Norwegian Air

[villager13]

We are booked on the Into the Midnight Sun Cruise in June 2020. Bergen to London. We want to fly Premium Economy and can find airfare on Norwegian Air much cheaper than using Viking Air Plus. Flying from Florida to London to Bergen on the way over and direct from London to Florida on the way back. I am not familiar with Norwegian Air and wondered if anyone has used it or knows about it. Good time and decent layover. 

[just_dont]

We are booked on the Into the Midnight Sun Cruise in June 2020. Bergen to London. We want to fly Premium Economy and can find airfare on Norwegian Air much cheaper than using Viking Air Plus. Flying from Florida to London to Bergen on the way over and direct from London to Florida on the way back. I am not familiar with Norwegian Air and wondered if anyone has used it or knows about it. Good time and decent layover. 

We did the Midnight Sun cruise this June, same direction. We did our own flights and booked RT from Denver to London and ended up flying Scandinavian Air (SAS) from London to Oslo. The flight from London to Norway is only about an hour and a half, so a flight on a budget carrier is bearable.
However, although I don't have any experience with Norwegian Air, I would have a problem with a reservation with them, as there are recent stories (just Google them) about how they're desperately trying to avoid bankruptcy. Wouldn't want to have to deal with that.
If you fly LHR to Oslo there are more flight options, and then you can see Oslo and take the train to Bergen (Norway in a Nutshell) and have control over getting to Bergen ahead of embarkation day. Easy DIY.


Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[villager13]

Oh wow! I had no idea that this was the case. I just did google it and found out they are in financial trouble for sure! I don’t want to have to worry about them going bankrupt by next June!

Thanks!!

How did you like your cruise? 

[prim8keeper]

We flew to Barcelona a few years ago on Norwegian Air in their premium cabin from FLL. I had zero complaints and was actually pretty surprised by now nice the flight was overall. It is not true business class, but we thought their premium cabin was better than other premium cabins we had flown in.

 

However, I would agree with just_dont that if you book them make sure you have trip insurance at the very least in case something goes wrong. The stories about them potentially going under have been around for years and it has yet to happen, but its impossible to know if it will. They also just partnered with JetBlue so in theory that would lead me to believe they will stick around. It would make no sense for JetBlue to make that arrangement if they were going to go under and I have to imagine they got to look at the books. Norwegian has been trying to turn things around for a while. That said the other potential issue you can run into with Norwegian is that they don't have a lot of extra aircraft like the legacy carriers. So if something goes wrong your flight it can be canceled or they may wet lease another completely different type of aircraft.

[just_dont]

Thanks!!
How did you like your cruise? 

Absolutely LOVED it. Norway is so beautiful (but crazy expensive). We generally had great weather and didn't miss any ports. Our DIY pre-cruise was great, and much more relaxed than the rigidly timed touring once the cruise starts. On the cruise we did mostly Viking excursions, but did some on our own, too.
I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, prim8keeper said:

make sure you have trip insurance at the very least

 

Travel insurance companies have lists of companies whose financial default they will not cover.

 

Make sure that NorwegianAir is actually covered by the insurance at the time you buy it. Also confirm that financial default of the company will be covered even if at a future date Norwegian Air is added to the list of companies that will not be covered. Get it in writing.

[Mich3554]

Make sure you check what Norwegian Air’s scheduled flights are available.  I think when I looked, there were about 4 flights each week from my location.  Had one of the flights been canceled, it could have possibly made catching our cruise out of Bergen tight.  Them being on the verge of bankruptcy didn’t help either.

[TayanaLorna]

I looked at booking Norwegian Air out of Florida for our Midnight Sun cruise in 2018.  However I decided not to book them because they had only 1 flight per day and they did not fly the itinerary every day.  I worried if there was a delay or problem, we wouldn't get to Norway for two days.

 

Absolutely loved the cruise.  The scenery is gorgeous.  If you have any specific questions, ask away.

[villager13]

What airline and flights did you end up booking out of Florida for the Midnight Sun Cruise? 

[Emma]

W

[Emma]

We took Norwegian from Ny to London, premium economy. It was a pleasant flight, not quite first class but closer than other carriers economy class. We also travel a few days before our cruise.

[Capt_BJ]

used Norw' Air for our 'midnight sun' with no complaints

 

Orlando to London Gatwick then Oslo to Orlando .. premium both way. Had extra days tacked on to both sides ..... our cruise ended in Bergen and we made our way to Oslo via Flam and then the railways.

 

Tales of their impending doom were around for a while even then ... but we made it!  DW and DD had previously used them for an Oslo/Bergen/Copen' trip.

 

we usually book our own air and extra days . . . 

[mhb1757]

On 10/19/2019 at 9:54 PM, just_dont said:

 

 

We did the Midnight Sun cruise this June, same direction. We did our own flights and booked RT from Denver to London and ended up flying Scandinavian Air (SAS) from London to Oslo. The flight from London to Norway is only about an hour and a half, so a flight on a budget carrier is bearable.
However, although I don't have any experience with Norwegian Air, I would have a problem with a reservation with them, as there are recent stories (just Google them) about how they're desperately trying to avoid bankruptcy. Wouldn't want to have to deal with that.
If you fly LHR to Oslo there are more flight options, and then you can see Oslo and take the train to Bergen (Norway in a Nutshell) and have control over getting to Bergen ahead of embarkation day. Easy DIY.


Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

 

Just an FYI, SAS is not a budget/low cost carrier like Norwegian. SAS is a full service airline that has been around for ages and is not in such a precarious financial position. They are the best bet for nonstops from the US to Scandinavia. We flew them from Newark nonstop to Oslo two years ago prior to our Midnight Sun cruise (then took the train to Bergen via Flam precruise ). Really liked bypassing the main hubs at Heathrow or CDG, or Frankfort. This summer will fly them again to Oslo and home from Copenhagen after the Russia and Baltic cruise.  

Another nice feature is after you purchase a ticket you can bid on an upgrade (to premium economy or business) no guarantee of course that the upgrade will come through but we have had great luck and snagged business seats for a great price. 

[azdrydock]

Just a few words of caution....

Two years ago we booked flights on Air Berlin to Barcelona and back from Venice 6 months in advance. At the time of booking Air Berlin was in about the same condition as Norwegian is now; but  6 days before we left, Air Berlin ceased operations. Luckily we booked thru American and they were able to get us to Barcelona on time but there was no return available due to another airline servicing Venice also going bankrupt. AA refunded the return fare. We were able to make roundabout standby connections  when we got to Venice  and got home a day late.

 

Earlier this year we ran into a couple that had booked Norwegian to Barcelona. I am not sure where they started but when they arrived at the airport they were notified the aircraft never arrived due to mechanical issues and Norwegian could not get them to Barcelona for 5 days due to the fact that they did not have daily scheduled flights and no priority agreements with other carriers. I suggest making sure you have backup plans. 

 

 Now for the good news; I believe Jet Blue is in the process of or now has an intercarrier agreement with Norwegian that may reduce some of risk 

[just_dont]

Just an FYI, SAS is not a budget/low cost carrier like Norwegian. SAS is a full service airline that has been around for ages and is not in such a precarious financial position. They are the best bet for nonstops from the US to Scandinavia. We flew them from Newark nonstop to Oslo two years ago prior to our Midnight Sun cruise (then took the train to Bergen via Flam precruise ). Really liked bypassing the main hubs at Heathrow or CDG, or Frankfort. This summer will fly them again to Oslo and home from Copenhagen after the Russia and Baltic cruise.  
Another nice feature is after you purchase a ticket you can bid on an upgrade (to premium economy or business) no guarantee of course that the upgrade will come through but we have had great luck and snagged business seats for a great price. 

I wasn't implying that SAS is a budget carrier, although looking at my post, I can understand how it reads that way. I started by stating how we got from London to Oslo. The "budget carrier" comment was intended to be a separate statement that probably should have been on a new line.
I do believe that it would be reasonable to consider a budget carrier (even though we hadn't) for a one way flight from London to Norway since it's a short flight, but I did want to caution about what I'd read about Norwegian Air.
Sorry for any confusion.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Jack E Dawson]

We flew Norwegian Airlines, round trip to London LGW, twice last year in their premium cabin, which I guess is their equivalent to Business Class lite. Very impressed, excellent service. They fly the 787 Dreamliner (not to be confused with the grounded 737 Max) over the ocean. This carbon-fiber plane is pressurized to a lower altitude so there is less stress on your body. The seats and leg-room were very good but they did not lay completely flat. The food is also very good but oddly, comes in a cleverly designed box. The TV screen serves as an interactive screen for ordering drinks and food which comes very quickly. In London, Norwegian Airlines has a lounge service for Premium passengers, that includes a full meal service, a nice touch. Considering that the pricing for the premium cabin is 50-60% below other major airlines, we plan to keep flying Norwegian, however, we ALWAYS purchase travel insurance for our cruises.

 

Jack

[RetroRod]

We completed a VO this past June out of Stockholm from LAX returned from Bergen. When we were planning for air our TA advised against NorwegianAir. She stated a number of her customers had issues when NA cancelled flights and moved them to another low cost airline. I didn’t want to worry about making the cruise departure so we went with a large mainstream airline that had good partner airlines (Sky Team). KLM was particularly good and their business class was outstanding. 

[Canberra601]

A further word of caution.  I have travelled with Norwegian a couple of times - London/New York and on about half of the flights the original plane was replaced by a non-Norwegian plane with non Norwegian crew on board.  Vastly inferior hard and soft product.  Chaos among the passengers who now found their pre booked seats were not where they expected due to a different configuration.  Just be prepared for things to go potentially wrong.

[Islandbc]

We were fortunate with our NA flight from LAX to FCO return last December.  The premium economy  class was very comfortable.  It was also pleasant to have access to the premier lounges in LA and Rome. 

[terrydtx]

My TA also advised against booking Norwegian because of their uncertain financial condition. Also the travel insurance she uses will NOT cover Norwegian tickets. As tempting as their cost is, it is not worth the savings if you miss a $10-12K cruise. We booked our flights for our VO cruise next year through AA on Premium Economy at $500pp less than what Viking Air quoted, our cost $1799 vs Viking Air $2298. Now a month after we booked on AA the same PE seats are going for over $2900, so now Viking Air would be a better deal. We jumped on the $1799 fare we saw it on AA's website. BTW we are booked to Venice returning from Athens.

Edited December 15, 2019 by terrydtx

[chrisbu315]

On 10/23/2019 at 4:08 PM, Jack E Dawson said:

We flew Norwegian Airlines, round trip to London LGW, twice last year in their premium cabin, which I guess is their equivalent to Business Class lite. Very impressed, excellent service. They fly the 787 Dreamliner (not to be confused with the grounded 737 Max) over the ocean. This carbon-fiber plane is pressurized to a lower altitude so there is less stress on your body. The seats and leg-room were very good but they did not lay completely flat. The food is also very good but oddly, comes in a cleverly designed box. The TV screen serves as an interactive screen for ordering drinks and food which comes very quickly. In London, Norwegian Airlines has a lounge service for Premium passengers, that includes a full meal service, a nice touch. Considering that the pricing for the premium cabin is 50-60% below other major airlines, we plan to keep flying Norwegian, however, we ALWAYS purchase travel insurance for our cruises.

 

Jack

+1 on this post plus by creating an account on the Norweigan Air site I received a large credit for a future flight.  I used the credit for my flight from Bergen to London after my cruise on January 22.  The price for two tickets was $25 including baggage fees.  It's  no wonder they may be going bankrupt.  I hope they operate for a few more weeks.