I’m surprised that I enjoyed my recent Norse Atlantic 787-9 premium economy experience as much as I did. It was supposed to be a sub par experience. Something I could use as an example when explaining why it’s often worth paying more for premium economy on a “real” airline.
What I learned is that Norse Premium Class (the official name for their premium economy offering) is about as real as it gets. Legroom is excellent, seat width is better than what other airlines are offering, and the food is pretty darn good.
In an unexpected turn of events, what you’re about to read is a detailed explanation of why it’s often worth paying less for premium economy on a “riff raff” airline. Go figure.
NO701
London, UK (LGW) – New York, NY (JFK)
Monday, January 22, 2024
Aircraft: 787-9
Registration: G-CKWP
Duration: 7 hours 44 minutes
Seat: 4D (Premium Class / Premium Economy)
My full review of Norse 787-9 premium economy from London (Gatwick) to New York (JFK)
This flight from LGW to JFK was the first time that I knew exactly what to expect before flying on a new-to-me airline. Even though Norse Atlantic began operations in 2022, they’re essentially a rebirth of Norwegian Air UK (which went out of business in 2020).
Other than the names (and their liveries), everything about these two airlines is the same. If you flew on a Norwegian Air 787-9 in 2019, what I’m about to show you will look no different. It’s the same airline (same seats and all) with a different name.
My arrival at the London Gatwick South Terminal
Getting to LGW from central London proved to be a challenge this particular morning. A strong winter storm had suspended operation of the Gatwick Express train, but I still managed to arrive well before scheduled departure time of this flight to JFK.
Honestly? Running late wouldn’t have been all that big of a deal. Gatwick (especially the South Terminal) isn’t exactly the pinnacle of user-friendly airport design IMHO.
The boarding process for NO710 to New York (JFK)
Strolling up to the gate roughly 10 minutes before the scheduled boarding time it’s not normally how I like to do things. That’s how it’s done at LGW though, so I had no choice but to do it their way.
Seeing how empty the gate area was did feel me with hope for a wide open flight. Yes, having an empty seat next to me wouldn’t have been all that big of a deal since I was booked in the Premium Cabin. I’m just a little antisocial, OK?
The seats
Stepping onto a Norse 787 is like taking a nostalgic step back to 2019. These are the old Norwegian Air aircraft, and Norse did absolutely nothing to the interior of these planes after the transition. The Premium Class seats we all knew (and loved) back in 2019 are exactly the same today as they were back then.
Fun fact: this cabin (and these seats) is exactly what you’ll get in Air Premia premium economy. This isn’t exactly exclusive to Norse.
The departure out of LGW
It’s kind of funny how long the boarding process seems to take when the seat next to you remains vacant. It felt like it was taking forever, when (in reality) they shut the boarding door early. Like, a lot early. Early departures FTW!
In-flight entertainment
In-flight entertainment in Norse 787-9 Premium Class comes in the form of video screens that extend out from the center armrests. Is the catalog of content as extensive as what you might find on other airlines? Hell no. The fact that there were even movies and TV shows to watch at all is what impressed me. This is something I would not normally expect on a long haul low-cost carrier.
The first meal service
As if the in-flight entertainment wasn’t enough to impress me, the lunch service sealed the deal. Served approximately one hour after takeoff, it consisted of a full tray of food that wouldn’t have been out of place in other long haul premium economy class products.
Despite my stupid jokes, the quality of the food was excellent. I’d place it well below typical business class food (of course), but easily on par with what you would get in premium economy on most other airlines.
Seat (and cabin) comfort
If I haven’t made it obvious by now, these Premium Class seats are legit (and well worth the cost of the upgrade). The generous leg room – combined with an extendable leg rest – makes sleeping relatively easy.
The only thing that could make these seats more comfortable as if they laid fully flat. But for an 8 hour daytime flight between London and New York? They were just about perfect.
The second (pre-landing) meal service
Believe it or not, the second meal was far more substantial than what I’ve received in any other long haul premium economy product over the past few years. It was a full meal – which was very much appreciated, since I wasn’t expecting anything more than a light snack.
The descent and arrival into JFK
Not only did we push off the gate 12 minutes early back at LGW, it resulted in us arriving into JFK 12 minutes early as well. The weather was just about perfect for our descent and landing, and there were absolutely zero issues all the way in. Except for the fact that I was seated in the middle section and I couldn’t see squat.
Pros and cons of the Norse Atlantic Premium Class experience
It’s been a while since I’ve walked out of a flight feeling so enlightened. I had no idea that Norse Atlantic Premium Class is every bit as competitive as premium economy on any other full service airline. Assuming they can find a way to stay out of bankruptcy over the coming years, this is something I will absolutely do again.
Pros
- Wide seats! Most other airlines utilize a condensed 2-4-2 layout for their premium economy products, but Norse is a very spacious 2-3-2.
- Food quality is good (and relatively substantial). Combine this with the snack on demand service, and it’s highly unlikely that you will go hungry.
- The in-flight entertainment is decent. I’m just happy that it exists at all.
Cons
- You’ll probably be disappointed if in-flight entertainment is what you care about most. The catalog of continent is somewhat limited.
- The pre-flight ground experience at London Gatwick Airport is abysmal.
Scott thanks for the review, my wife and I have taken the plunge, booked LGW to Phuket in December one way hope it’s as good as yours was.
You’re very welcome Chris. I think you’re gonna like it. Have a great trip!
Perhaps the most vivid writing style found on an airline review and made it worth reading further to see what language is used.
Yep, there is always that inconsiderable a**hole who refuses to comply with the window shade policy on long-haul flights. Take the view, ladies and gentlemen. For some people it is everything to see the sun rise or set over the Atlantic, get a glimpse of Iceland or Greenland, depending on the flight route, see the ever changing cloud formation. Or boeing should have opted to go for smaller windows on their 787 series to keep all the sky enthusiasts out of their cabins.
Thanks for the great review. Have you, or your other contributor, flown Norse Premium to Bangkok from Gatwick?
Their price is currently tracking above direct Economy for the likes of EVA and Thai. As a taller gent, the 109cm seat pitch is already a great USP for this flight. Gatwick is more of a pain to get to for me, but the lure of fully extended lower limbs for 12 hours may well outweigh this.
Thanks Clive! The only Norse flight I’ve done at the time of this writing is LGW-JFK. It’s a really good premium economy product, and it is absolutely worth the hassle of getting to and from Gatwick IMHO. The food isn’t all that great, but I can pretty much guarantee that you will appreciate the generous leg room and seat recline.
I have flown Norse 5 times since October ’23 and I absolutely loved them. So much so that I traded my economy free award ticket to a 1st class to JFK so I could pay to take Norse to London in December. I am also a high end travel agent (can’t say which global company it is) and at a recent tradeshow was asked my favorite airline – why Norse Atlantic – and the stares I got were real and confused.
For the actual product – hands down best premium international I have flown. It’s better than 1st class domestic. I have also booked back up refundable tickets I cancel right before I board – just in case. Norse has not let me down yet.
For the customer service, not so great. However, my friend was meeting us in London and her flight from LAX was canceled and it took a few days to get her rebooked on a day earlier flight. Norse picked up the tab and she got to see a tiny bit of London since I told her go to tea at the Shard (she had never been to London so it was a good thing….kind of.
I have seen people post negative things about Norse. They have the most creative marketing peeps – just check out the April 1st ad and the May 4 ad earlier this year. They have fun with their social media posts – and people slam them for having fun.
Have they had delays and/or cancellations? Yes. Have other airlines? Yes and they are even worse. A certain legacy airline from the UK was so awful in their response for compensation on their maintenance delayed flight they told us to quit writing them. Ok, no problem, I will also quit selling them if I ever have a say in it (and I do). My how the mighty have fallen.
I have flown the US carriers’ premium economy to Japan and NZ and they were not the stuff to write home about. The regular economy on Air NZ was much better than the premium I flew down in on a certain Atlanta based airline. The Dallas based airline I flew to Japan on had a foot rest reminiscent of a Greyhound bus.
Love this airline and love the article and the wit and sarcasm. Thanks for a great read!
You’re very welcome Carrie! I completely agree with you about Norse having a better premium economy product than any of the US airlines. I flew from NRT to SFO in United 777-300ER premium economy two days ago, and the only thing that was better about United was the in-flight entertainment. Norse was better in every other way.
Scott
We are also live in San Diego County. Your review was excellent and covered all the questions we had about Norse Premium Economy. So now we’re planning our London trip for this fall with a Norse flight from LAX to LGW prior to jumping on a cruise in Portsmouth, UK.
Hey James! Glad you found this useful. Yes, I can highly recommend the Norse premium seats – it’s going to be a really good way to kick off your vacation IMHO. Hope you have a great trip!
In the Beginning of the review you said that you were flying the 797, what happened?
It was an unexpected and unfortunate last minute aircraft swap lol.
Can’t believe I didn’t catch that in the 10 times I read over this before publishing.
“The pre-flight ground experience at London Gatwick Airport is abysmal.”
In other news, water found to be wet.
Definitely might consider this for flying stateside; although the available destinations are paltry I could finally go to LA on a budget, or at least fly into NY to cut down costs on my yearly trip to Ohio.
Now that I know what Norse premium class is like, I’d definitely be willing to put up with the annoyances of Gatwick to do it again. But you’re right – it isn’t all that great of an option if you need to go someplace other than New York or Los Angeles. My fingers are crossed that not only they survive, but that their route network grows as well.
Honestly, I have to say that this product looks really competitive, especially on a market as heavily contested as London to New York. Spacious seats, two full meals, solid amenities and a decent* IFE system, all for half the price of legacy carriers? It’s an absolute steal!
*At the very least, the UI & screens look modern(ish)
Also, in case you’re wondering, the name Norse (IIRC) is a reference to where the airline is from-the Nordics. They basically wanted to show that this airline is a copy of Norwegian without making it too obvious lol.
Haha, yeah, I vaguely understand where the Norse name comes from, but it was hard not to have a little fun with it in the review. 🙂
I really hope that Norse doesn’t end up like Norwegian. These premium seats are a fantastically good (and very competitive) product, and it would be a real shame to see them get squashed by the likes of British Airways / American / Virgin Atlantic, etc. They deserve to live!