New low-cost transatlantic carrier to fill void left by Norwegian Air Shuttle

Norse Atlantic Airways (Norse), a brand-new low-cost carrier has announced it plans to commence services in early 2022 and to be fully operational by the summer of that year. With a fleet of 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the new airline will concentrate solely on low-cost transatlantic flights, filling the void created when Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian) downsized its operations to concentrate on the market this side of the Atlantic.

Norse is confident it can succeed where others, including Norwegian, have failed. “We will be the only low-cost long-haul airline across the Atlantic and that will be our position, we will do nothing but that,” the carrier’s chief executive, Bjørn Tore Larsen said. The 15 Dreamliners leased by Norse were previously flown by Norwegian. Norse had hoped to commence operations by the end of this year, but the staggered increase in demand for air travel has forced the new carrier to adopt a cautious approach. “We don’t want to start too early, there is no point flying around with empty aircraft. Having said that, we have a very solid cash position so we can afford to wait it out for a long period of time if that is required,” Larsen told journalists when unveiling the airline’s logo which was inspired by Viking longships.

Established in March by industry veterans, Norse will initially fly routes from London, Paris and Oslo to New York, Fort Lauderdale, and Los Angeles. Once up and running, Norse anticipates selling 10,000 tickets a day and tickets will go on sale approximately three months prior to the first flights. Bjørn Kjos, the former chief executive of Norwegian is also a shareholder in the new carrier.