What is the Future of Norse Atlantic?

Norse Atlantic rose from the grave of Norwegian Air Shuttle’s low cost, long haul service. Established in 2021, the airline was founded with the goal of continuing to offer affordable transatlantic flights between Europe and North America, using a modern fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Whilst based in Oslo, Norse has their biggest base at Gatwick, with other aircraft based in Berlin, and Paris. Other European destinations include Athens, Stockholm, and Rome. 

The airline’s business model focuses on providing no-frills, budget-friendly travel options while maintaining comfort and efficiency through its fuel-efficient Dreamliners. Norse Atlantic primarily targets leisure travellers, offering routes to popular U.S. destinations such as New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Orlando.

Yet Norse is continuing to pivot operations, first by adding destinations away from the US. Flights to Bangkok from Oslo, and later Gatwick and Stockholm began. Bangkok is a key leisure route, underserved by the full service carriers. Bangkok was operated by Norwegian from Oslo in the past, so this isn’t completely new territory.

The Present

What is new territory though was Norse flying to Cape Town from Gatwick. Since the scaling back of South African Airways, London to South Africa has been dominated by British Airways and Virgin, with fares routinely over £1000 for a return ticket in economy. So a route like Cape Town offers Norse a significant opportunity. Operating down to South Africa is a challenge for a small airline like Norse. With flight times approaching 12 hours, the aircraft is unable to be utilised as efficiently from a scheduling perspective when compared to shorter routes. Even for bigger airlines like British Airways and Lufthansa, South African scheduling proves complex, with both airlines deciding to keep their aircraft on the ground for around 12 hours, for a well timed overnight flight back to Europe. 

So far, Norse continues to operate like a normal airline. But this is where the pivot comes.

In February of 2024, Norse penned an agreement with Nigerian airline Air Peace to wet lease some of their own Boeing 787 aircraft to enable Air Peace to operate flights from Lagos to Gatwick. This represented the first big leasing deal that Norse had signed. The deal was for only a couple of months, allowing Air Peace to ramp up their own long haul fleet. But nonetheless, it showed to Norse the benefits of a diversified income stream. 

The Future of Norse Atlantic

So, what is the future of Norse Atlantic? In early February of 2025, Norse agreed to a damp leasing agreement of a single aircraft to Indian carrier, Indigo. In similarities to the Air Peace deal, this was an interim measure for Indigo before acquiring enough aircraft to operate its own long haul operation. This aircraft was initially scheduled to operate between Delhi and Bangkok. Whilst not a terribly long route, it is an easy way to add capacity on a high demand route. This also works well for Norse getting crew out to India as Bangkok is on the Norse network. Shortly after this decision, an agreement was signed for a further three aircraft, with Indigo adding Manchester and Amsterdam to their route network with these additional aircraft. Four aircraft operating for Indigo represents 1/3rd of Norse’s entire fleet, representing a huge shift in business model.

With a cooler demand for travel to the US due to current political tensions, might this represent a solid foundation for Norse’s future? You may not be able to buy a ticket on Norse soon, but you may still fly one of their planes.

Sam