Norwegian Air Shuttle will add the Spanish city of Barcelona to its growing Boeing 787 network when it launches long-haul low-cost flights from the airport next year.
The low-cost cost airline will also ramp up its network from Copenhagen, Denmark, to the U.S. with a new non-stop service to Oakland International Airport (OAK), one of the three international airports in the San Francisco Bay, from March.
And the airline’s CEO Bjorn Kjos has hinted it is planning more long-haul flights. “Our low-cost long-haul growth between Europe & the U.S. has only just started,” he told Bloomberg TV.
Barcelona El Prat Airport, which features a stunning new terminal, will be Norwegian’s seventh European base offering long-haul services, joining Copenhagen, London Gatwick, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm and the Norwegian city of Bergen. It also offers flights from Guadeloupe and Martinique in the French Caribbean to the U.S.
From June 5, Norwegian will connect the Spanish city with direct flights to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Oakland, New York’s Newark Liberty International and Fort Lauderdale in Miami. Norwegian’s flights to Newark (EWR) will be the carrier’s first from that New York City-area airport.
The airline already flies to New York’s JFK airport, with year-round service from the European destinations of Copenhagen, London Gatwick, Oslo and Stockholm and seasonal services Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Norwegian’s long-haul operations in Barcelona will begin with two Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft permanently based at the airport, where passengers can connect to the airline’s short-haul network.
The low-cost carrier will offer 325,000 seats on its intercontinental services from Barcelona during the first full year of operations of its long-haul base there. Of these, 170,000 seats are to California – divided equally between Oakland and Los Angeles.
Norwegian’s Barcelona – Oakland route will be the only direct, non-stop route between San Francisco and any Spanish airport.
Kjos, who founded Norwegian, described the launch of direct flights between Barcelona and the U.S. as a “new milestone” for the airline.
“Spain is an important market for us where we have been very well received since we launched here,'' he said. "Many Spaniards choose to fly Norwegian on domestic Spanish routes and routes to other parts of Europe. An increasing number of Americans also fly with us to Europe, and we look forward to welcoming even more travelers from both sides of the Atlantic.”
The four new long-haul routes from Barcelona “is only the first step in what promises to be a long journey,” Kjos said, vowing that Norwegian will “develop the full potential of long-haul opertions from Barcelona, ”‹”‹adding more frequencies and more routes than we announced today.”
All Norwegian’s long-haul flights are operated with a new fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Its 787-8s are configured with a capacity of 291 seats, including 32 seats in premium economy and 259 in standard economy class, while the larger 787-9 has 344 seats (35 in the premium cabin and 309 in the economy cabin).
Premium service includes a dedicated check-in counter, additional luggage allowance, fast track security, lounge access, priority boarding, seats with a 19-inch width and a 46-inch pitch “sleeper seats, all meals and drinks. All seats are equipped with touch-screen interactive IFE TV screens and all its 787s are WiFi enabled.
At present, Norwegian has a fleet of 11 Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines powered Dreamliners, which will increase to 42 units in 2020.
The four new U.S. routes from Barcelona will operate throughout the year, according to the following schedule:
Barcelona – Los Angeles: Begins June 5 with twice-weekly service rising to three-times-a-week from August 22.
Barcelona – Newark: Begins June 6 with twice-weekly service rising to four-times-a-week from August 22.
Barcelona – Oakland: Begins June 7 with twice-weekly service rising to three-times-a-week August 22.
Barcelona – Fort Lauderdale: Twice-weekly service from Aug. 22.
Copenhagen – Oakland: Begins March 28 with twice-weekly service.
Norwegian offers a total 44 routes to the U.S., 37 of which are from Europe and seven are from the French Caribbean. Upcoming routes to the U.S. include Las Vegas from London launching on October 31; Las Vegas from Oslo launching on November 1; and Fort Lauderdale from Guadeloupe launching on December 17.
