Brighter Group’s Steve Dunne was among the passengers who experienced the latest chapter in low-cost long-haul flying on Norwegian’s first service to Florida last week. He was impressed
It was back in the late 1970s that British aviation pioneer, Sir Freddie Laker, first introduced the concept of low-cost transatlantic air services to the British travelling public.
Alas that dream for Sir Freddie died in 1982.
But last Friday I, and more than 230 other passengers, were reminded of his pioneering spirit when the inaugural flight of Norwegian Air to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, took off from Gatwick Airport.
It was the 4th of July, Independence Day in America. And a celebratory atmosphere was much in display at the check-in counter and departure gate of Norwegian Air.
But, while American style cheerleaders danced and lead rah-rah chants at the Norwegian Air check-in; and champagne, cake, commemorative lapel pins and branded sunglasses were generously distributed to me and my fellow passengers at the departure gate, it was the low prices and the chance to fly the first scheduled Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Florida from the UK that was dominating the conversation of nearly every one of my fellow passengers.
Norwegian Air is attempting something brave, something which has many experts wondering aloud about the feasibility of it all. Low-cost, no frills, scheduled services – long-haul style.
For a passenger the low-cost business model of Norwegian Air is apparent from the very start. Everything is purchased separately – your seat, your inflight food and your baggage are all individually priced.
At the airport the check-in process involves not only checking one’s self in and printing one’s e-ticket, but printing off the luggage label and fixing it to ones case – and then weighing one’s bag and dispensing it to the aircraft via a luggage belt oneself.
It’s a fresh approach in transatlantic long-haul travel, crows the Norwegian Air PR machine.
And this feeling of freshness was underpinned vividly for me by the strong smell of new leather seats, which hit me between the eyes as I boarded the Dreamliner. The crew, in uniforms that are distinct to say the least, seemed new and fresh also.
While the seat pitch is generous in Norwegian’s Premium Economy class, the seat pitch in the Economy cabin seemed little different to that of the Virgin Atlantic and BA services to Florida. However it was the seat back technology and inflight entertainment system that had my fellow passengers buzzing with anticipation.
The seatback Android touchscreen “with hundreds of hours of entertainment” as the pre-recorded mid-Atlantic male voice announced to the whole cabin, is true state of the art, making the Virgin and BA services to Florida, frequented by many of my fellow passengers, seem a tad weary.
And the Android screen is very much the centre of your Norwegian Air experience.
You can adjust your reading light and call cabin crew by touching the screen; order anything from blankets to headphones ($3) and snacks from the snack bar (orange juice $4, muffin $4 and cheese or chicken wraps at a whopping $10); and all by swiping your credit card along the bottom of the screen. The goods arrive at your seat ten minutes after you pay.
But apart from the movies, TV shows, games and music also on offer through the seatback screen it is the 3D map of the globe, one of the coolest I’ve seen on an aircraft, that steals the show, allowing you, with the flick of a finger, to zero in on a region or city – right down to street level.
The ambient cabin lighting, the large windows and higher cabin ceiling plus mid-Atlantic man’s announcement that there is a better air quality aboard and that the aircraft is faster and greener “than the average flight to Florida” had all my fellow passengers feeling good.
For me the whole Norwegian Air experience was probably summed up by the mid-Atlantic pre-recorded voice’s last comment before take off – “have a super nice flight”.
It was.