. The return fare I paid for my latest, rather slower, flight across the Pond was £750 in the premium economy cabin. That's roughly the same as an economy return on British Airways or Virgin Atlantic in July if you do not book far in advance and almost 20 times less than 'the quick plane', as those partial to a supersonic gin and tonic used to call Concorde. What's going on? The airline I chose, Norse Atlantic, is one of four new carriers aiming to crack the toughest nut in global aviation: transatlantic travel. Norse started flying last summer from Gatwick to New York, since adding Washington, Los Angeles, Boston, Orlando and Miami, using an all-Boeing 787 fleet, and will soon start services to Barbados and Montego Bay in Jamaica. It aims to prosper by undercutting the 'legacy' carriers, notably British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, by about 25 per cent, even when add-ons such as luggage fees and food are included. 'We want to become a leader in the low-cost long-haul market,' says the airline's chief executive, Bjorn Tore Larsen. Another Nordic warrior, Birgir Jonsson, chief executive of the low-cost Icelandic carrier Play, wants to do the same — but offer even lower fares. The catch? You have to stop at Reykjavik's Keflavik airport en route to North America. Play flies from Stansted, Liverpool and Glasgow, to New York Stewart airport (wherever that is), Boston, Washington, Baltimore and Toronto, with one-way tickets starting from £185. The UK-US route is one of the world's most lucrative air corridors GETTY IMAGES James Asquith also has big plans to fly from Gatwick to New York and Los Angeles, but his business model could not be more different from that of Norse or Play. At the glitzy launch of his airline, Global in central London, in July, the former investment banker said){kind=link}
How times change. I arrived at New York’s JFK this summer at one of the gates that passengers used to board Concorde. My last Concorde ticket cost £8,275.90 return (£13,500 in today’s money). The return fare I paid for my latest, rather slower, flight across the Pond was £750 in the premium economy cabin. That’s roughly the same as an economy return on British Airways or Virgin Atlantic in July if you do not book far in advance and almost 20 times less than “the quick plane”, as those partial to a supersonic gin and tonic used to call Concorde. What’s going on?
The airline I chose, Norse Atlantic, is one of four new carriers aiming to crack the toughest nut in global aviation: transatlantic travel. Norse started flying last summer from Gatwick to New York, since adding Washington, Los Angeles, Boston, Orlando and Miami, using an all-Boeing 787 fleet, and will soon start services to Barbados and Montego Bay in Jamaica. It aims to prosper by undercutting the “legacy” carriers, notably British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, by about 25 per cent, even when add-ons such as luggage fees and food are included. “We want to become a leader in the low-cost long-haul market,” says the airline’s chief executive, Bjorn Tore Larsen.
Another Nordic warrior, Birgir Jonsson, chief executive of the low-cost Icelandic carrier Play, wants to do the same – but offer even lower fares. The catch? You have to stop at Reykjavik’s Keflavik airport en route to North America. Play flies from Stansted, Liverpool and Glasgow, to New York Stewart airport (wherever that is), Boston, Washington, Baltimore and Toronto, with one-way tickets starting from £185.
James Asquith also has big plans to fly from Gatwick to New York and Los Angeles, but his business model could not be more different from that of Norse or Play. At the glitzy launch of his airline, Global in central London, in July, the former investment banker said he would retrofit the interior of the four Airbus A380 superjumbos he and his investors have bought to such a high standard that passengers will be “transported back to the golden age of air travel”.
First-class ticket holders will be chauffeur-driven to the airport and have a “large social space” on board. Food and drink will be the best at 39,000ft and include Laurent-Perrier champagne, even – gasp! – for economy-class passengers. He hopes to launch by 2025.