Oslo-headquartered Norse, which is based out of Gatwick in the UK, will operate seven US routes this summer after gaining the necessary permissions to put its low-cost long-haul model into operation.
In addition to New York, Norse last month confirmed it would fly to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale from Gatwick, before adding a further four US routes – Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Washington DC.
The new entrant claimed record ticket sales in February, with the uptick in bookings allowing it to up its focus on ancillaries, leading to "the most successful month" in its short history.
"Norse Atlantic Airways continues to be on track to deliver on the previously announced business plan and to be profitable by the end of 2023," it said in a traffic update on Friday (10 March).
Norse is seeking to replicate the short-lived success Norwegian Air made pre-pandemic of its low-cost long-haul operation out of Gatwick; it claimed on Friday to be "making significant progress toward becoming the industry’s first successful long-haul, low-cost airline" and to be "the number one airline service the US from Gatwick".
In total, Norse operated 203 flights in February – including charters – carrying 32,970 passengers on a load factor of 50%. Some 98% of its scheduled flights operated, with three New York round-trips cancelled owing to a fire at Terminal 1 at New York JFK.
“We are very pleased to now be able to offer customers our full summer flight schedule," said Norse chief executive Bjorn Tore Larsen. "Demand since launch has been very encouraging and we expect a busy summer season.
"In February, Norse Atlantic broke multiple revenue, ticket sales and website visit records, and we are seeing strong booking volumes across our network for the summer period with flights to and from London to the US proving to be particularly popular during the peak months.
"Our planning team is now shifting its focus from summer to winter as our business matures and we seek longer selling windows. We look forward to sharing initial winter plans with an emphasis on sun destinations towards the end of March."
