Norse Atlantic Airways launched its new London Gatwick to Las Vegas route on September 12, marking the airline's fifth U.S. destination. The service, operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, uses the flight number 777, a clever nod to Las Vegas's gambling culture.

This expansion coincides with British Airways' announcement to increase its London Heathrow-Las Vegas flights for the upcoming summer season.

Norse Atlantic Celebrates London to Las Vegas Flights

The new route fills a gap left by Norwegian Airlines, which previously operated the Gatwick-Las Vegas service. Norse Atlantic now competes with established carriers British Airways and Virgin Atlantic in the London-Las Vegas market, which saw approximately 450,000 roundtrip passengers in 2023.

American Airlines and Delta Air Lines also offer limited services, primarily around major events like the Consumer Electronics Show.

Norse's thrice-weekly service covers 4,565 nautical miles (8,454 km). The September schedule shows a 10-hour 40-minute outbound flight and a 9-hour 50-minute return flight.

Since its inaugural revenue flight in June 2022, Norse Atlantic has faced setbacks in its network planning and revenue management. The airline has cut several destinations, including canceling a planned Kingston, Jamaica route before its launch. This route was intended to bolster winter performance.

Frequent Network Adjustments

Norse Atlantic Airways has operated 28 routes since its inception, discontinuing 13 of them—46% of its network—in just over two years. This figure includes routes that operated at least once, excluding the canceled Gatwick-Kingston service. The airline also shifted three routes to nearby airports, effectively ending their original operations.

Cirium data reveals that even without counting these airport shifts, Norse cut 36% of its routes in its brief history. The discontinued routes include Berlin-Los Angeles, Gatwick-Barbados, Gatwick-Boston, Gatwick-Montego Bay, Gatwick-San Francisco, Gatwick-Washington Dulles, Oslo-Los Angeles, Oslo-Orlando, and Paris CDG-Miami. Additionally, Norse shifted Berlin-Fort Lauderdale, Gatwick-Fort Lauderdale, and Oslo-Fort Lauderdale to Miami.

The airline's high route turnover rate underscores the difficulties it faces in establishing a stable long-haul, low-cost business model. Norse's strategy of frequent route adjustments reflects the challenges of matching capacity with demand in the highly competitive transatlantic market.