HIDDY

Good video.

Norwegian look to be an acceptable alternative for those on a low budget.....AKA BA status holders flying on their own dime.

Nimrod1965

I have flown with Norwegian a few times, mostly Gatwick to/from Tenerife and to Copenhagen. I think that they are the best LCC around at the moment, never had any issues with crew. Tenerife flights were booked about 4 months prior to date of flight and were cheaper than BA at time of booking. The Copenhagen flight was booked 3 months before date of flight and was around £100 per person cheaper than BA at similar departure times. I would definitely consider Norwegian again if they fly to where I want to go.

Be careful when selecting seats on the Norwegian 737-800, rows 10 and 11 have a window blanked where the air conditioning pipes run up from the floor to the ceiling behind the cabin walls. On one return from Tenerife, my daughter and I were in 10A/B and she wasn't impressed. Luckily the loads were light and we moved to 18 D&F.

NTA

Thanks Hiddy, they're certainly at the top-end of LCCs and worth considering in the future if they've got direct flights.

Indeed, I could have forgiven BA for running out of alcohol if they'd said they'd made a one-off mistake or chucked us some Avios to account for the high cost of our tickets, but they effectively just shrugged their shoulders via e-mail and said it was business as normal.

I find it varies quite a bit, with the BA fare approach differing by flight times. BA go for some headline-grabbing prices on their overnight LGW service and early LCY trips, and go for better yields in the nicer timeslots. They're certainly doing something right, as the daytime flights were pretty much sold out for a few weeks, with just odd bits of availability popping up. If the LCCs offer the same sort of seats and a better service at more convenient flight times, it's BA that will have to offer a price advantage

clarkeysntfc

Just as a data point... EZY charge £3 per person per leg for a standard seat reservation. BA charge £12.

Speedbird876

Talk about a rowdy crowd on the Norwegian flight.

lcyguy

They most certainly are missing from selected rows. I was unfortunate to be in one of those rows on a very stuffy flight to WAW the other day. Quite unpleasant.

paulwuk

I believe you don't get EU261 protection with Norweigan. Which is fine, until you want to use it (overnight accommodation etc), then no doubt there'll be much wailing and nashing of teeth.

I assume you stepped in at this point and bought her the water?

I often want to eat around this time, especially if I have been working all morning, arrive at the airport at T-45, and jump on the flight.

T8191

NTA ... an excellent piece of work, and thanks for the time and effort that involved. ^

I need to review my FT Friend List

callum9999

Yes you do. EU261 applies to the EEA - of which Norway is a part of (while there is a belief that leaving the EU and joining the EEA lets you escape EU legislation, it mostly doesn't!). Regardless, it also applies to all carriers departing from an EU/EEA member state so even if Norwegian weren't included, it would apply to both legs of this journey.

On the topic of BA short haul vs Norwegian, I personally prefer Norwegian. The planes are much newer and seem fresher inside and you get free wifi/entertainment (though I've never managed to get it to work on my tablet - and I haven't looked recently but the free selection seemed quite poor). The only thing I miss is the avios.

710 77345

Why would you assume that, bearing in mind the person was in another row to the OP, so there must have been at least a couple of people closer to the woman? The situation is covered in the video, but your statement strikes me as rather presumptuous.

Dicksbits

I took Norwegian back to LGW from LPA in early April, booked late, and could only get an aisle on row 11. At £105 single I thought this was pretty good value. I am 6'3" and actually found the seat and legroom acceptable. This was somewhat of a shock as on an Iberia flight it was intolerable. I'm not sure if it's the design of the seat or not. The staff were ok, I think BA's are better allround. I think of Norwegian as Ryanair prices, but easyjet service. Free wifi on a 4h flight was a great free bonus, but as there are no power sockets my phone was dead by the time the tyres touched the ground in LGW.

NTA

I just wish BA had installed wi-fi and power sockets on their refurbished planes, it would have made a big difference to their competitiveness against Norwegian (who are being very aggressive with expansion at LGW). Mentally add in £10 for some catering on Norwegian's pricing, and you can compare easily the difference between them and BA when booking. It's not a pretty sight for BA plc.

RDinJER

I've been forever a BA apologist but I admit I'm getting a bit tired of "enhancements" of late. I've used DY to Oslo several times this year and they are certainly at an EZY level of LCC.

A point worth mentioning from your video - Row 1 on the 737 is awful, the tray table in the armrest makes the width horrific! I'm by no means large (5,11 and relative fit) but I found it very unfortable and restrictive even on a short OSL-BGO sector - I'd end up standing in the galley if faced with that on some of the 5-6 hour sectors to the canaries and Dubai that they deploy them on.

Cheers
RD

tsastor

A couple of notes:
* My experience with WiFi on Norwegian is that it functions fine in the beginning of the flight but turns unusable later - anyone else has similar experience?
* The FA's of Norwegian are likely from the Baltic states / Eastern Europe and underpaid - not very friendly IMO
* The hard product and food on Norwegian is good.
* The No1 lounge in Heathrow is much nicer than at Gatwick.

iceblueshoes

I would hardly call this an "enhancement"... in any case, OP should be glad he only had to go from Ibiza to London. I took Hainan from Beijing to Brussels and there were no vents. NEVER again!

I do agree that a small cup of water should be free. I mean what if someone needs it to take some pills or something. I get not advertising that it's free, but if someone requests it, just give them a little bit.
+1 on WIFI.
Should be standard on all planes.
Wifi worked for me, but kept timing out. Then again, i was trying to watch youtube... lol
In any case it's ok if you're doing simple web browsing and email. I'm fine with that.
Flight attendants were fine, I felt and they seemed to be from the Nordic countries, but I'm not sure.

Just wondering, if anyone knows if the seats recline?
I've taken Norwegian once (haven't had the chance to again) from Nice to London and I found they were alright. I'd rather take them than easyjet or ryanair.

Just one final comment, the Ibiza crowd is pretty boisterous. I've done the redeye flight from Ibiza to Belfast and the plane was delayed so when we finally got to board, the plane had run out of alcohol. lol
Not a big deal to me, but I see how this could be annoying to some.