Norse Atlantic Airways' new low-cost direct flights between New York JFK and Rome Fiumicino will take off on 19 June.
The flights will be p2p with economy and premium seats
Operated by Norse Atlantic Airways' 787 Dreamliners, low-cost long-haul flights return to Italian skies, following in the footsteps of Norwegian, which pioneered them in 2018.The challenge for Norse is to build its success on some distinguishing features: exclusively p2p and between primary airports; a single type of aircraft; a broader customer target than traditional low-cost carriers, and two cabin options: economy and premium.
Low-cost competition on transatlantic routes
The choice also falls on the most appealing transatlantic routes, where there is plenty of competition. Routes that have long been favoured by legacy carriers for their profitability, and on which there is an unprecedented travel demand this year. Indeed, the capacity on Rome-New York routes this summer will be some 16% higher than in pre-Covid 2019, with Delta offering up to 12 daily flights in the summer peak, United ten, and American nine.
Aiming to break even by the end of 2023
After Oslo, Berlin, London, and Paris, the Eternal City is set to become the fifth European capital served by Norse. Now we can only sit back and wait, as Norse's goal is quite a lofty one. It is aiming for break-even by the end of 2023, and it has thrown down the gauntlet.
Mariella Cattaneo
Journalist
