Norwegian announces new direct flights from Gatwick to Miami and San Francisco replacing Fort Lauderdale and Oakland

• Airline to serve Miami and San Francisco to reflect customer demand and cargo opportunities
• More flights added to popular long-haul routes next summer

Norwegian today announces new strategic updates to its summer 2019 UK route network that will benefit consumers seeking affordable long-haul travel at www.norwegian.com/uk

From 31 March, Norwegian will serve Miami International Airport (MIA) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) from London Gatwick, replacing its existing flights to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Oakland (OAK) airports, from £174.90 one way.

The airline will operate daily flights to Miami, up from four-weekly services to Fort Lauderdale last summer and five-weekly services to San Francisco. The change in airport destination reflects customer demand and the increased cargo capabilities these airports offer Norwegian Cargo.

Voted Skytrax 2018 World’s Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline and Europe’s Best Low-Cost Airline, Norwegian will have 32 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in its fleet by the end of 2018 which are operated on its long-haul routes. Norwegian serves more destinations in the USA nonstop from Gatwick Airport than any other airline.

Norwegian’s summer 2019 network will feature 13 long-haul routes including a brand-new route between the UK and Brazil.

From 31 March 2019, Europe’s third largest low-cost airline will commence a new four-weekly service to Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport (GIG) from London Gatwick Airport. Flights will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft with fares from £239 one way*.

Norwegian will continue operating its increased services from London Gatwick to New York JFK with three-daily flights and a daily service to Buenos Aires in summer 2019. The airline’s newly launched twice-weekly Tampa route will also feature alongside nonstop flights to Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Orlando and Seattle.

Matthew Wood, SVP Commercial at Norwegian said: “We are delighted to meet the strong demand for our transatlantic flights by announcing that Miami and San Francisco will join Rio de Janeiro as part of our summer 2019 flight schedule.

“By also increasing frequency on popular routes next summer, we will provide customers with more choice, smoother connections and exceptional value at affordable fares across Europe, the USA and South America.”

Stephen King, Head of Airline Relations; Gatwick Airport, said: “These new Miami and San Francisco routes will fly passengers straight into the heart of two of America’s most iconic city destinations. In all, Norwegian will fly to 11 US destinations from Gatwick next summer, which gives passengers both tremendous choice and exceptional value as the airline offers some of the most competitive long-haul airfares around.”

Small frequency reductions will apply to two routes that will free up Boeing 787 Dreamliner capacity, in light of industry-wide mandatory inspections of a specific Rolls Royce engine type. The Los Angeles route will reduce to a daily service and the Chicago route will reduce to four flights per week.

Norwegian was ranked the most fuel-efficient airline on transatlantic routes by The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). The airline carries more than 5.8 million UK passengers each year to over 50 global destinations. Norwegian has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world with an average age of 3.7 years.

Nov 28, 2018 10:30 GMT