After having flown to the south pole late in 2023, with a round trip from Cape Town, Norse Atlantic has announced planes to start commercial services to the South African city in the later stages of 2024. Quite a significant move for the long range low cost carrier that took on the mission Norwegian Air Shuttle had failed.
Why Is It Such a Significant New Service For Norse Atlantic?
What makes this flight particularly interesting is the fact that it is the first service operated by the Norwegian LCC that doesn’t cross the Atlantic Ocean. It is also the first regularly scheduled flight the airline will be serving to the African continent.
Specifically Norse Atlantic will be launching flights between London Gatwick and Cape Town in South Africa. A very long flight indeed, clocking in at 11 and a half hours. Quite a long time to spend in those very small and narrow economy class seats in the main cabin of the Norse Dreamliners. Not sure if I would be up for such a long flight on an LCC.
Lastly this will be the only nonstop connection between the south London Gatwick airport and Cape Town. All other nonstop flights depart from BA’s hub London Heathrow.
When is the first flight scheduled for I hear you ask? October 28th 2024.
A Fairly Good Flight Schedule for The Norse LGW-CPT Flight
It is often the case that budget airlines operate at very unfriendly hours. However this isn’t the case with Norse Atlantic’s new London Gatwick to Cape Town flight, albeit mainly out of necessity. Long haul flights often have to adhere to more limitations than short haul ones. That makes it harder for airlines to operate at really unpopular hours to further cut costs.
Norse’s flights are quite conveniently schedule with a redeye flight down to Cape Town and a day sector on the way back.
| Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arrival Time | Flight Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Z0795 | London Gatwick | LGW | 20:00 | Cape Town | CPT | 09:30+1 | 11hrs 30min |
| Z0796 | Cape Town | CPT | 11:45 | London Gatwick | LGW | 21:35 | 11hrs 50min |
As of April 2024, when writing this post, tickets are already on sale for as low as 499£ return in economy and 1199£ in premium economy. Just keep in mind that those are the basic fares which don’t include much at all. For instance they don’t include any meals nor do they include checked bags to bring along on your trip. So take that into account when deciding which fare to go for.
Also take into account that just by opting for the slightly more flexible economy fare, the price jumps up to 642£. A price that is still fairly cheap considering today’s air fares.
Finally let’s touch on the aircraft used by Norse Atlantic on the route, although there are no surprises. The airline operates a 1 aircraft type fleet. Norse Atlantic only utilises the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for its operations, fitted with two cabins featuring:
- 56 Premium Economy Seats in a 2-3-2 layout
- 282 Economy Class Seats in a 3-3-3 layout
Contrary to what some other long haul low cost carrier do, Norse offers an IFE system open to use both in Premium Economy and Economy. For instance, Scoot has no seatback IFE and Jetstar charges to access most content.
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