Cheap long haul flights have taken off over the last few years and I have had the chance to fly with two of them, Norwegian and WOW AIR in the last 12 months and to put it lightly, I LOVE EM!!! Sure they have pros and cons but they have allowed me to travel 10 times to the USA last year and without them, it wouldn't of been possible.
WOW Air is probably my least favourite out of the two. Mainly due to the stop over in Iceland which adds an extra couple of hours to a 7 to 8 hour flight. I found this the most annoying on the night flight back. You get settled, try and get some sleep, then 4 to 5 hours later, in the middle of the night you have wake up, move to the connecting flight and do the whole process again (i get grumpy when tired).
The leg room was uncomfortable for someone who is 6ft. My Knees where touching the seat in front whatever I did. I would pay the extra next time for extra leg room. Getting an isle seat was not worth doing. For a flight that takes 2 hours, I would grin and bear it but for long haul, its uncomfortable.
I found the staff to be ok, but they wouldn't move mountains for you.
WOW only allow you a personal item on there WOW Basic tickets, currently 42x32x25cm. Which isn't that bad but not that great. I did however use my Stuffa Odyssey which did the trick. But you can pay extra for a carry on which currently is way to confusing to work out as they have different fees depending on what ticket you buy, pay online before you fly, at the check in desk and even at the gate in case you are trying to sneak it on! My advice, pay for it as early as you can and of course use your stuffa. I find the website slightly annoying. Again not a major hassle.
No screens! If you think they will entertain you for 7 hours think again. Be prepared with magazines and books or by downloading stuff to watch on your phone or tablet, or you will be looking at dried white plastic for the entire journey.
Food. I always buy something at the airport mainly because they might run out of stuff on the plane and also its so expensive to buy in flight. You are allowed to take one bag of shopping on a plane that was purchased at the airport. So use that to your advantage. Also handy to bung a couple of your own belongings in the bottom if you are tight for space in your personal item bag.
USB outlets. This is what the website says 'We have universal power outlets and/or USB ports underneath the seats on most of our flights, so our guests can charge their devices during the flight.' Great a lottery. Not at all handy. I asked the host on my flight and she said its under your seat. After I couldnt find it and asked here again she just said 'oh well then we havn't got them on this flight' If the staff don't know what chance have we got.
As you can see from the screen shot taken below. You can get one way flights from the USA to the UK for $49. So you can easily forget the cons if the flight is going to cost less than a lot of train rides train ride in the UK. But these will be promotional deals that wont be that cheap for long.
I always look for the cheapest flight based on the days I need to go and WOW Air did the trick. But if there was a Norwegian flight available, well then I would prefer them over and over again. In fact I have found Norwegian to be cheaper to New York most times I have looked. Listen they are not perfect but now I have flown them enough times I have flying with them nailed. Here is what I think of them and my experience.
My first flight was in 2017 and not a lot has changed in that time except they seem to be growing quickly. Staff are good (nothing like Virgin, and by the way I have no affiliation with Virgin just in case you wondered), professional and seem to be most welcoming. The website is easy to navigate. Looking for flights I have always used the LOW FARE CALENDAR which is a must in my opinion as flight prices change dramatically from one day to the next. One rule of thumb is always book early as well. But I think you already know that.
You get hand luggage included! That with a Stuffa Jacket I am ready to rock for over a weeks worth of clothes. You can fit a lot into hand luggae when you need to.
Don't be late. I once arrived an hour before on the dot, which is the cut off point and they wouldn't let me check in. I lost the cost of the entire flight which wasn't cheap and had to pay for another one. No if's or buts, they were ruthless. So if you are the kind of person who likes to get to the airport in the nick of time (I was until I missed this flight and I am not anymore) then its a big gamble.
The seats have good legroom in the basic seat or as they call it LowFare. All seats have screens and good selection of stuff to watch and listen too. Food is yet again expensive so buy before you fly.
USB outlets on every seat so you can charge you electronic devices and be fully charged for when you land.
I purchased extra legroom on one flight which I found to be completely useless. Why? Well I booked the seat where there is a wall in front of you. I actually had less legroom than the normal seat because I couldn't stretch my leg out straight. What I had, was what I like to call it extra knee room. So I had to spend the entire flight without being able to put my legs straight. I paid to be worse off. Thanks Norwegian. The seats were somewhere marked in red. I can't remember exactly as it was over 6 months ago. So be careful. I would choose a seat by an emergency exit. That's is usually the one where you can stretch out fully. The standard seats in my opinion are able for my 6ft height so the legroom wasn't needed in the first place. It was one of my first flights with them. So i didn't know.
The planes are all new and the flight is generally more comfortable ride than the older planes. They also have larger windows so you can see a lot more. Not much to see if you are flying over the Atlantic admittedly.
Norwegian has had massive expansion and a few of my flights had to be filled by other airlines. Norwegian did email and tell me this was the case and gave me the option to cancel the flight. I didn't as I needed to get there as cheaply as possible. The carry was called Wamos Air and oh boy, was the plane old. They had no personal screen. Decoration from the early 90's and I had the enjoyment of watching a film, projected onto the wall. The film stopped after 20 mins and they had to restart it. It felt like it was recorded by a camcorder at the movies, the quality was so bad. The best bit was the aeroplane was so old, the headphone outlet had the classic two prong outlet.
Which meant I had to listen to the film in mono. I ended up reading for 7 hours. It was diabolical. I had also paid to select a seat which would of been an isle seat. Unfortunately I got the right seat number except this plane had a row of 4 seats in the middle not 3 so I was jammed between two people with no legroom or shoulder room. Thanks again Norwegian!!
With all this said. I love Norwegian. I can tell you why and its simple. I flew with British Airways last week to Washington. Similar flight time and distance. What did I get for paying £300 extra because I booked late? More food and one piece of hold luggage. Oh and a Magnum ice cream half way through the flight. That's it. The experience in my opinion was the same. The staff were not as helpful as Norwegian. The plane was older and the legroom was cramped. For £300 flying with Norwegian, my transport both ends is paid for. I could pay for extra luggage and buy a lot of food at the airport for the same price.
For me I think Norwegian have a lot going for them and I recommend you give them a chance just don't be late.
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