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Norwegian has reached a landmark 500,000 UK passengers on its low-cost long-haul flights to the US in less than two years.
The carrier started transatlantic flights from Gatwick in July 2014 and now serves seven US destinations – New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco Oakland, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Puerto Rico – with fares starting at £135 one way.
Norwegian has since secured a UK operating license, allowing access to bilateral traffic rights to new long-haul destinations in the future including Asia, South America and Africa.
The airline uses Boeing 787 Dreamliners on its transatlantic routes and plans to more than quadruple its long-haul fleet.
Norwegian’s chief executive, Bjorn Kjos, said: “The cost of flying to America has been too high for too long and our transatlantic flights show there is huge demand for quality, affordable long-haul travel.
“Half a million UK passengers can’t be wrong and this milestone proves that low-cost long-haul travel can succeed.
“In less than two years our long-haul operation has taken-off with UK passengers, with new routes and additional flights being added all the time.”
He added: “This is only the beginning – with new aircraft orders and traffic rights to a range of new markets, we have ambitious plans to continue offering passengers high-quality low-cost travel.”
Gatwick airport chief financial officer, Nick Dunn, added: “Norwegian has led the low-cost long-haul revolution for UK passengers – half-a-million passengers have already discovered this for themselves, benefitting from significantly cheaper long-haul fares and more choice at Gatwick.
“The revolution continues with flights to Boston and Oakland and shows no sign of slowing up with a record number of long-haul routes from Gatwick due to be launched in the coming year.”