Norwegian Adds Tampa To Its US Destinations & Buenos Aires Service Will Go Daily

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There may be rumors flying around about Norwegian’s long-term viability and the airline may be fending off advances from IAG (British Airways) and Lufthansa Group but that’s not stopping the airline from announcing new routes….and the latest is to Tampa, Florida.

Norwegian Heads To Tampa

From 31 October 2018 Norwegian will operate a 2x/week service between London Gatwick and Tampa, Florida on the following schedule:

DI7165 LGW 14:55 – 19:35 TPA (Wed & Sat)
DI7166 TPA 21:00 – 09:55+1 day LGW (Wed & Sat)

Norwegian is already selling fares on this route from £175/$231 each way in Economy and £515/$680 each way for the Premium Cabin – that pricing appears to hold up if you start your trip in the UK or in the US.

More Service For Florida

In addition to starting up the new Tampa route Norwegian is also increasing the number of flights it offers to both Ft Lauderdale and Orlando.

From 29 October Norwegian’s London – Ft Lauderdale service will ramp up from 3 flights/week to 7 flights/week for winter 2018/19 while the airline’s winter season London – Orlando service will move from a 3x/week (offered last winter) to 4x/week this winter.

Both routes are currently available to book from £175/$231 each way in Economy and £515/$680 each way for the Premium Cabin.

Buenos Aires Service Goes Daily

British Airways has long held a monopoly on the London – Buenos Aires route but, from February this year, Norwegian joined the fray.

Initially the route was only served 2x/week, then it was ramped up to 4x/week and, from 3 December 2018, the service will go daily.

Here’s what the schedule looks like from December through March 2019:

DI7505 LGW 21:30 – 08:15+1 day EZE (Daily)

DI7506 EZE 13:00 – 05:00+1 day LGW (Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun)
DI7506 EZE 11:30 – 03:30+1 day LGW (Mon, Wed & Fri)

As things stand the route is only on sale through 31 March 2019 and, as you can’t purchase fares out of Gatwick for 30 or 31 March it’s possible that the daily service is only here for the Northern Hemisphere winter season.

Norwegian’s Long Haul Aircraft

I think the airline itself sums it up best….well….mostly:

Norwegian’s long-haul flights from London Gatwick are operated by brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft offering up to 344 seats in a two-class configuration, economy and Premium. A new extended Premium cabin has been introduced, with 60% more seats for passengers wanting an enhanced experience. The new 56-seat cabin configuration will continue to offer passengers more than a metre of legroom, complimentary meal service and drinks, generous baggage allowance and airport lounge access.

What Norwegian doesn’t mention is that the Economy Class cabin is tight. With 31″ of seat pitch (leg room) and only a shade over 17″ of seat width you’ll be hard pressed to find many long-haul seats that are tighter than that…..but then that’s also what you’ll find with most legacy airlines too.

Bottom Line

I have a huge soft spot for Norwegian because, to me, it’s the airline that’s happy to take on the big boys on their own patch.

It’s thanks to airlines like Norwegian that transatlantic fares haven’t soared despite the consolidation seen in the airline industry on both sides of the Atlantic and despite the joint ventures that have been formed which legally essentially allow airlines to price-fix.

I really hope Norwegian has success with its increased services to Florida and Buenos Aires as the longer this airline hangs around the better it is for everyone (other than the legacy carriers).