Norwegian launches its first route from London Gatwick to Asia

LONDON, 2017-Sep-29 — /Travel PR News/ — Norwegian, voted world’s best low-cost long-haul airline, continues its global expansion today by launching its first route from London Gatwick to Asia with a special Singaporean themed celebration to mark the carrier’s inaugural flight to Singapore.

The new 12-hour 45 minute flight from London Gatwick to Singapore Changi Airport is now the world’s longest route operated by a low-cost airline, covering 6,764 miles (10,885km) using brand new, state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

Consumers can fly direct to Singapore from Gatwick four times a week from £149.90 one way at www.norwegian.com/uk

Today’s gate celebration at Gatwick Airport gave passengers an entertaining taste of Singapore with lion dance performances, colourful kebaya dress and traditional Singaporean cuisine and refreshments to enjoy. Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos and Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate opened the new route alongside Ms Tan Yen Nee, European Regional Director at Singapore Tourism Board.

Bjørn Kjos, CEO at Norwegian said:

“Today we brought a taste of Singapore to Gatwick to mark the expansion of our high quality long-haul flights from the UK to Asia for the first time. I’m delighted to build upon our popular USA flights and give leisure and business customers more affordable access to Singapore and the Asia-Pacific like never before.

“The 787 Dreamliner has the range to allow us to expand our long-haul services to other parts of the world while keeping fares affordable for all. This is just the start of Norwegian’s UK expansion into new markets as we will continue connecting destinations where fares have been too high for too long.”

Stewart Wingate, CEO at Gatwick Airport said:

“Norwegian has raised the bar by introducing the world’s longest low-cost long-haul route between Gatwick and Singapore.

“Singapore is one of the world’s premier destinations and is a significant addition to Gatwick’s 60-strong long-haul route network. Services in both directions are likely to be very popular, both with tourists and business travellers flying between two of the world’s top financial centres. 

“It’s such an exciting time for Gatwick as airlines like Norwegian continue the low-cost long-haul revolution and I’m already looking forward to hearing about the next new destination.”

Ms. Tan Yen Nee, Regional Director, Europe at Singapore Tourism Board said:

“We are delighted that Singapore is chosen as Norwegian’s first direct route to Asia from the UK. Singapore has evolved from a colony to a city with a unique blend of multicultural enclaves, architectural wonders, lush gardens, world-class attractions and diverse culinary experiences, made possible by a Singapore spirit and attitude of never settling. Whether you are a nature lover, culture buff, foodie or action-seeker, Singapore offers a multitude of inspiring experiences to travellers with a passion for discovery. We look forward to welcoming Norwegian’s passengers to Singapore.”

Norwegian’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners are designed for comfort as all passengers have personal 11-inch seat back screens offering a wide selection of complimentary inflight entertainment. All seats are equipped with USB ports for charging personal electronic devices. Premium passengers also benefit from spacious cradle seating offering more than a metre of legroom and free lounge access at Gatwick Airport from £699.90 one way.

The Singapore route will be operated by the UK subsidiary ‘Norwegian UK’ (NUK) ahead of operating new flights to Buenos Aires from 14 February 2018. NUK has been granted a foreign air carrier permit by the U.S. Department of Transportation which allows NUK to operate flights between the UK, Europe and the United States. NUK is headquartered at London Gatwick, and will use British-registered Dreamliner aircraft and Gatwick-based crew to operate the new services.

Norwegian Reward members will be able to earn and spend CashPoints – the currency for Norwegian’s award-winning loyalty programme, Norwegian Reward.

Consumers can also connect from an easyJet short-haul flight to Norwegian’s new Singapore flight in a single booking using the new ‘Worldwide by easyJet’ platform.

Norwegian carries 5.2 million UK passengers each year to more than 50 global destinations. The airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world with an average age of 3.6 years, and more than 200 new aircraft on order. Norwegian has been awarded the ‘World’s best low-cost long-haul airline’ for two consecutive years at the SkyTrax World Airline Awards.

ENDS

About London Gatwick
Gatwick Airport is the UK’s second largest airport and the most efficient single-runway airport in the world. It serves more than 228 destinations in 74 countries for 45 million passengers a year on short and long-haul point-to-point services. It is also a major economic driver for the UK contributing £5.3 billion to national GDP and generating 85,000 jobs nationally, with around 24,000 on the wider airport campus alone. The airport is south of Central London with excellent public transport links, including the Gatwick Express, and is part of the Oyster contactless payment network. Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.

Media enquiries to
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For further information on Gatwick Airport see www.gatwickairport.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatwick_Airport

SOURCE: Gatwick Airport Limited

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