Flying low-cost to New York with Norwegian Airlines

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Flying low-cost to New York is not a dream anymore: many airlines offer low-cost tickets to New York and the US from Europe so planning a über-cheap American vacation is not hard anymore.
In 2017, Norwegian Airlines has launched many low-cost international flights from Europe to the US, connecting many big European cities with New York, Boston, Los Angeles and more. More routes will be added but surely one of the most appealing is the one flying low cost to New York. I flew Norwegian Airlines from Dublin to Newburgh, north of Manhattan, one of the many new low-cost flights to the US from UK and Ireland and this is my quick review of the flight. Before going into details, let me show you how to find really cheap and low-cost tickets to New York on the Norwegian Airlines website.

How to find a low-cost flight to New York with Norwegian Airlines

First thing first: go to norwegianairlines.com and select your country. You will then have the opportunity to select where to fly from and where to fly to and also the dates; once you’ve selected these two things, you can choose your ticket. You can choose between Economy and Premium; within Economy, you’ve three different choices, based on the amount you wanna pay. The less you pay, the less you have: if you choose the cheapest seats you are expected to pay for all ‘extras’ and meals are only included if you choose the LowFarePlus option or more. The result, though, is bargains. If you don’t know when to fly but you know you wanna fly to New York, you can leave the dates blank and select the box “Show Low Fare Calendar”: in this way, you’ll have the opportunity to choose the flights you prefer, based on how cheap they are.  Remember: Norwegian only offer direct flights to and from the US and this, per se, it’s already a bargain.
Once you’ve bought your ticket, you can proceed to your online check and you’re ready to go…

Flying low-cost to New York with Norwegian Airlines: my review

I was onboard the super new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft which sticks to the common 3-3 configuration, with 32 rows and 189 seats total; each seat on the MAX 8 is 17.2 inches wide. Not big, not small, just average: if you’re a small person like me, you won’t have any problem. If you’re a bit taller, then I recommend you try to book a seat on the first row, much more comfortable for long legs.

The airplane is similar to many low-cost planes matching the perfect definition of “no frills”: the seat backs have a hard pocket for magazines and safety card and even if it’s pretty small, it’s enough for storing a book, a magazine, a tablet. The seats don’t have built-in screens, and there was no complimentary Wi-Fi on my flight (Norwegian plans to offer complimentary Wi-Fi on all transatlantic flights in a few months) so I highly recommend you bring your device(s) fully charged and with plenty of content. In terms of baggage, there could not be enough room for every passenger to bring a carry-on bag so you could be asked to store your cabin luggage free of charge.

The lavatory is small, the same size you can find on any other low-cost flight.

If you have chosen one of the premium tickets, your food will be included: despite being a low-cost airline, food is exactly the same you get on every other airline. You can ask for special meals and you will be served 2 coffees as well, depends on the time of your flight. More water, coffee, and food can be purchased on board but if you want to save, you can bring your own and nobody will complain (alcohol not allowed if not purchased on board).

The plane arrives in Newburgh, North of Manhattan, a couple of hours from New York City. From Newburgh, you can take a bus to New York City, rent a car or you can book a car with Visconti Rides: a driver will bring you directly to your hotel and will collect you there, pretty handy!

Flying low-cost to New York with Norwegian Airlines: my impression

No-frills flying is a thing these days and if you’re looking to fly low cost to New York from Europe, I think Norwegian is a great solution. The basic ticket can cost 90 euro from Dublin to New York and it will include just the basics: a seat and a small luggage. By adding a few extra bucks, you can choose the Lowfare+ fare which includes a meal, seat assignments, and one checked baggage. You can also simply add the services you want to your basic ticket: meal, seats, luggage.
In the no-frills/low-cost philosophy, the earlier you book, the less you spend so that means you can spot a deal on the Norwegian website and pay a ridiculous amount of money to fly to New York and eventually add a few more services later: in this way you’ve saved on the ticket and adding extra won’t spoil your chance of taking advantage of the low-cost fares. If you wanna travel last minute, you could end up paying the same amount of money you pay for every other airline so my recommendation is to book in advance, the earlier you can.
Another thing I recommend is to bring lots of entertainment with you: if you happen to fly on the same flight of mine, you need something to do while your flying since there are no screens (unless you travel during the night and you can sleep!). Make sure your devices are all fully charged, you have a blanket with you if you’re flying during the night and, why not? pack some snacks even if you’ve bought the meal.
To me, 6/7 hours is not a crazy amount of time so being organized it is really not a big deal if you can save money.

If you land in Newburgh, North of Manhattan, it will take an extra couple of hours to arrive in New York City; the airport is small, there’s pretty much nothing but it’s located in a beautiful area so the Norwegian flights to New York are good not only for visiting the Big Apple but also for discovering the amazing Hudson Valley. More to say: in 3-4 hours from Newburgh you’re in Canada, not a bad idea if you love road tripping!

Last but not least: the choice of flying low-cost to New York with Norwegian Airlines, whether to choose the base ticket or to enrich it with other services  is totally personal but if the lack of some services means to save and fly more, without losing in quality and safety, I honestly have no doubt in saying yes!

[This post has been sponsored by Norwegian Airlines, partner of this blog. Views expressed are my own and not influenced by the partnership with the airlines. Pics are copyright of Giuseppe Milo]