Norwegian's $65 One-Way Fares to Europe Are Now Bookable
Update 3/1/17: Unfortunately these $65 one-way fares are no longer available, however at the time it was possible to book a round-trip to Europe for as little as $147, including taxes and fees. Additionally, while these 737s have yet to launch, you can get a feel for the Norwegian economy experience in our 787 Dreamliner review. If you are booking these flights, be sure to sign up for the airline's frequent flyer program.
In 2015, we first learned that Norwegian Air was planning to launch $69 flights between the US to Europe. Since then, the European low-cost carrier has rapidly expanded its US presence — including adding routes between Los Angeles (LAX) and Barcelona (BCN), Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Europe, several cities to the Caribbean and much more. And most recently, we learned that the carrier is launching service to Europe from smaller airports on the East Coast — Providence (PVD), Newburgh, NY (SWF) and Hartford (BDL) — on its new Boeing MAX aircraft.
And beginning today, those $69 fares are bookable — and they're even cheaper than promised. The introductory fares for Norwegian's 10 new routes between PVD, SWF and BDL and several European cities start at $65 one-way, including taxes. Here are the 10 new routes for which these $65 one-way fares are available, broken down by launch date:
| From | To | Launch Date | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stewart International Airport (SWF) | Edinburgh (EDI) | June 15 | Daily service |
| Providence's T.F. Green Airport (PVD) | EDI | June 16 | 4x weekly service in the summer; 2x weekly service in the winter |
| Hartford's Bradley International Airport (BDL) | EDI | June 17 | 3x weekly service in the summer; 2x weekly service in the winter |
| SWF | Belfast (BFS) | July 1 | 3x weekly service in the summer; 2x weekly service in the winter |
| SWF | Dublin (DUB) | July 1 | Daily service in the summer; 3x weekly service in the winter |
| PVD | BFS | July 1 | 2x weekly service in the summer; no winter service |
| PVD | Cork (ORK) | July 1 | 3x weekly service in the summer; 2x weekly service in the winter |
| SWF | Shannon (SNN) | July 2 | 2x weekly service year-round |
| PVD | DUB | July 2 | 5x weekly service in the summer; 3x weekly service in the winter |
| PVD | SNN | July 3 | 2x weekly service year-round |
For frequency, Norwegian ends its summer service on October 28 and begins its winter season on October 29. On these 10 new routes, Norwegian is offering the $65 introductory fare — a price that's hard to beat. However, once the introductory period has ended, which wasn't specified, the lowest fare will increase to $99 one-way.
Norwegian SVP of Sales Lars Sande said that fares from Europe to the US on these new routes will also hover around the same mark, but vary based on the taxes from the specific airport. It's possible to get a very cheap round-trip ticket between the US and Europe with these new fares, but it might take some time playing around with the dates.
In Quarter 2 of this year, Norwegian will accept delivery of six new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which it will then use on these new routes. The latest addition to the Norwegian fleet has a range of 3,515 nautical miles, which leaves the options for expansion open to new European, North American and — potentially — Asian cities.
Norwegian's 737 MAX will feature 189 economy seats in a 3-3 configuration — there will be no Premium cabin, as Norwegian features on its Dreamliner aircraft. The carrier will continue to offer travelers the option to bundle additional fees when they book, but the focus is on the low-cost ticket. As a reminder, Norwegian is a low-cost carrier, so it charges for some things that are complimentary on other carriers, such as seat selection, meals and checked baggage.
When Norwegian launches its 737 MAX aircraft into service on June 15, there will be no in-flight entertainment options. However, Sande said that it will eventually launch its Wi-Fi service on these new MAX routes. Once it launches its free Wi-Fi service, like the carrier offers on its intra-Europe routes, travelers will be able to browse the web from their own devices and stream content for an additional cost.
Bottom Line
This is great news for travelers looking for the cheapest fare when getting between the US Europe. Starting at just $65 one-way, these new fares from Norwegian are a great option. However, if you're planning on taking advantage of one of these fares, it's better to act sooner rather than later, as there's no clue when these $65 introductory fares will expire. Even when they do expire, the next level of fares — $99 one-way — are still a great option, and very budget-friendly.