Norse Atlantic adds new US destinations from UK's Gatwick as demand surges
28/02/2023 08:00
LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Norway-based airline Norse
Atlantic NORSE.OL said it will add Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Washington, D.C., and Boston to its summer schedule from London
Gatwick airport this year, as it seeks to benefit from the
post-pandemic boom in travel.
The airline, which flew its maiden flight last summer, hopes
to succeed where Norwegian Air failed, by offering transatlantic
flights at budget rates after securing cheap leases on
Dreamliner 787s during the pandemic.
Passenger demand for travel has surged over the last 12
months and is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels on most
routes in 2023.
That trend is being seen at Norse said Chief Executive Bjorn
Tore Larsen.
"Summer is going to be good," he told Reuters ahead of
announcing the new routes on Tuesday.
"Bookings are where we expect them to be or better."
Norse said it would fly daily to Los Angeles from Gatwick
from June 30 with economy return fares from 430 pounds including
taxes. The other new destinations would have similar fares and
slightly less regular services.
The airline already flies to New York JFK and plans to also
start serving Orlando and Fort Lauderdale/Miami in May. When it
adds the new destinations later in the summer, it will serve
more U.S. cities than any other airline flying from Gatwick,
Britain's second-biggest airport.
Norse said it had made a "significant investment" at Gatwick
and employs 370 people there, where it is basing five of its
current fleet of 10 aircraft.
Gatwick's transatlantic connections suffered during the
pandemic following the failure of Norwegian and after Virgin
Atlantic stopped flying from Gatwick and focused on its
operations at Britain's biggest airport, Heathrow.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Joanna Plucinska; Editing by
Christopher Cushing)
((sarah.young@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 1109; Reuters
Messaging: sarah.young.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))