Flight Review: LGW to JFK on Norse Atlantic Premium Class, Boeing 787-9
Flight#: Z0701
From: London Gatwick (LGW)
To: New York (JFK)
Flight time: 8h 15min
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
This is an airline that had long been on my list to review.
I was quite familiar with the story of Norse Atlantic Airways and its business model (you can check my interview for AeroTime with its President, Charles Duncan) and, finally, a last minute trip to New York City provided the opportunity to check its Premium Class, and write the corresponding Norse Atlantic Airways flight review for you to check what this relatively young airline has to offer.
The flight was provided courtesy of Norse Atlantic Airways. Opinions are all my own.
Pre-flight Experience
When it comes to the pre-flight experience, perhaps one of the points that stands out is that Norse Atlantic doesn’t have a mobile app. Personally, it is not a big deal, since I rarely use the app unless it is an airline I fly very frequently, but don’t need to look for it in the app store!).
On the plus side, Norse Atlantic’s website is pretty intuitive and user-friendly.
Norse has different flavours of Premium tickets, while the actual flight experience is not different (all of them give access to the same seats and inflight meals), some extras differ, such as the baggage allowance and the change and cancellation conditions.
In my case, in addition to the larger seat (more on this soon), the Premium class ticket gave me a generous baggage allowance, in addition to the other items which otherwise would count as extras.
What is not included in any case by default is lounge access. There’s a lounge at London Gatwick, operated by a different company, which you can book separately as an ancillary as part of the booking process (btw, when considering the prices restaurants and bars at LGW, it may actually be good value!).
Norse Atlantic flies from London Gatwick airport, which has excellent connections to central London and it is, generally (in my experience at least), quite fast to transit through, both when it comes to check in and security controls.
The boarding was also pretty fast and orderly, and not just because, as Premium cabin holder, I got priority access to the aircraft.
The cabin
The Premium Cabin on Norse Atlantic Dreamliner has 56 seats on a 2-3-2 configuration. It reminded me a bit of Icelandair’s Saga Premium business class (similar seats, although not sure they are exactly the same make).
By the way, as a curiosity, on the two screens at the front of the cabin (right side picture) there’s a welcome message that encourages people to share pictures of their experience on Norse Atlantic with the hashtag #flyNorse
The seats are quite comfy and provide plenty of space and leg room (a 43” pitch that allows you to stretch your legs completely).
As you can see, they are not of the cocoon, full-flat type, but this is pretty consistent with Norse’s approach, which positions itself as a low cost carrier that offers an upgraded experience for slightly higher fare (but not the sort of price differential found in more traditional business classes).
Not all seats have direct aisle access, but it is spacious enough that it was never really an issue. Similarly, there is a large, solid armrest, which is an element of separation between two adjacent seats.
In the picture below you can get an idea of the seat pitch (I am quite tall!).
Note also that there is a small pocket for safety cards and literature at the bottom part of the seat, but otherwise, it is pretty neat (the IFE screen, as we will soon sea, unfolds from the side).
And, next , I show you can the maximum recline of the seat. As you can see, it is not fully flat, but bear in mind that the lower part of the seat can also be elevated so that legs end up aligned with the rest of the body when resting, so, even if at an angle, you end up with a rather comfortable space to sleep.
Each seat is provided with a bottle of water, a pillow, a fluffy branded blanket and a headphone set. Seats are also fitted with in-seat universal power sockets that can accommodate European, British and US electronic device chargers.
Here some of the seat elements:
Seat inclination controls and foldable table on the right side
Foldable IFE screen and controls on the left side
And this being a Dreamliner it has the famous dimmable windows that let you adjust the light levels, of course. So even if this was a daylight flight, at times it felt like it was night time, which helps with getting a bit of sleep.
There is an IFE system that has a decent number of movies and series (not huge, but quite varied and definitely more than enough for me), in addition to a digital duty free channel and flight and airline information.
The 9” screen does a good job and, since it is not afixed to the seat in front, but it protrudes from a foldable metal arm, you can adjust its position a bit to match your resting position, which is a good thing.
The toilet: nothing remarkable here, it was in good condition and clean, that’s all.
Food and drink
We got served a drink some 45 minutes into the flight. This was then followed by the first, and most substantious of the two meals. Let’s have a look….
First, note the position of the try: as mentioned earlier, it folds from the side, not from the seat in front.
Next, let’s look at the first meal:
Small salad bowl
Chicken breast with potato mash and veggies (this was one of the two options)
Dessert (a sort of cheese cake)
Piece of bread
The crew offered also drinks and coffee and these were refilled repeatedly during the flight, even after they had already picked up all the food trays.
The presentation of the food was not luxurious but very correct and I particularly liked the style of the wooden cutlery, a very Scandinavian, sustainable touch.
The second meal, which was served a couple of hours before landing, was a bit lighter. I enjoyed quite a lot, nevertheless. As you can see it consisted of some smoked salmon, with a yogurt-liked cream and some roasted pumpkin cubes, served together with some bread and butter and a yogurt. Again with drinks and coffee.
I must also add that the crew was pretty attentive throughout the flight.
The meals were all included in my Premium class ticket, but just in case, showing here some snaps of the inflight menu, which is also available in the Premium cabin. These are the choices available in economy class ( and also if you wish to eat something else besides the two meals included in the Premium service).
Our take
I think Norse Atlantic’s Premium product offers great value when it comes to the crossing the Atlantic in a comfortable way.
Granted, if you think in terms of traditional business class, it is not the most luxurious premium product out there, but it has never meant to be.
In fact, its positioning is more similar to that of legacy carriers’ premium economy than to a traditional business class. The seat (in terms of pitch, personal space and comfort), the food, baggage allowance and inflight entertainment are all pretty good for the price point the product usually sells for.
You can check the prices on a random day and you will see that the price differential, not just with other airlines, but also with Norse’s own no-frills economy class product, makes it a rather attractive proposition if you want to reach the other side of the Ocean well refreshed and without having to spend a fortune.