Here’s what it’s like to fly this long-haul budget airline
By Carly Coombs | Posted: April 25, 2025
Recently, I flew on the relatively new budget airline Norse Atlantic Airways from Los Angeles to Rome, Italy.
Norse Atlantic Airways is a long-haul, budget airline based in Norway with direct flights departing from Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, and Miami to several European cities. (The airline also flies to Cape Town, South Africa from London, England, and to Bangkok, Thailand, from Oslo, Norway, Stockholm, Sweden, and London). The airline first began flying in 2022.
Norse also operates flights from Las Vegas in partnership with Spirit Airlines. For these routes, passengers fly on Spirit to another airport where Norse operates a direct flight to the final destination. For example, you can fly from Vegas to Orlando on Spirit and Norse from Orlando to London.
My flight from LAX to Rome turned out to be the airline’s inaugural flight between the two cities and is currently its longest flight until its LAX to Athens, Greece service begins in June.
Booking the Ticket
For my flight, I purchased a one-way ticket as I would be returning home through another airport. I snagged my flight during a sale Norse was doing in December with the ticket fare only costing me $198. I purchased Norse’s “Economy Light” fare which comes with carry-on luggage but no seat selection, checked bags, or meal service.
Due to the flight being nearly 12 hours long, I decided to pay an extra $35 to pick my seat and avoid possibly ending up in a middle seat. In the end, the flight was $233.
Norse also has an “Economy Classic” fare which includes a checked bag and meal service, and an “Economy Flextra” fare that adds on seat selection, and priority boarding, and allows for changes and refunds.
Cost for my flight on Norse Airways from LAX to FCO.
Boarding
One thing to note is Norse does not do online check-in. You’ll have to check in at the airport ticket counter or at the gate.
I didn’t realize the airline didn’t offer online check-in and missed the check-in time at the gate (check-in closes 60 minutes before departure) but, thankfully, the gate agent was able to re-open check-in without an issue. But, I wouldn’t recommend missing the check-in window as it will make your travels smoother.
Like many other budget airlines, Norse has containers for passengers to check and see if their bags comply with its baggage size policies as well as scales to check baggage weight. I was never asked to check my bags but I met a fellow traveler who flew on Norse from New York City and had to pay around $100 due to her carry-on being overweight (the airline’s policy for carry-ons is they cannot exceed 22 pounds). So, be mindful if you’re trying to push the limits.
The boarding process was fairly smooth, outside of not being able to check in online, and I found it easy to find overhead bin space once I got on board.
The flight
Norse uses Boeing 787s on its routes which have about 31 inches of legroom, which is average for an economy seat. Like most airlines, you can pay extra for seats with more legroom and Norse also has a “Premium” class that includes reclining seats as well as complimentary meals, priority boarding, and baggage.
For being a 12-hour flight, the seats definitely felt pretty cramped, but when you’re waking up in Rome, it’s worth it.
On board, the plane had entertainment screens with plenty of movies and TV shows and the seats also had phone chargers. The airline doesn’t provide complimentary headphones for the screen (they cost about $5) so bring your own if you can.
Norse does not provide complimentary snacks or meals for its basic economy tickets. Meals can be added to your ticket when booking or you can buy a ticket bundle that includes a meal.
I chose not to add a meal and just bring my own food on board. Snacks and drinks also cost extra so make sure you are prepared and bring your own if you don’t want to pay.
Final thoughts
Like other budget airlines, you get what you pay for. For the price, Norse is a great option if you are a budget traveler trying to take your dream trip to Europe and save some money along the way.
Remember to watch out for those extra fees on baggage, seats, in-flight food, etc., and factor them into the cost of the ticket to determine the end cost.
Related Posts
