Norwegian plans to shake up the trans-Atlantic even more, with smaller planes to smaller U.S. cities, and $69 one-way fares as a promotion to get the new routes started.
Norwegian Air International, the company’s Irish-based subsidiary, just got its U.S. certificate and has started rolling out plans, including new service to Newburgh, NY, in the Hudson Valley 90 minutes north of NYC, and to one other Northeast city, in the orbit of Boston: Portsmouth, Providence or Hartford.
The routes will be served by the airlines’ new 737-MAX planes; its first batch of 6 will be delivered in June, and flights on the new routes will begin shortly after, with 2 of the planes assigned to Newburgh routes. What hasn’t been announced is which European cities will be on the other end of the flights.
The $69 flights will get initial attention; after that, Norwegian expects fares to run around $300-350 round-trip. The airline believes the single-aisle 737-MAX, the largest version of the 737 and the first to get new, more efficient engines, will be able to make money at those prices at the smaller airports…and may well draw lots of bargain-seekers from further away.
