Inaugural Dates Announced for Primera Air's Launch Across the Atlantic
Back in July, we shared the news that Nordic airline Primera Air is headed across the Atlantic. At the time, we knew that the first of the routes would launch in April, but we didn't have dates for the first flights. Now we've got the details.
Newark (EWR) Routes
Newark will be the first of the two US gateways to get an inaugural Primera Air flight, with daily service to London Stansted (STN) beginning April 19. Here's the timetable:
- PF 41 — London Stansted (STN) 5:55pm Departure ⇒ Newark (EWR) 9:20pm Arrival
- PF 42 — Newark (EWR) 10:50pm Departure ⇒ London Stansted (STN) 11:00am+1 Arrival
EWR will get its second and third daily flights starting May 18. On that day, daily flights will launch to both Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) and Birmingham, England (BHX):
- PF 21 — Paris (CDG) 6:50pm Departure ⇒ Newark (EWR) 9:40pm Arrival
- PF 22 — Newark (EWR) 11:10pm Departure ⇒ Paris (CDG) 12:35pm+1 Arrival
- PF 51 — Birmingham (BHX) 5:45pm Departure ⇒ Newark (EWR) 9:00pm Arrival
- PF 52 — Newark (EWR) 10:30pm Departure ⇒ Birmingham (BHX) 10:30am+1 Arrival
Boston (BOS) Routes
Boston will also get a Primera Air flight to Europe on May 18, but unlike the Newark routes, Primera Air won't serve Boston daily. The inaugural route will be to London's Stansted with 4x weekly flights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) operating on the following schedule:
- PF 43 — London Stansted (STN) 5:00pm Departure ⇒ Boston (BOS) 8:10pm Arrival
- PF 44 — Boston (BOS) 9:40pm Departure ⇒ London Stansted (STN) 9:30am+1 Arrival
The next two Primera Air flights will launch in June. First, a flight to Paris' Charles de Gaulle (CDG) will begin June 21. The 3x weekly flights (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) will operate with the following schedule:
- PF 23 — Paris (CDG) 5:30pm Departure ⇒ Boston (BOS) 8:05pm Arrival
- PF 24 — Boston (BOS) 9:35pm Departure ⇒ Paris (CDG) 10:45am+1 Arrival
Finally, the sixth transatlantic Primera Air route will launch June 22 to Birmingham (BHX) — 4x weekly flights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) will operate at the following times:
- PF 53 — Birmingham (BHX) 5:15pm Departure ⇒ Boston (BOS) 8:15pm Arrival
- PF 54 — Boston (BOS) 9:45pm Departure ⇒ Birmingham (BHX) 9:30am+1 Arrival
Aircraft and Cabin
Primera Air is joining the growing trend of sending narrowbody aircraft across the Atlantic. In addition to the 757 — a staple on smaller transatlantic routes — Norwegian recently launched 737 MAX flights across the pond. Now, Primera Air will join with a fleet of eight brand new Airbus A321neos.
These aircraft will be fitted with four rows of 2-2 "Premium" class seats (16 total). According to Primera Air's website, these seats will come with:
- A meal
- A Comfort kit
- An individual bottle of water
- Electric and USB sockets to charge your computer and devices
Behind Premium, there are four rows of extra-legroom "comfort" economy seats and 27 rows of 3-3 arranged standard economy seats. These seats come with "USB sockets to charge your devices" and it seems like not much else.
Although some of Primera Air's photos seem to have an in-flight entertainment screen, it doesn't seem like there will be any provided entertainment options, as the airline "encourage(s) you to take your own devices to keep yourself entertained." However, the aircraft will be fitted with Wi-Fi.
Both cabins will have a "high quality buy-on-board selection of great items at great prices." I guess we'll have to wait until April to see exactly what that means.
Fares
This is where Primera Air is starting to turn heads. While it might be a no-frills economy experience, the airline is clearly aiming to compete on base price. Primera's form of basic economy is called "Light" and only allows one carry-on bag of up to 22 pounds. These fares start as low as $99 one-way, but fares for bundled packages aren't nearly as cheap:
The add-on fees add up from there, starting with checked baggage starting at $45 one-way:
And seat selection fees starting at $40:
Plus pre-ordered meals mostly running $40:
Bottom Line
Primera Air launches nonstop flights to Europe in mid-April. There are six routes with tickets already for sale, from Newark (EWR) and Boston (BOS) to Birmingham (BHX), Paris (CDG) and London (STN). While you'll probably see a lot of advertisements for $99 fares, make sure you do the math to determine the full cost of the flight.
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