Atlantic Airlines offers some of the cheapest airfare flying across the Atlantic and the onboard experience is nice enough … for what you're paying.
You won't find many cheaper fares to or from Europe than the $129 (or less) Norse Atlantic economy tickets. If you're OK with skipping amenities and do the math with additional bag and seat fees, it can be a fantastic deal.
WORST AIRLINE IN THE WORLD
No phone number on website
No phone number exists
No online check in etc etc
Had a flight from Rome – September 29, 2023 – Flight N0401, we sat on the tarmac for 3 hours because the AC broke. It was so hot in there people were fainting!!!! They deplaned us finally. After a total of SIX HOURS they took off without notifications to passengers. No texts no emails NOTHING! I waited in the Rome airport until the next day for someone to man the counter – the clerks said they could do NOTHING. No rebooking, no assistance NOTHING. And NO PHONE NUMBER to call.
I finally made it back home on United. I contacted Norse immediately with all of the emails I could find. After a MONTH, I got one response “can we help you dear”. Their flight regulations clearly state ANY DELAY beyond 5 hours they will compensate passengers 600€
Regulation # 261204
Referring to Article 7 – Right to Compensation
Obviously it is all a LIE!!!
It was so clear on Flightaware of the delay – even though THEY DIDNT EVEN FILE THE FLIGHT PLAN until people were FAINTING on the hot plane. So the flight plan stated a later time than the actual departure.
HORRIFIC CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!! Will never ever use them again!!!
I still have $0 back!!
First of all, the review of Norse was excellent! I have 32 years of experience flying from the U.S. to Europe so I am familiar with KLM, Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, Condor, Delta Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Air France and the Italian airline whose name I cannot spell.
I have flown with Norse Atlantic Airways non-stop from JFK Airport in New York City to BER Airport in Berlin, Germany two times. Once in November 2022 around Thanksgiving and again in March 2023. Both times I purchased Premium seats. I sleep on the flights so I cannot speak to the food offered or entertainment available in the premium cabin.
After reading some of the reviews I am shocked by the horror stories because I only saw spanking new, clean planes, and cheerful flight attendants. My biggest issue with Norse is Norse not having customer service reachable by phone. Even if you go to the airport to speak to staff they only show up to check passengers in at the counters maybe an hour before they have to without making you miss your flight.
I have contacted customer with email and I am pretty sure that a human being was responding. If you realize the time zone of the employees, all depending on where you are emailing from, the customer service agents answer pretty quickly or within 24 hours. Let’s just assume that they’re working in Scandinavia somewhere and give them some grace. Not every worker in the world works without breaks or sleeping like Americans do. Norse’s call center is clearly not a 24/7 operation!
I plan on flying with Norse again soon so I am going to cross my fingers that my upcoming travels will be as smooth and as stress-free as the previous two flights were! And hopefully someone from Norse is reading our comments and will make improvements. After all, a good review online means more profits for their stakeholders!
I wish you would have covered that NORSE has zero customer support.If they cancel a flight you can only communicate with them through social media or email, which they don’t answer. Furthermore, they won’t refund the cost of your ticket even when it’s violating the terms of the contract.
Do they have customer service number for UK customers?
This is one of the most well written and formatted reviews I have ever seen. Excellent job! Thank you
Thanks very much for the detailed description, most appreciated!
I have had the experience to fly by the Noris Atlantic from JFK TO CDG PARIS. I frankly speaking folks, these people are simply ROBBERS. On JFK they charged me a cabin trolley as carry on luggage for 85$. That trolley I traveled many times as cabin luggage wit DELTA and JETBLUE airways. I will never buy a ticket from them. You Be aware too!!
I agree and had the same experience.
Flew from Oslo to Ft. Lauderdale. 5 checkin personnel talked and drank coffees for @20 minutes while a huge line of passengers that had arrived early as requested stood in que. My wife and I each had 40 liter soft packs with clothes in them. When we got to an agent she asked to see our packs, she then asked to weigh them. We were both well underweight. She then asked us to put them in their sizing container. Because the clothes had settled to the bottom it required a little push but they fell well within the size limit. She told us we would have to pay not because they didn’t fit, but because they required a little push. So I said let me readjust the contents to which she said go to the back of the line if you attempt. I said when I push them under the seat they will fit just like the container. She said you must have room for your feet. I said we have been flying all over Europe for three months my feet were fine. She said pay or go to the back of the line.
Don’t be fooled by their discount airline position. You will be bilked, bullied and gouged. You are better off paying more to another airline and get old customer service and a much less stressful experience.
Does anyone know if they check the size of your personal item? I had checked the personal item size when I purchased the ticket and it was standard but it looks like they just changed it to much smaller. Usually I travel with a backpack that fits just right under the seat and I planned on using that but I’m a little concerned I’ll be forced to pay for a carry-on. Anyone know?
Thanks.
Worst Airline and complete Rip-Off Company
Worst airline and most horrific and awful travel experience ever, warning to all the passengers before buying their tickets your experience could turnout to be like ours.Pay a little more but travel with more reputable airline than this low cost junk of an airline whose sole purpose is to rip people off by denying them boarding so they buy tickets again. As there is no help there not even an office or customer service number you can contact only way to contact them is email which they respond after 24 to 48 hours we found that out the hard way.Agents working the flights are rude and show total disregard for your problem and would not help at all.Imagine a family of 6 people with 4 kids 2 of them young stranded in a foreign country with travel agents blaming you for every thing
We travel a lot domestically and international usually twice a year for at least lsat 6-7 years Never before we had such a horrible experience like this,They are a big rip off company, denied us boarding resulting in a loss of 7000 dollars for us as we had to buy 6 tickets for the whole family as they did not let us board told us now you have to call your travel agent and book an entirely new flight while we were there 20 minutes before the departure time?and plane stayed there for 40 minutes in front of our eyes.
we were at the airport 3 hours before the flight departure checked in 2 hours before the departure, as line was long and they were very slow in processing the check in, Only reason we got delayed was because the security/immigration control line at the gate was huge and took us over an hour to get through that. Airline agents knew that but seems like deliberately sold our seats to other passengers and denied us boarding even though flight departed delayed and we saw the plane standing in front of eyes for 40 minutes before the plan finally left the gate.The airline agents have a total lack of any compassion or empathy,blamed us instead of showing any regards to help the passengers in need.they gave us no explanation except the statement that gate is closed 30 minutes prior to departure time.The worst thing was the total lack of any support or help and they were rude and indifferent and when i asked what we are supposed to do now, they called the security on us.They charge you for everything there, i wished they charged separately for customer service also so at least passengers should get some service for all the expenses we are paying.NEVER again I will travel with this airline as after a great visit in the beautiful Norway our whole trip was ruined due to their selfishness,rudeness and bad customer service.
We were there on time but my daughter was behind me making sure her daughter girl on a different plane due to she has came with the school and they had already left and she stay longer with us. My daughter has a bad heart problems she’ll be going in for surgery but to make sure she didn’t miss the flight she was running to get to Gaye 23 out of UK any way I text her told her in 5 minutes they will start boarding to get over here. They stopped her wouldn’t let her through we hadn’t even started boarding and they told her to buy another ticket and to contact them through email no phone to talk to anyone. She got left she had time to get to the plane. I believe this was a money thing. But regardless we want the money back for the flight that they stopped her from going on. On top of that kids were playing in the isles and screaming the parents weren’t taken care of there children nor were the cabin help. Also they never came around to ask you if you wanted anything to drink.
I agree wholeheartedly!
The airline doesn’t seem to list any flights from JFK to Oslo later in the fall 2023…are these just not loaded yet or are schedule changes in process?
Thanks for the detailed description of this low cost airline.
I just flew Norse Air yesterday from Gatwick to Dulles. I was excited about flying their 787 but I was disappointed with interior. I am not sure how old their 787s but the one I flew yesterday looked pretty old on the inside. Their fully gray leather seats look old and dull. The display screens, and trays also dont look new. You get the feel that the plane is 10 to 15 years old.
The meal was a 3 out of 10. The onboard movies and tv shows look boring and many of them are old. No navigation that shows the plane on the map. Nothing like what you get when traveling other European Airlines.
In conclusion flying on a 787 is great and gives you a comfortable flying experience but the interior and service available with Norse is acceptable considering how much I paid for this ticket. I would still recommend it to anyone who wants fly on a budget and save a few hundred dollars on their ticket.
A little bit like Spirit. No TSA precheck available for Norse yet, so check in line was very long at FLL and moderately long at OSL.
Please be aware that they surprisingly charge you for a child car seat if older than age 2. We have a 30 lb 4 year old child. First airline I have ever heard of doing so. This was not so clear on the website. Cost us $125.00 at the counter (Surprise!). We could have bought another car seat for that price.
Also, we purchased meals in advance, but they couldn’t find record of it and gave us a little hard time about it.
Other than that, was an ok experience. Would probably fly with them again.
Terrible experience with Norse & Dohop Connection, a scam that Norse pushes on their website. Neither company has customer service. I booked a flight for myself and my daughter to Oslo on Norse, and, also on the Norse website, a connection on Norwegian to Copenhagen. We were visiting family we hadn’t seen in 4 years because of Covid and the cost of flights. After paying all the extras (seats, meals, luggage, etc) I’m not sure we saved much. Worst was Norse’s website doesn’t warn that you need at least 5 hours to make a connection. BECAUSE – and they don’t tell you this – when you get to Oslo, you have to go thru customs, pick up your baggage, then re-check yourself into the connecting airline and go through security again. I allowed 3 hours, and so we missed our Norwegian flight. The $219 Dohop policy was useless; tho Dohop says they’ll rebook you if delays cause you to miss your connection, Dohop simply – didn’t. When I called Dohop’s English-only help line begging them to rebook me, I got the same woman (who spoke terrible English) TWICE, who scolded me for calling back and said I was preventing the company from reaching Norwegian. As if Dohop only has one employee. Finally got an email saying Dohop couldn’t rebook our tickets. I had to rebook and pay for new Norwegian tickets myself. Been emailing Dohop for weeks asking for reimbursement, and getting a runaround from what seems to be a chatbot using Google Translate. I think Dohop is a scam, a fake company selling a service they don’t intend to ever provide. Shame on Norse for pushing Dohop on their website. Shame on Norse for not giving people information they need to make connecting flights that Norse is selling on their website. Between the useless Dohop policy and the new Norwegian tickets, I’m out almost $1000. I’ll never use this airline again.
Update – happy to report that, after over a month, more than 60 emails, plus phone calls and text messages, Dohop finally refunded the money I spent on additional flights after missing our connection in Oslo and finding out that Dohop Connection insurance wasn’t what I thought it was. I think they did so because I posted complaints here and elsewhere; a Dohop rep responded to a complaint on Trustpilot, and a manager contacted me right after that. But it was a lot of work and a pain. Lots of lessons learned! One is that Norse Atlantic is a good deal for direct flights to Europe, but beware booking connecting flights on their site!
Good review but does not mention the lack of adequate customer service should something go wrong. No phone number. Only email address, with automated response in my experience.
I had a good experience with customer support. I emailed the customer support email address with a question about changing the dates of my flight. They replied minutes later. I had a follow up question to the agent, and the same agent replied to that (also within minutes).
Can anyone comment on self transfer. Looking at NY to Gatwick, switch to easyjet for a final destination of Amsterdam. Will changing from Norse to easyjet in Gatwick cause problems with the connection? In other words, would I need to leave terminals/security and go through customs to then check right back in?
Yes, you need to go thru passport – and then leave and get to the departure area. i did that yeterday – airmalta to Gatwick – Norse to NY i missed my connection to Norse, because they close the checkin/boarding pass counter 1 hour before take of. I arrived 50 minutes before my Norse flight took off and they refused me a boading pass. Loss the $$ for that flight and spent 1400 USD to book another one home
How long before take off did your previous flight arrive? I didn’t realize what a hassle most people have had when checking in and i’m getting nervous now, I have a flight from Milan > Gatwick at 8:10AM but my Norse flight leaves at 10:35AM, do you think I’ll make it through in time?
Does Norse seat has standard recliner seat? Or it doesn’t recline at all.
Do you know the size of the plane from LAX to London? I am not the best flyer and prefer a solid, big plane LOL. Do you recommend premium over regular for comfort, or should we just upgrade to the $100 seats?
This may not be relevant to you anymore, but I’m putting this here for anyone else who may be curious. Norse only flies the Boeing 787, which is modern and most definitely a “solid, big plane”. Happy flying!
I was not able to find travelers insurance on the Norse website when booking a flight. Do they offer this?
TY! Perfect review!! Thorough, yet, concise and covered all the points I care about. Will follow for more reviews!
I’ve just tried to book a flight from London to New York with this airline, but my payment was declined several times even though I had enough balance. I tried with my Visa debit as it is my only payment card I have, from different devices, nothing worked. Do I really need to have a credit card to buy a ticket? I’ve never encountered this issue before, as I’ve been only travelling with Ryanair till this day.
I loved your review. Thank you! I think we can make a family event in Madison after all.
Thank you for this detailed review!
Quick question, if I opt to not pay for seats, do they just assign me one at the gate?
Yes. When I was checking flights from my city, it warned that if I didn’t select a seat, one would be assigned at checkin and it might be a middle seat :D.
Thank you for a great review. I’d never heard of them until today, but heading to Google flights to see what I can come up with for our upcoming transatlantic cruise. Airfares back to the US on Expedia are more than what we paid for the ship 🙁
Thank you for this well put together info. Very informative. I had already looked at their website and your article cleared up any questions or concerns that I had.
Does Norse Airlines make Active Duty military pay for seats and luggage as well?
Sadly, it does not appear there are any exceptions for active duty military personnel on Norse Atlantic, as they are not a U.S.-based airline.
Are they in the Norwegian army?
Thank you for a great detailed review, we are flying in March from Fort Lauderdale to Berlin, but up until now, I am not able to book a return flight with Norse? Airline was not able to provide me with the release of their “Summer schedule” (starting in April 2023)?
Any reason that an Airline would not have any Schedule in January for April, 2023?
Excellent review! I was sceptical about this new carrier as I had never heard of it but after reading your review I’m going to book one, which will save me a goog 40% over the other regular carriers
Thanks for the review. This is the only airline that flies from LAX to Oslo nonstop so I was a bit concerned. Hopefully the growing pains will work out by the time I have to fly.
I only wish Norse offered inflight WiFi service.
Thank you for the review it is appreciated.
This was such a detailed and helpful review!!! Thank you
If you add the cost of seats, suitcase, meal and blanket you pay the same as flying British Airways with comfortable seats and lovely flight attendants for a round trip JFK-LGA. I am not making the same mistake and flying BA for next my trip, already booked it
BA is nearly 3x the cost of these tickets. You could buy 5 meals, 8 blankets and still pay less with Norse. Also, I’ve been flying BA my entire life, for the past decade I would not have used lovely to describe BA FA’s…
I agree BA are an embarrassment. I’m English and will never fly with them again. So outdated and out of touch.
Thanks for this. Helpful.
These are not the same price as BA.We just traveled from Orlando to Gatwick and it was just under $2.000 for the 2 of us.As for comfortable seats,l don’t know where you get that,they are all uncomfortable unless you’re in first or business.
I am 4 feet 10 inches, sat in the middle seat and barely fit!! No possible physical way a 6 foot person fits in the center section unless they are front row. We upgraded for the return flight and it was well worth it!!
Be prepared for a two to three hour check-in and barely making your flight. After hours in line they will yell out flights that are about to leave and then shuffle you to the front. Everyone for every flight was in a complete panic. Reading other reviews this is how they operate every day. It must suck to work for them. No online or kiosk check-in. Everyone must wait in line to get a ticket. It sucked. Felt like flying in the 90s. Or maybe post 9/11. The worst.
That’s nonsense. I compared equivalent flights with BA and, even subsidising my flights with 33k Avios, the BA cost was twice as much. I’m saving my points for ‘free’ European flights
Excellent review
Thanks for a great job !
Thank you for clarifying what to expect on our long flight from LA to Oslo. The upside is the plane itself. Those new planes are so well designed that when we flew from LA to Paris it was no more fatiguing than a 5 hour flight on a regular airbus.