Norse Atlantic Launches Low-Cost Rome-New York Boeing 787 Flights

Norse Atlantic has announced and put on sale its next route: Rome – a new airport for the carrier – to New York JFK. It will be the fourth airline on the 4,277-mile (6,884km) airport pair. It comes two months after long-haul-only Norse revealed Paris CDG-JFK, a market that will have 11 daily flights next summer, even before JetBlue’s coming service is added.

Norse adds Rome-JFK

Norse Atlantic’s first Italy flight will take off on June 19th, joining others to the Big Apple from Oslo, Berlin, London Gatwick, and Paris CDG. Norse will serve Rome to JFK daily during the summer using 787-9s. It has the following schedule, with all times local. JFK’s lack of slots primarily drives the less-than-desirable timings, which will further impact the budget carrier’s pricing:

• Rome Fiumicino to JFK: N0401, 19:30-23:00 (9h 30m block time)
• JFK to Rome Fiumicino: N0402, 01:00-15:45 (8h 45m)

Click here for Rome-JFK flights.

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Previously served by Norwegian

Readers may recall that Norwegian, Norse’s predecessor, previously served Rome-Newark and then Rome-JFK. If Newark/JFK are combined, it ran between November 2017 and March 2020. It ended shortly before coronavirus took hold and Norwegian abandoned long-haul operations. According to the US Department of Transportation, Norwegian carried 378,856 Newark/JFK passengers with an average 83% seat load factor (SLF). Naturally, June-August had 90%+ SLFs, while peak winter had sub-75%.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

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Now four airlines on Rome-JFK

Norse joins American, Delta, and ITA (Alitalia’s predecessor) on the route. Between June and September, the four will have a maximum of eight daily peak summer flights, although an average of seven. That is up from a maximum of seven (an average of six) in June-September 2019. Indeed, never has there been eight before, according to Cirium schedules. There’s also United’s double-daily from Newark. On randomly chosen August 1st, the Rome-JFK schedule is as follows:

1. 10:00: Delta, DL183, 767-300ER
2. 10:25: ITA, AZ608, A350-900
3. 10:30: American, AA235, 777-200ER
4. 13:00: Delta, DL153, A330-300
5. 15:10: ITA, AZ610, A330-200
6. 15:20: Delta, DL149, 767-400ER
7. 17:15: American, AA245, 777-200ER
8. 19:30: Norse, N0401, 787-9

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

From $483 return

The lowest economy return fare I could find was $483 (September), applicable from either Rome or JFK. Like many budget airlines, Norse Atlantic’s headline-grabbing fares are base fares: they include the fare itself, taxes, one bag under the seat beneath, and entertainment.

$483 is for Economy Light. If you choose this fare family and want more – another carry-on, checked bag, seat assignment, priority check-in, priority boarding, meals – it will cost you more, but it’s up to you if you want them. As always, comparing prices, schedules, products, and more across airlines is vital to get the right deal and best value for you.

Photo: James Pearson – Simple Flying.

Pick and choose or upgrade

Passengers may add things to their Economy Light package. For example, one-way prices include a 10kg carry-on for $35 and a checked bag between $60 and $170. Selecting a particular seat costs from $25 (middle seat) to $120 (extra legroom at the front of economy), and one meal costs $20 to $30. Then there’s priority check-in ($20), priority boarding ($15), and so on.

Or you could select a different bundle. Economy Classic includes a second carry-on, a checked bag, one meal, and more. For this, add $200 return to Economy Light, with $683 being the lowest return I could find; this is a fare against which you can better compare airlines. Then there’s Economy Plus. If you want all of the above and a changeable/refundable ticket, seat selection, priority boarding, and more, it costs from $1,043 return.

Alternatively, there are premium fare families, with Premium Light available from $1,085, including two carry-on bags, two meals, and more. Effectively premium economy, it includes much more spacious seats, with the recliners having a 43″ pitch. I flew in this cabin between London Gatwick and JFK and enjoyed it.

What do you make of Norse’s latest route? Let us know in the comments.