Fly to Oslo on a Boeing 787 with Norse Atlantic from £65 return – or £149 in Premium

On Saturday we looked at the launch of Norse Atlantic Airways in the UK. Tickets are now on sale for flights from London Gatwick to New York JFK from 12th August.

What I didn’t spot at the time is that Norse isn’t, at least initially, opening a base at London Gatwick.

The aircraft will route Oslo – Gatwick – New York – Gatwick – Oslo. And, yes, you can buy Gatwick to Oslo on its own, flying a Boeing 787.

Here is some typical pricing for August:

• One-way Economy Gatwick to Oslo: £40

• Return Economy Gatwick to Oslo: £65

• One-way Premium Economy Gatwick to Oslo: £88

• Return Premium Economy Gatwick to Oslo: £149

The Economy fares quoted above do not include checked luggage. You are allowed a small underseat bag – possibly enough for a night – but you’ll pay roughly £16 extra each way for Economy Classic which allows a full-size carry-on bag and a hold bag.

The website also says that you’ll get a free meal in Economy with Economy Classic but this could be a mistake – the website seems to be copying the wording from the long-haul ticket rules.

Don’t worry about not getting free seat selection. This is a Boeing 787 and I doubt that Economy will be more than a quarter full.

Premium Economy, above, is the sweet spot. The £88 one-way / £149 return fare quoted above gets you a full-size carry-on bag, priority boarding, priority check-in and (don’t bet on this) ‘two meal services’. Again, it’s another £16 each way to buy a ticket with a checked case included.

(When you try to pay, you are told “Pre-order meals are unavailable on this flight. Food and drinks can be purchased onboard” which implies that the promise of ‘two meal services’ is definitely an error.)

One way or return?

One thing to note is the flight times.

The flight TO Oslo is OK for a short break. You leave Gatwick at 11am and land at 2.20pm.

The return flight to London, however, departs at 9.35am. It lands in Gatwick at 10.50am. I’d be tempted to take the late afternoon British Airways flight instead and have another eight hours to sightsee, even if it does mean British Airways legroom …..

Other things to consider

Remember that the new National Museum has just opened in Oslo, if you’re looking for an excuse to go this Summer.

One downside is the almost total absence of IHG, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt hotels from the city. Radisson has a huge number of hotels, however. If prices look high there is always the good value option of transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to Radisson Rewards at 1:3.

American Express Platinum cardholders will also have Radisson Rewards Gold status – the benefits of Radisson Gold are here. You don’t get free breakfast unfortunately.

I haven’t been to Oslo for over 20 years, so this deal has spiked my interest. You may see me on one of these services in late August ….