Norse Atlantic Airways Launches Direct Flights from London Gatwick to Las Vegas

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Norse Atlantic Airways inaugurated its latest U.S. destination—Las Vegas—on September 12, adding to its growing list of long-haul, low-cost routes. This new service marks the airline’s fifth U.S. airport and comes on the same day British Airways announced plans to increase flights from London Heathrow to Las Vegas for next summer.

Norse’s new route from London Gatwick to Las Vegas is flown using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. In a clever nod to Sin City’s gambling fame, the flight carries the number 777. While Norse is the only foreign carrier to use this flight number to Las Vegas, several domestic airlines also use 777 on routes to the city. Previously, Norwegian Airlines operated the Gatwick-Las Vegas service, and now, Norse is taking over—time will tell if the route proves successful for them.

Las Vegas remains a major market for flights from London, with approximately 450,000 roundtrip passengers in 2023. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both offer regular nonstop flights, and now Norse joins the competition. Additionally, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines operate limited services to Las Vegas, mainly around major events like the Consumer Electronics Show.

The new Norse route covers 4,565 nautical miles (8,454 km) and operates three times a week. The schedule for September is as follows (all times local):

• London Gatwick to Las Vegas (Flight Z0777): 12:00 – 14:40 (10h 40m)
• Las Vegas to London Gatwick (Flight Z0778): 16:45 – 10:35+1 (9h 50m)

Norse’s IATA code for its UK operation is Z0, while the original Norwegian airline used N0. As Norse bets on this new Gatwick-Las Vegas route, it will need strong performance to secure its place in the market—otherwise, ‘N0’ might become a fitting, if unintended, reference.

Running a long-haul, low-cost operation is notoriously difficult, particularly in the off-season. Norse has already made strategic adjustments to its flight operations, including reducing frequencies and exploring alternative options outside scheduled flights. With only three weekly flights to Las Vegas, the airline has limited flexibility to respond to shifts in demand.

Since its first revenue-generating flight in June 2022, Norse Atlantic has cut several destinations, raising concerns about its network planning and revenue management. Notably, it dropped Kingston, Jamaica before the route even launched—a service that was intended to boost winter performance.

Some of the discontinued routes include:

• Barbados (intended to help with winter performance)
• Boston
• Fort Lauderdale (shifted to Miami)
• Montego Bay (another winter-focused route)
• San Francisco
• Washington Dulles

Cirium data shows that Norse has operated a total of 28 routes, 13 of which—about 46%—have been dropped in just over two years. This includes routes that flew at least once, excluding Gatwick-Kingston, which was canceled before launch.

Additionally, three routes were shifted to nearby airports, marking the end of their original operations. Even excluding these adjustments, Norse still cut 36% of its routes in its short history:

• Berlin-Fort Lauderdale (shifted to Miami)
• Berlin-Los Angeles
• Gatwick-Barbados
• Gatwick-Boston
• Gatwick-Fort Lauderdale (shifted to Miami)
• Gatwick-Montego Bay
• Gatwick-San Francisco
• Gatwick-Washington Dulles
• Oslo-Fort Lauderdale (shifted to Miami)
• Oslo-Gatwick (early routing via Oslo-Gatwick-JFK)
• Oslo-Los Angeles
• Oslo-Orlando
• Paris CDG-Miami

The high number of discontinued routes highlights the challenges Norse Atlantic faces in establishing a stable long-haul, low-cost model. Whether Las Vegas proves to be a long-term success or just another short-lived experiment remains to be seen.

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