Latest news with #NorseAtlantic
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Aurigny sets up pilot development partnership
A Guernsey airline has launched a partnership with another firm to help develop its said it had teamed up with Norse Atlantic UK to create a Pilot Career Pathway Partnership as part of plans to build a "sustainable pipeline" of talent for both at the airlines said first officers who gain enough experience flying Aurigny's ATR72-600 planes at the start of their career would have the chance to fly Norse Atlantic's larger Boeing 787 Dreamliners in the said the scheme presented a "rare and valuable opportunity to accelerate their career progression" for pilots. Philip Smallwood, chief operating officer at Aurigny, said: "As first officers continue to build their flying skills and gain the necessary experience, they will have the opportunity to progress to flying one of the world's newest and most iconic jet aircraft."Ultimately, this makes Aurigny a more appealing long-term career choice for aspiring aviators."
News.com.au
14-07-2025
- News.com.au
Passenger pinned to wall during airport outburst
An irate passenger lashed out at French airport employees in a profanity-laced outburst when her New York-bound flight never took off. The unidentified woman's viral blow-up occurred inside Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport on July 3 after her Norse Atlantic Airways flight to JFK was cancelled due to the nationwide air traffic controller strike. 'F***ing b***h, I need my medication,' the passenger screamed at a female airline worker, according to video captured by fellow passenger Erianne Freign. The screaming woman was among a group of angry travellers who were searching for answers after they were notified their flights were cancelled because of the strike that disrupted service in and around France on July 3 and 4. The airline staffer seemingly avoided the passenger and walked away from the check-in desk during the tirade. The unruly customer, who Ms Freign said was travelling with her two children, continued her meltdown as airport police surrounded her. Several airport law enforcement officials grabbed the woman and pulled her behind the counter, where she was detained. 'It was quite an intense reaction,' Ms Freign, 27, said. 'I understand why she would be upset because the airline was being so unhelpful. Ms Freign blamed Norse Atlantic for triggering the outburst and claimed staff weren't being helpful to the annoyed passengers who learned their late flight was cancelled. 'She just wanted some accommodation for her and her two kids because they had cancelled the flight in the middle of the night.' The woman said she was diabetic and needed her medication that was in her checked bag. 'You can tell she was in a panic but I don't think she should have used such strong language,' Ms Freign added. 'Especially because the people on the desk aren't responsible.' Officers pinned the woman to a back wall as onlookers yelled in support for the traveller. The agents talked with the enraged passenger, who continued to shout at the airline employee. Police eventually calmed the mother down and allowed her to return to the other side of the check-in counter. 'Due to issues in Paris early July, including the Air Traffic Control strike in France, we experienced unfortunate and temporary irregularities,' Norse Atlantic Airways told the New York Post. 'Passengers were, and will be further followed up. We are unable to comment on specific passenger incidents out of respect for the privacy of those involved. Our team always prioritises the safety and wellbeing of our passengers.' Ms Freign said the airline agents weren't being helpful with the situation, advising passengers they had to cancel their own ticket on the original flight before rebooking with another airline, but ticket prices were expensive. Travellers who couldn't afford to buy an additional ticket or hotel accommodations stayed the night at the airport, including the annoyed woman. Ms Freign rebooked her flight, saying the last-minute ticket cost her $US1,285 – $A1900. She is now looking for a refund but is finding it difficult to speak with the airline. 'I still haven't gotten a refund from my original flight but I am emailing with them,' the 27-year-old model said. 'I've just been really disappointed with how it was handled.'
Business Insider
11-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
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.
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.
Bangkok Post
30-06-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Indian travel demand to prop up Thai aviation
India's rapid economic growth will help support Southeast Asia's aviation industry, including the Thai aviation sector, according to Indian carrier IndiGo, which plans to introduce its new business class seats to Bangkok and Phuket. Pieter Elbers, chief executive of IndiGo, said that whenever new destinations in Southeast Asia were introduced or the capacity of those routes increased, IndiGo always saw strong travel demand. He said the unique geography of India provides a good opportunity for the airline to operate flights of 4-5 hours with good products and offerings to the region. India is currently the fifth-largest outbound market globally, and is also poised to become the world's third-largest economy by 2027. Its young population and growing middle class would help to reinforce the aviation industry. Indigo has become the world's largest client for aircraft, having placed an order for 500 single-aisle planes from the Airbus A320 family in 2023. Mr Elbers said there are still untapped opportunities on international routes, as India only has a rate of 0.06 international seats per capita, almost half the rate for China, which has a rate of 0.11 international seats per capita. He said IndiGo has been expanding in the Southeast Asian region, including in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. In 2024, it began operating the IndiGoStretch business class on major domestic routes in India, such as from Delhi to Mumbai and Bengaluru. Last month, it started rolling out the new class to other regional routes from Delhi and Mumbai to Bangkok, Singapore, Phuket and Dubai. Mr Elbers said demand from both Indian and Thai passengers for flights between Bangkok and Indian cities is roughly the same. However, on the airline's latest route to Krabi, the carrier is attracting mostly Indian tourists. The airline uses 787-9 Dreamliners on the Delhi-Bangkok route. This type of aircraft is among several wide-body aircraft it operates under a damp lease agreement with Norse Atlantic. At the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual general summit in Delhi last month, IndiGo announced an additional firm order of 30 wide-body A350-900s, on top of an existing 30 firm orders. At present, IndiGo operates domestic flights across 91 cities with 500 routes in India, securing the largest market share in the country, as well as 41 international destinations. It aims to expand to 95 domestic destinations and 51 international destinations by next year. Its current available seat kilometres (ASK) on international routes is close to 30% and the airline aims to increase the rate to 40% by 2030. The airline carried over 118 million passengers during the fiscal year that ended in March 2025. The number is expected to double by 2030, Mr Elbers said.
Mint
10-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
IndiGo is pressing ahead with a new Stretch strategy
In July last year, IndiGo, India's largest airline by fleet and market share, announced that it would induct 45 planes with dual-class seating by the end of 2025 and introduce IndiGoStretch, its business class equivalent product, on 12 routes in the country. As of May, the airline has started services to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad from Delhi and between Mumbai and Bengaluru, covering five out of 12 routes. The airline has not disclosed the 12 routes it intends to deploy the product on, but all indicators point to routes connecting the six metros, except the short-haul southern triangle of Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai being connected to each other. However, the airline seems to have second thoughts now on the deployment plan. The airline took delivery of its 23rd such aircraft with 12 IndiGoStretch seats and 208 economy class seats over the weekend, marking 50 per cent of its intended target within six months of the first aircraft becoming operational. The induction rate comes at a time when most airlines are struggling amidst the supply chain constraints and rival Air India has been forced to delay its refurbishment, not once but multiple times, where it now won't be starting the programme of B777 refurbishment when it had initially announced that it would finish it by 2025. While IndiGo always had planes on order, the changes to the configuration requiring different seats have been managed despite the supply chain challenges, which have not just impacted aircraft deliveries but also seats. IndiGo is recalibrating the deployment with IndiGoStretch now available on Delhi-Bangkok flights on its own metal. The route saw deployment of the Norse Atlantic damp-leased 787 Dreamliner aircraft, which came with 56 Premium Economy seats, being sold as Stretch by IndiGo. The deployment to Bangkok will end towards the end of this month and will be replaced by IndiGo's A321 in dual-class configuration. The airline will also add IndiGoStretch on routes to Phuket as well as Dubai. This is a change from the initial announcement and takes precedence over flights on domestic routes which are not yet fully connected, with flights to Kolkata yet to see Stretch and routes like Mumbai-Chennai and Mumbai-Hyderabad yet to see Stretch operations. .. The change in plans would most likely be a reason for more demand on international sectors, tested by deploying the Dreamliner to Bangkok and a lack of consistent demand on domestic routes. The airline has maintained that passengers have received the product very well, and class-specific data on loads is never available in the public domain. However, its frequent deep discounting on Stretch and going slow on other metro routes is an indicator that it is recalibrating the deployment and looking for routes where the returns could be faster than on domestic. Later this year, both Mumbai and Delhi will get another airport. With the closure of T1 at the Mumbai airport, IndiGo may be forced to move some flights to Navi Mumbai. It will be a tough call to decide the split as more airport pairs start, which could include Mumbai-Noida, Navi Mumbai-Delhi and Noida-Navi Mumbai. Assuming its incremental capacity in most cases, will IndiGo look at more aeroplanes with dual-class configuration or will more of the metro-to-metro routes be left out? The answer could lie in the current performance of IndIGoStretch, the business-class product. IndiGo has codeshare partnerships with a lot of players now, which include the likes of American Airlines, JAL, Air France-KLM, Qantas, among others. These are premium carriers and offer Business and, in some cases, Premium Economy class as well. Over the years, the connecting passengers on IndiGo are flying the domestic leg in economy class; a handful of routes where significant connecting codeshare traffic from the front cabin is identified could become potential candidates to add IndiGoStretch. The airline has repeatedly said that it is doing well with the IndiGoStretch cabin, but like its rival Air India, the exact loads remain a mystery. Any new class of service requires time to stabilise. However, IndiGo's front cabin does not offer frills like lounge access or hot meals (except for routes to Amsterdam and Manchester). In fact, there remains only one choice of meal, unlike traditional business class offerings. The airline that revolutionised air travel in India by trying to make it a commodity before having the pricing power may well be trying to do the same with the Business class offering, to make it more affordable and appealing to aspirational travellers, which then becomes a segment in itself. IndiGo has had a razor-sharp focus on its competition since its inception. As it outpaces every other airline in the country and competes with the Air India group, it will have to reinvent itself. The older days of adding capacity to ensure that competition drains its resources may not work well with the Air India group as it digs in for the long haul, despite the cash burn. The induction of half its planned dual-class fleet in six months shows that it still has the edge in execution, which possibly no other airline in India has. Does it have the capability to make a new product work? The market will test its resolve.
