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Norse Atlantic launches Manchester to Bangkok flights, from £256 return

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Well, this is unexpected.

No sooner have Norse Atlantic aircraft started to fly to Manchester via the IndiGo damp lease (IndiGo flights from Mumbai to Manchester launched this week), the airline has announced a route of its own.

Flights from Manchester to Bangkok will launch on 26th November 2025.

Norse Atlantic launches Bangkok to Manchester flights

Norse Atlantic calls the route ‘groundbreaking’. It is, apparently, the first time ever that Manchester has had flights to Bangkok, even though 100,000 people per year fly between the two cities – but indirectly.

That said, Norse isn’t getting too carried away. There will only be one flight per week and flights are only currently scheduled until the end of March 2026. The airline has said that there is ‘potential for expansion based on demand’.

Departures will be on Wednesdays, departing Manchester at 11.30pm, arriving at 6pm into Bangkok.

Bjørn Tore Larsen, CEO of Norse Atlantic Airways, said:

We don’t just follow demand — we unlock it. This route has been waiting to happen, and we’re proud to be the ones making it a reality. Manchester is a key gateway to the North of England, and Bangkok is a magnet for adventure, business, and culture. Connecting the two cities is a natural next step for Norse as we continue to disrupt and expand in the long-haul space.

The cheapest return flight is currently £256 with no checked baggage. The cheapest return in Premium (see our comments on this below) is £805 return.

Norse Atlantic is also launching flights from London Gatwick to Bangkok from the end of October 2025 – click here to read our article.

What do you get when you fly with Norse Atlantic?

As with all Norse flights, you get a modern Boeing 787 aircraft and a two class cabin – economy and premium economy. The airline inherited Norwegian’s long haul fleet when the latter moved to being a purely short haul airline.

We rate Norse Premium highly. It has, by a huge margin, the most personal space of any competing premium economy seat. You can see how Norse Atlantic’s premium economy compares to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic here.

Economy is, well, economy, but is better than it was.

You still won’t get any food included with the cheapest economy tickets. However, it DOES now include a 10kg carry-on bag for free. IFE is also now free.

You will need to pay for seat assignments or checked baggage, but as long as you bring your own meals and can stick to 10kg of hand baggage, you can realistically now fly for the lowest quoted price.

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

PS. Norse is also launching seasonal flights to Phuket from Oslo (starts 8th December, one flight weekly) and Stockholm (starts 4th December, one flight weekly)


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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (July 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

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The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

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Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

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Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

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Comments (71)

  • Henry Young says:

    Midlands to Bangkok – I wonder how they’ll market their sex-tourist express 😉

    • William says:

      Thailand is a beautiful country with a wonderful history and culture.
      I hope they market it to people who have been there and know the country rather than to sex tourists who have possibly spent a few nights in Pattaya……. or dreamed of doing!

  • PauloG says:

    Off topic, but….. we have 4 x reward seats LHR to SYD this month (T5). Adult + 1 child on my 241 BAPP voucher (Business) and Wife+ child 2 on her 241 BAPP voucher (Premium). do only the 2 in business get lounge access, or as we are a family travelling together on the same flight, can all 4 of us get in?

    • Aston100 says:

      Ask on the daily chat thread?

    • yonasl says:

      Only people in business can get into the lounge. If you have status you can get regardless of your travel class and bring a guest.

    • Thegasman says:

      No guesting rights if you don’t have status unfortunately so it’ll only be the two flying business who can get in the lounge. You’re not missing that much with T5 business lounges though.

  • RC says:

    Clever move by Norse.
    Small frequency but enough to turn tables on BA and cause them (yield) pain with their third rate products.

  • John says:

    Why is this post sticky… all the cheap seats were gone in a few hours

  • Erico1875 says:

    @BJ. Thanks
    I don’t mind hassle. In the past I’ve spent an hour putting cans into a Tesco recycling machine for 0.5 cc points a can 😁

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