I upgraded to premium economy for a 13-hour flight on a budget airline. It lacked some perks, but it was still worth the price.

Business Insider

3 days ago

Norse Atlantic Airways offers some of the cheapest flights to Europe from the US.
The budget airline, which launched in 2022, offers direct routes to European destinations, including Athens, Paris, London, Berlin, Stockholm, and Rome. It also has flights to Bangkok, Phuket, and Cape Town.
If you're in the US, you can fly the airline out of LA, New York City, Miami, and Orlando.
Prices vary widely depending on the route and season, but economy tickets are available for as low as $189 to fly from LA to Athens in July or $116 to travel from New York to Rome.
Norse Atlantic only flies Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and only offers economy and premium economy seats on its planes.
Before my trip, I decided to upgrade to a premium economy seat.
Norse Atlantic offers three types of economy tickets, as well as premium economy.
I originally booked an economy classic ticket for the flight, which cost me $503 and included one personal item, one carry-on bag, one standard checked bag, one in-flight meal, and general boarding.
A week later, I upgraded to premium economy for an additional $677. The trip cost me $1,180 total, which was still cheaper than the economy seats I saw offered by other carriers for non-direct flights.
My journey began at the priority check-in line at Athens International Airport.
Since I had a premium economy seat, I was allowed to use Norse Atlantic's priority line, which was empty when I arrived at the airport. I breezed right to the front, immediately checked in my bag, and got my boarding pass.
As I walked to security, I counted at least 10 people waiting in the standard check-in line.
My premium economy ticket also gave me priority boarding, although I accidentally missed my chance.
I spent so much time debating which olive oil to buy at one of the duty-free shops that when I arrived at the gate, my flight was already boarding group three.
There was a long line of people waiting to board, and a Norse employee was checking tickets before allowing us to enter the roped-off gate. When he saw my premium economy ticket, he said I had missed my chance and would have to wait with everyone else to get on the plane.
I probably had to wait about 15 minutes in line to board, but the bag full of Greek olive oil, ouzo, and chocolate was worth it.
A flight attendant directed me to premium economy's separate section at the front of the plane.
I was pleasantly surprised when I found my window seat and realized just how much extra space I'd have in premium economy.
The comfortable seats are 19.5 inches wide, compared to 17 inches in economy, and have wider armrests, which also act as storage compartments for the entertainment system and tray table.
My seat had way more legroom than I expected.
Norse Atlantic's premium economy seats offer 43 inches of seat pitch — the distance between each row of seats on a plane — compared to 31 inches in economy. It's among the most generous premium economy seat pitches across the major airlines, as seen by comparative numbers on SeatGuru.
Since there was also ample overhead space, I didn't even have to store my backpack underneath the seat in front of me.
My seat came with a pillow and a thick blanket, which were both wrapped in plastic.
An attendant passed out water and juice as I unwrapped the soft blue blanket, which felt like fleece and kept me warm throughout the flight.
While the blanket was free in premium economy, it would have cost me $7 in economy. Norse Atlantic also offers a $9 "comfort kit" with a neck pillow, earplugs, and a sleep mask for those in economy.
Premium economy passengers also received complimentary earphones and earplugs.
Shortly after takeoff, a flight attendant took my drink order.
I sighed happily as I sipped my complimentary prosecco and stretched out my legs.
As someone usually stuck next to the bathroom at the back of the plane, premium economy was feeling pretty great.
Norse Atlantic serves two hot meals in premium economy. The first came about an hour after takeoff.
We had a choice of chicken or pasta. I opted for the latter, which was a meat lasagna. The meal came with a bread roll, a small Greek salad, and halva for dessert. We were also provided with wooden utensils and cute mini salt and pepper shakers.
The warm and cheesy lasagna was solid — definitely better than most of the pasta dishes I've tried during long-haul flights with US airlines. I also enjoyed the Greek salad and the provided dressing, although I found the halva a bit cloying.
One of the biggest letdowns was Norse's in-flight entertainment offerings.
I don't have an iPad and hate watching movies on my phone, so I typically depend on airlines' in-flight entertainment systems to keep me occupied on long flights. It's never really been an issue! On a recent Singapore Airlines flight, I had access to more than 1,900 on-demand options, including just about every recent Oscar nominee.
But the Norse movie selection was… rough. I counted only 120 films total (in the name of good journalism) and found the offerings to be extremely random. Most seemed like straight-to-DVD movies from the 1990s, scraped from the bottom of the Rotten Tomatoes barrel.
When I started getting sleepy, I took advantage of my seat's footrest.
While it wasn't a lie-flat experience like you'd typically find in business or first class, I appreciated the premium economy perk of having a footrest that went up about halfway to my seat.
I also used the seat-back ordering service whenever I got thirsty.
I loved that I could easily order drinks from my in-flight entertainment system, which offered a menu of complimentary hot and cold beverages, including alcohol, throughout the flight.
At one point during the flight, I ordered a ginger ale, which an attendant delivered to my seat about 20 minutes later.
Drinks are only complimentary throughout the flight if you're in premium economy.
Passengers in economy only receive one free drink during the flight. I browsed Norse Atlantic's menu and saw sodas for $4.30 and a water bottle for $3.70. A glass of wine will set you back at least $10.70 (or $15 if you want champagne).
But snacks aren't free, no matter what seat you're in.
When my stomach started to grumble around hour eight of the 13-hour flight, I realized we hadn't been served the mid-flight hot snack typically served on long-haul trips. We hadn't even been given a bag of pretzels or chips.
As I browsed through the menu on my seat-back system, I realized none of the snacks were complimentary in premium economy. Pretzels and Pringles were priced around $4, while a small package of tortilla chips with nacho cheese was priced at $6. There was also a variety of candy options, including Haribo gummies and Kit Kats, ranging from $3 to $6.
Hot snacks or meals were also available for purchase. I opted for a $6 instant soup.
The menu also offered french fries, pasta fusilli, butter chicken with basmati rice, and instant noodle soup.
An attendant delivered my soup cup, filled with hot water, about 20 minutes later. It was a solid and comforting snack to tide me over before the final meal of the flight.
The second complimentary meal was delivered about an hour before we landed.
The second in-flight meal was pretty sparse. The main dish was a warm meat pastry of some sort, served alongside a few cut-up pieces of fruit and the same halva dessert from our first meal.
Overall, the complimentary meals on Norse Atlantic were decent, though far lighter than those I've had on other long-haul trips. Next time, I'd buy some fun snacks at the airport before my flight.
I would definitely fly Norse Atlantic Airways again.
For a 13-hour flight, I was far more comfortable in Norse Atlantic Airways' premium economy than I have been in economy with US airlines — and I got the added benefit of paying less and flying direct.
Next time I fly Norse, whether it be economy or premium, I'll make sure to bring some extra snacks and borrow my boyfriend's iPad. But in tough economic times like these, I love that there's still an airline making it affordable to explore the world.