Norse Atlantic Airways has secured permission from the US Department of Transport allowing it to expand its operations from London Gatwick to the US.
The start-up carrier, which has already been granted an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said the clearance from the US government marked an “historic milestone” in starting direct point-to-point operations between Gatwick airport and the US.
Norse Atlantic has already started flying between Gatwick and New York using its Norwegian AOC, with services starting in Oslo and then picking up passengers at Gatwick.
Bjorn Tore Larsen, CEO of Norse Atlantic Airways, said: “We are very thankful for the support that we have received on both sides of the Atlantic throughout our application. This milestone represents a huge step in creating competition in the transatlantic market that will benefit consumers, stimulate business travel and lead to job creation.
“We are pleased that we will continue to deliver on our pledge to democratise transatlantic travel and we look forward to expanding our point-to-point route network between London Gatwick and the US as part of our summer 2023 schedule.”
Norse Atlantic operates a fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners featuring a two-cabin configuration with both economy and premium services. It expects to have 10 aircraft in operation during the summer 2023 season including a “greater presence” from Gatwick.
Plans for the “core” summer 2023 schedule are due to be announced in early November, with flights available to book through to October 2023. Other routes will be revealed “in due course”.
The airline has already cut back its planned schedule for the coming winter season to “remove excess capacity from our network in light of lower expected demand, high fuel prices and rising global inflation”.