Norwegian 787 economy class cabin has a clean look and decent seat pitch, configured 3-3-3. (Photo: Nancy Branka)
Not only was it Norwegian Air Shuttle’s first flight from Oakland International to London Gatwick, it was also the first scheduled flight ever from Oakland to London.
When invited to participate in a media “simulation” of the Norwegian inaugural flight on May 11—which meant I would go onboard a couple of hours before the flight to experience the product, then deplane—I was curious. Norwegian’s fares to Europe are strikingly low, I’d never flown the young airline, plus it has been the subject of some regulatory controversy. I signed on for the evening.
(This post was written by TravelSkills contributor Nancy Branka)
A notable element of this route is what it’s not: SFO to London-Heathrow (LHR). The Norwegian flight instead links those airports’ smaller single-runway neighbors: Oakland and London-Gatwick (LGW). OAK has always been a favorite of mine because, unlike SFO, weather rarely affects on-time arrivals and departures. Its small size also makes it quick to navigate, and now it’s getting a $100 million facelift in Terminal 1, plus a $35 million international hall.
Gatwick (LGW) is also up-and-coming as Heathrow reaches capacity limits. LGW is 28 miles south of central London but still convenient–the easy 30-minute, approximately $30 Gatwick Express will whisk you from the airport to Victoria Station in the heart of the city.
Another thing that Norwegian Air is not: A business class airline. On its 787 Dreamliner, it only offers seats in economy class (259) and premium economy class (32). No pricey-but-cozy lie-flight seats here. But… all premium economy seats offer in-seat power outlets if you want to stay up and work across the pond. Norwegian refers to its premium economy seats as simply, “Premium.” (Norwegian also flies nonstop to Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen from Oakland.)
Premium economy class seats are roomy and serviceable, configured 2-3-2 (Photo: Nancy Branka)
Take a look at how Seatguru describes seating on Norwegian Air’s 787 Dreamliner.
But limited recline for premium economy seats might be disappointing for those longing to lie-flat. (Photo: Nancy Branka)
Really, the OAK-LGW fares are hard to beat, in peak-season July starting at $1,130 round trip in economy and $1,700 in premium economy. (Compared to premium economy fares on BA or Virgin SFO-LHR which run around $2,250 roundtrip.) Ben Kaufman, Norwegian’s communications manager, told me the carrier will not reduce fares for a summer sale because they are already booking at 90% loads. However, he suggested premium economy fares would be reduced later in the year on all flights, with this route being one of the early beneficiaries.
Once I boarded the 787-800, it was fun to explore before sitting in the premium cabin for dinner. Remember, for Norwegian, premium does not mean business class but compares to premium economy on other carriers. Seats do not fully recline. Norwegian’s SVP sales, Lars Sande, explained that lie-flat seats are three times as costly, and it was more important to customers to keep the fares low. Economy cabin seat pitch is an acceptable 31-32 inches; premium economy is 46 inches.
Dinner–grilled shrimp, bok choy, baby corn, basmati rice, coleslaw and a brownie–was tasty but short on presentation.
My meal sounded beautiful on paper (for example, Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with a mildly spicy and flavorful Thai Green Curry Sauce), but I had trouble getting past the cardboard box in which it was served, this being premium class and all. The shrimp was OK, but I wrestled with removing the layers of foil that covered it—which added to the self-serve feeling, again not feeling the premium. At least premium economy fares do include complimentary meals (dinner and breakfast) and alcohol, while economy fares do not.
Nordic hero Henrik Ibsen graces a bulkhead wall. (Photo: Nancy Branka)
Something I particularly liked was the plane’s aesthetic—grey leather seats accented with the company’s signature red. I was especially enamored with framed, poster-sized black-and-white photos of Nordic heroes hung on bulkhead walls. Similarly, the airline’s tail fins feature black and white portraits of these icons.
At some airports, but regrettably not Oakland, Norwegian offers premium economy passengers access to special airport lounges. Oakland-bound passengers can enjoy a lounge at London-Gatwick, for example. Plus, premium economy passengers get access to speedy Fast Track lines at customs and immigration when arriving at LGW.
If you generally fly business class and want to arrive in London well rested and feeling a little special, this is probably not your airline. But if you just want to get to London as inexpensively as you can and don’t mind sacrificing some things to achieve that, Norwegian Air may be your ticket.
Have you flown Norwegian Air? What did you think? Please leave your comments below.
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We had a pushback issue arriving at JFK and I took the wrong queue passport control with visitors. I didn’t take any add ons.
I flew Norwegian in April 2016 from Oakland to Stockholm returning from Prague. With a reserved seat, one checked bag, 2 meals my ticket was $820.00 compared to $1500 from SFO. The crew was very friendly and helpful. The money I saved went toward my 4 night stay in Stockholm and this city is NOT cheap. Will I fly Norwegian again, you bet. Delta, United charge for checked bags, and reserved seating. Let more low cost carriers into the Bay Area. We need more competition.
Seems like Norwegian could easily and cheaply upgrade the food service by (a) having flight attendants remove the foil during service and (b) moving a few items to non-disposable. Kudos for avoiding the unique-to-Heathrow $400-$1,250 per passenger tax and flying from less congested and easy to access Gatwick.
Gatwick is a Norwegian hub so they have plenty of spares. At OAK they can draw on United’s plentiful 787 spares pool via interchange.
Bear in mind you are eliminating the Heathrow tax of $400-$1,200 per trip depending on the class you fly. Yes, this tax is unique to Heathrow.
No question that the Heathrow Express is great. The problem is that it dumps you at Paddington and then what? You still gotta get a cab or take the tube to the City or Euston/Kings Cross/St Pancras/Victoria (depending on where you are headed). Now if LHR had a mainline rail station…. 🙂
It really is the best! 15 minutes on the Heathrow Express just can’t be beat… If only JFK, ATL, SFO (not to mention CDG, FRA) had an express connection to rival it. Hopefully the increase in carriers like Nowegian flying into LGW will encourage some long-overdue investment in the train connections from there. Problem is, those expanding carriers (Norwegian, easyJet, WestJet) are low-frills so a premium train service is unlikely to make sense.
As a veteran of 80+ flights to London and the UK, I really wish that I still had the option of flying to LGW from ATL. It really is quicker to get into the City from LGW than from LHR (I will take 30 minutes on the train any day over 60 minutes on the Tube or in a cab.)
Besides the Gatwick Express, there are other options on First/ThamesLink and Southern which are less expensive and even more convenient to other parts of London. If your destination is elsewhere in the UK, LGW has a mainline rail station with direct trains south to Brighton and north beyond London.
LHR has done a remarkable job of promoting itself as the best airport for London, but it is anything but convenient.
Good report. I keep wanting to try Norwegian long haul….most likely in Premium Economy but it requires some positioning from Dallas.
It’s a great route, love the 787 and the execution of the “low frills” concept. Chris you mention a couple of reasons to like OAK over SFO but… Gatwick… What a pain! Remember the days when DL’s Atlanta-London nonstops all came into Gatwick? Hard to imagine they literally had zero slots at Heathrow. And the schlep from Gatwick into the centre of London hasn’t got any easier or faster… the 30-minute Gatwick Express invariably takes 40 minutes and if your destination is The City (the financial and business district) you can add on another 20 minutes at least. All I can say is I’ve done it lots of times and it feels like a slow old trek compared to Heathrow or City Airport. But hey if it’s saving a thousand bucks per seat, I’ll live with it! (Not much use for those Norwegian CashPoints though.)
The only negative thing about carriers like Norweigian is that if an aircraft goes Tech, you might be stuck for a day or two. If you fly UA,BA or VS out of SFO, you can be accommodated on one of their multiple daily flights.