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

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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.

Norse Atlantic launches flights from Gatwick to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale

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

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.

Norse Atlantic 787 Premium seat

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.

Category

General

Comments (30)

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  • @mkcol says:
    16 Feb16 February 07:20

    Just hop on the Brightline train from Fort Lauderdale to Miami, quick & easily done. Saves the drive.

    • Andrew. says:
      16 Feb16 February 09:10

      Sadly despite the Brightline tracks passing directly alongside the airport (and under the runway), they haven’t built a station serving FLL Airport (or cruise terminal). It’s a taxi or bus to downtown then pick up the Brightline service.

      It’s going to be a real game changer for FL visits when the station at Orlando International Airport opens later this year though.

    • Tankmc says:
      16 Feb16 February 10:41

      Also, brightline is just as expensive as a Uber when you add bags! The fact they make you pay for and check in luggage is annoying!

  • Neil says:
    16 Feb16 February 07:32

    Lower cabin altitude on the 787? How far below the rest of the plane does the cabin fly? 🤣

    • Stu_N says:
      16 Feb16 February 08:25

      The 787 is pressurised to equivalent of 6,000ft altitude. Older planes like 777 are pressurised to 8-9,000ft equivalent altitude. Basically there is more oxygen in a 787.

      I believe the 787 also has slightly higher cabin humidity as well so the air is more hospitable, passengers shouldn’t feel so dried out after a long flight.

  • Amy says:
    16 Feb16 February 07:37

    FLL is a far more pleasant airport too. Although missing the lounge options.
    Ps typo- the LGW to FLL times seem to be the Orlando ones copied

    • laughingplace says:
      16 Feb16 February 08:20

      Agree, would rather fly into FLL than MIA. Great for exploring the atlantic coast just north of FLL too.

    • dougzz99 says:
      16 Feb16 February 08:58

      Agree with the positive FLL comments. Especially if heading north, avoiding Miami is a definitely plus. JetBlue are seemingly ramping up FLL operations and rumours of a Transatlantic service in the future.

  • Richie says:
    16 Feb16 February 07:55

    Poor flight times, 2pm departure is just too late for families to Orlando.

    • Tankmc says:
      16 Feb16 February 08:07

      On a positive, It at least gives people the option of travelling to the airport on the day.

    • Matt says:
      16 Feb16 February 08:23

      Not sure I follow – seems fine to me, especially if you’ve got a few hours journey time to Gatwick

      • lumma says:
        16 Feb16 February 08:40

        I think he means that its 1.35am UK time when you arrive, which is pretty late if kids havent slept on the flight over.

        No kids and it’s the departure time I’d choose to fly to the east coast. Get to hotel around 8pm, go out for dinner, go to bed and wake up fresh for your first full day.

        • NorthernLass says:
          16 Feb16 February 08:45

          Agreed – it’s very late to be arriving, collecting a car and driving to your villa or whatever, with kids. I’m a great fan of crashing in an airport hotel on the first night but this might not suit everyone’s schedule.

        • Andrew. says:
          16 Feb16 February 10:31

          Isn’t Orlando 5 hours behind? So if you are arriving at 18:35 US time, it’s 23:35 UK time.

          Depends on the child, and as soon as they step outdoors into brilliant sunshine and warmth the body clock will switch to wide awake mode.

  • Tankmc says:
    16 Feb16 February 08:06

    FLL is a much more convenient airport for cruises. You have easier access to Fort Lauderdale port and Miami is only 20 minutes on the train.

    The problem however is the pricing. Doing a dummy booking for my trip it’s coming in at £2,500 return for 2 of us which is more than we paid for BA.

    Premium is also nice, we tried in last year from NYC, but it’s not worth the double price tag that they are charging.

  • planeconcorde says:
    16 Feb16 February 08:07

    Yesterday I compared the price of premium economy LGW to FLL return, with BA LHR to MIA return. Picked the nearest like for like fares which included hold luggage. Norse was £200 more expensive than BA, with less choice of days of the week and flights per day. Good luck to Norse on that pricing strategy.

    • Rob says:
      16 Feb16 February 08:47

      Ignoring timing issues etc I’d pay the extra £100 for the Norse seat. Worth it if over 6 foot tall.

      • jjoohhnn says:
        16 Feb16 February 12:12

        Flyer beware irops issues too with less flights / options if plane goes tech.

  • NorthernLass says:
    16 Feb16 February 08:12

    Good to have another option to south Florida, even though it’s yet another service for that London! Let’s hope it survives in the long term as an alternative to the grimness that is MIA.

  • NorthernLass says:
    16 Feb16 February 08:20

    We had 5 days in Ft Lauderdale over New Year and found it very pleasant. If you want to visit Bimini (part of Bahamas but only 50 miles from Florida), there’s a ferry which takes 2 hours. We drove past the incredible-looking new Hard Rock Hotel and said we’d have a night or 2 there next time!

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