Norse Atlantic Airways Plans To Be the World’s Lowest Carbon-Emitting Airline

Norse Atlantic Airways is set to be the next big player in the low-cost transatlantic market.

The Norway-based airline is set to launch flights between Europe and the U.S. sometime in summer 2022… but this new carrier isn’t just about low fares. This airline has sustainability and the environment at the forefront of its mission, and it hopes to become a world leader in this area.

Let’s review what we know so far.

Sustainability and the Environment Are Priorities for Norse Atlantic

Norse’s leaders have chosen to build a fleet centered around one of the most environmentally-friendly long-haul aircraft: the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The fleet choice is reminiscent of now-defunct Norwegian, the airline whose departure left a void in the market that Norse is now hoping to fill.

In total, Norse’s fleet will comprise 15 Dreamliners made up of 12 787-9s and 3 787-8s. The smaller -8 variant will be fitted with 259 economy and 32 premium (read: extra-legroom economy) seats. As for the -9 variant, there’ll be a whopping 338 seats, with 282 in economy and 56 in premium.

The idea is to pack in as many passengers as possible by configuring the aircraft almost entirely with economy seating. Unlike Norwegian, Norse will not have a dedicated premium cabin, though, as we mentioned above, there will be extra-legroom economy seats on each of its planes.

By maximizing the number of passengers per flight, Norse hopes to significantly reduce the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere per passenger kilometer.

“Given the configuration and the seating density that we would be operating, I think we will be the world’s lowest carbon-emitting airline per passenger kilometer,” said Bjørn Tore Larsen, CEO of Norse Atlantic. “And that also reflects in the lowest unit costs that we’ll be able to operate.”

Norse Sets Its Sights on the U.S.

It won’t be possible to book a flight with Norse until around 3 months before its first flight is set to take off.

“We will launch our ticket sales approximately 3 months prior to first flight and will offer exciting destinations that have proven to be attractive,” said Larsen.

As it currently stands, Norse will likely operate between 6 destinations: Oslo (OSL), Paris, and London in Europe, and Florida, Los Angeles, and New York in the U.S.

The exact airports from which Norse will fly have yet to be confirmed. However, Norse has already confirmed slots at London’s Stansted (STN) Airport, rather than at Norwegian’s former base at London Gatwick (LGW).

It also looks like Norse will also be flying to secondary airports in the U.S.: Stewart (SWF) instead of New York (JFK), Fort Lauderdale (FLL) instead of Miami (MIA), and Ontario (ONT) instead of Los Angeles (LAX).

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Final Thoughts

It won’t be long before Norse’s sustainable Dreamliners will make their debut flights to the U.S.

Time will tell if Norse’s promise of being “the world’s lowest carbon-emitting airline per passenger kilometer” comes to pass. More importantly, though, we’ll soon see if its green ambitions will be enough to fill its planes and succeed where Norwegian failed.