London to Copenhagen with Norwegian Air

I mentioned in my previous post that I had recently been to Copenhagen so I thought I would follow this up with a couple of reviews related to my trip. I had heard some really good things about low-cost airline Norwegian in the past so I decided to fly with them.

The airline is one of the biggest budget airlines in Europe, but still much less well-known in the UK compared to the likes of Ryanair and easyJet. It does seem to be increasing in popularity though, and they are introducing new routes to their portfolio all the time.

Norwegian Air flies out of London-Gatwick airport which was one of the thing that attracted me to it. For around the same price with other airlines I would need to travel to Stansted or Luton airports, which are really not as easy to get to from Oxford without spending an extra two hours on a National Express coach each way. There are also plenty of flights leaving Gatwick each day so there's plenty of choice on timings. In the UK they also fly from Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh.

The photo is a Boeing 737-800 © Hans Olav Nyborg used under a Creative Commons Attribution.

This was my first time flying with the airline and first impressions were good. I'm sure most people are with me when I say that catching a flight shouldn't be the ordeal it can be at times. When I'm on a short haul flight I want everything to be as straightforward as possible, and on this point Norwegian really delivered.

Booking online was really easy. Their online Fare Calendar is helpful when you're trying to find the cheapest time to travel. Also there was no fee for using my debit card to pay - a massive bonus!! Once booked, it took a little while for my booking confirmation to come through and then I needed to log in their website again to register my passport details. That done, I was given a reference number which I just needed to use to check in at the airport - no other paperwork needed!

Seats were also allocated at check-in so there was no pre-flight scrum for everyone's preferred places. It's a small mercy but anything which saves stress on a long day is a big plus in my book.

There were no delays, and both the ground and cabin crews were professional and polite. Actually, I don't have too much to say about the staff in general - they didn't go out of their way to be chatty, but they made sure everything was in order very efficiently.

And so off we went on our way without a hitch.

The plane itself was comfortable. Provision was pretty basic but everything was very clean and quiet. I managed to have a good nap on the flight out without any interruptions or children screaming in the aisles. I had just taken hand luggage with me, and the overhead luggage compartments were completely full but I managed to fit my rucksack under the seat in front and still have leg room (I am quite leggy!). Service on board was fine, there were all the usual drinks and trinkets for sale but I didn't bother with any of those.

I wasn't expecting there to be any in-flight films or TV as it was only a two hour flight, but on the return flight they did show some kids' TV. I didn't have any headphones with me but they were the kind of programmes where you didn't really need sound to get the gist of what was going on in them. I suspect that was intentional.

The one extra that is definitely worth mentioning is that Norwegian provide free wi-fi on some of their flights. When you're booking on their website it tells you which include it and it is such a good idea! You wouldn't get that from Ryanair without paying through the nose, and it makes the flight far less boring.

Verdict

Their prices are really cheap and there was plenty of availability. I didn't feel like they were trying to wring every extra penny out of me. I will definitely use them again in future.

I left it to the last minute to book and so paid £85 per seat outgoing, and £39 per seat on the return flight, but flights from Gatwick to Copenhagen start at £39 each way.