Norwegian to launch more budget flights to US
Norwegian will begin flying between London Gatwick and Chicago and Austin, Texas in March 2018.
Seats, which are already on sale, start at £179 one way to Chicago and from £239 to Austin. Both routes will be operated by Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
There will be four flights a week to Chicago, starting on March 25, and three flights a week to Austin, starting on March 27.
Norwegian said it will break the European monopoly on flights to Austin, which is one of the world’s major centres for the tech industry.
Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos said: "Once again we have put the UK at the heart of our ambitious expansion plans, with affordable fares to another two exciting US destinations. As America’s third biggest city, Chicago is perfect addition to our growing networks while Austin has also become a major hub for leisure and business travel so we are delighted to offer passengers more choice and lower fares to these vibrant cities.
"Many people said low-cost long-haul would never work but three years, 13 routes and 1.5 million UK passengers later and Norwegian has shown there is huge demand for more affordable long-haul travel."
Stewart Wingate, Gatwick CEO, added: "These new flights are yet more proof that the low cost long haul revolution is here to stay as Norwegian and Gatwick’s long haul networks reach into all four corners of the globe. Norwegian now offers 13 long-haul routes from Gatwick to destinations across the US and also to South America and south east Asia.
"The addition of new flights to Chicago and Austin also means that Gatwick’s long haul network breaks yet another world record as we now offer 62 long haul routes – more than any other single runway airport in the world – and the fifth largest network of any airport in Europe."
Separately today, Norwegian also announced new routes from Paris to Boston and Oakland, as well as increased flights on the existing routes from Paris to New York and LA.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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