Deirdre O Meara 
Norse Atlantic, another Norwegian airline, has announced new summer routes from London Gatwick. This development comes as the carrier prepares to take off for its first flight in the coming months.
Starting from June 1, Norse Atlantic will link London Gatwick with Washington Dulles, with daily flights beginning from June 30 to Los Angeles. The day after, the airline will launch a thrice-weekly link to San Francisco. All flights will use the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
These routes are in addition to the already-existing link between London Gatwick and New York JFK, as well as the previously announced flights to two Florida destinations – Orlando from May 25 and Fort Lauderdale from May 26. For travellers looking to save some money, Fort Lauderdale offers a more affordable alternative to Miami, located about 32km south.
In total, Norse Atlantic will fly 36 times a week from London Gatwick to the US during the peak summer season. The airline’s route network bears a striking resemblance to that operated by Norwegian before the Covid-19 pandemic. The previous carrier had to abandon its transatlantic routes from Gatwick, Dublin, and Cork due to extreme financial pressure.
Since the Covid-19 crisis, transatlantic airfares have been considerably higher than in 2019. This move by Norse Atlantic is likely to provide families with a cheaper alternative compared to flights from London Heathrow on British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
It also encourages a competitive response from rival airlines. For instance, US carrier JetBlue already flies from Gatwick to New York JFK.
Moreover, Icelandic budget carrier PLAY has been offering transatlantic options from Ireland with a stop in its Reykjavik hub. In contrast, the new airline Fly Atlantic has similar hub plans to Belfast International.
Bjorn Tore Larsen, chief executive of Norse Atlantic Airways, stated that the new routes “mark an important moment for consumers as we celebrate serving more destinations to the US from London Gatwick this summer than any other airline.”
He added that “the addition of direct flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and Boston to our already popular New York, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale/Miami services will provide greater choice and value for consumers.”
Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick, noted that “the new services mean Gatwick and Norse will provide an increasingly competitive offering, which is great news for passengers across London and the South East, as well as businesses in the region.” He added that long-haul routes, particularly in North America, are an essential aspect of the airport’s strategy.
Norse Atlantic will also launch five flights a week to Boston starting from September 2, competing against JetBlue. The airline network analyst Sean Moulton said that “Gatwick lost numerous US links due to the collapse of Norwegian and Norse have decided that some are worth a return to.”
He added that “Washington DC is an interesting add given Norwegian never served the route, and the market is heavily oriented towards business over leisure travellers. Can Norse promote the city for leisure travellers?”
British Airways also has a busy network from Gatwick to Florida.
