Norse Atlantic launches flights from London Gatwick to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale

Six months after launching regular flights from Gatwick to New York, low-cost transatlantic airline Norse Atlantic is kicking off two more destinations for the summer holidays.

The new services are both to Florida and pick up routes that were previously popular on Norwegian: Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. (Fort Lauderdale was so popular that British Airways temporarily operated flights to the airport in an attempt to try and spoil Norwegian’s margins.)

Norse already flies from Oslo to Fort Lauderdale and seasonally to Orlando, so these two routes do not come as a surprise. Tickets for both flights start at £409 return in economy – not exactly a slam dunk.

London Gatwick to Orlando

Flights to Orlando will launch first, on 25th May. Norse will initially operate four weekly services in May and June (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday) before going daily for the rest of the summer season:

• Z0783 departs Gatwick at 2pm and arrives in Orlando at 6:25pm
• Z0784 departs Orlando at 9:05pm and arrives in Gatwick at 10:40am the following morning

London Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale Airport is the Gatwick or Stansted of the greater Miami area and it takes about an hour to drive down to Miami, traffic permitting.

Norse Atlantic will launch flights to Fort Lauderdale on 26th May. Flights will initially operate three times a week in May and June (Monday, Friday, Sunday), increasing to four-weekly with the addition of a Wednesday service for the remainder of the summer:

• Z0721 departs Gatwick at 2pm and arrives in Orlando at 6:35pm
• Z0722 departs Orlando at 8:55pm and arrives in Gatwick at 10:40am the following morning

Look out for further Norse Atlantic route announcements

It appears that Orlando and Fort Lauderdale are just the start of Norse’s expanded Gatwick schedule. According to a statement from Norse Atlantic CEO Bjorn Tore Larsen,

“In addition to our current daily New York flights we will also be releasing for sale further destinations between London and the US by the end of February. As a result, our UK based airline, Norse Atlantic UK, will serve more destinations to the US from London Gatwick than any other carrier this summer.“

To become the largest US operator from Gatwick, Norse Atlantic will have to top British Airways which currently operates to four destinations – New York, Orlando, Tampa and Las Vegas.

Flights to Los Angeles would be the obvious next step, as Norse already served the city from both Oslo and Berlin in 2022. This is more fleet intensive, of course, given the extended flying time compared to the east coast.

What is it like flying Norse Atlantic?

You can read our review of flying Premium on Norse Atlantic from Gatwick to New York here.

You can also see how Norse Atlantic’s premium economy compares to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic here.

The good news is that Norse flies a fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Boeing’s newest long haul aircraft. This means bigger, electronically dimming windows and a lower cabin altitude, which reduces the effects of jetlag.

In Premium, you can expect a small cabin of 56 seats in a 2-3-2 layout. Norse Atlantic has the largest leg room of any UK carrier, with a seat pitch of 43″ and a deep recline of 12″. Based purely on leg room and seat space, Norse Atlantic in Premium is head and shoulders above British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

The economy experience is tighter, with rows of nine-abreast seating. If you book the cheapest fares, you’ll only get one small underseat bag included in your fare, with additional options available for a fee. Norse also offers two fares – Economy Classic and Economy Plus – which bundle benefits such as seat selection, a meal service and a checked bag.

The bottom line is that Norse Atlantic is a low cost carrier, so you should expect to pay more for any extras you may want or need. Think of it as a longhaul Ryanair flight.

Conclusion

It’s good to see Norse Atlantic grow at Gatwick Airport and provide competition to British Airways.

At least for now, the pricing on these new flights is a little toppy. £409, return, for an economy ticket with only a small bag included isn’t exactly a bargain, although a quick search suggests that this is still cheaper than the legacy airlines.

You can book on the Norse Atlantic website here.

PS. The flight numbers are ‘Z0’ instead of ‘N0’ because these flights are due to be operated by Norse’s new UK subsidiary, subject to approvals. This means that the aircraft will not need to start their day in Oslo and can be permanently based here.