Norse Atlantic all but quits the US, leases jets to PIA and looks for a buyer

Norse Atlantic Airways launched in 2022 with a simple pitch: cheap, long-haul flights between Europe and the United States on new Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Four years later, the United States has almost vanished from its map. The airline is flying a fraction of what it once did, leasing out its jets to other airlines and looking for a buyer.

New York ends on Oct. 25

Norse will stop flying to New York's JFK at the end of the summer season. Its last flights from JFK to London Gatwick and Rome are set for late October. Each route had been planned at up to three flights a week this winter. Norse had already dropped Los Angeles in April.

That leaves Orlando to London Gatwick as its only route to the US this winter. That flight mostly carries British families on their way to the theme parks.

The rest of the winter schedule points east. Flights from London Gatwick, Manchester, Oslo and Stockholm to Bangkok and Phuket make up about 70% of the seats Norse plans to fly. It also keeps flying to Cape Town.

CEO Eivind Roald has blamed high fuel prices. "Our deliberate capacity reductions reflect persistently high fuel prices," he said in September. He added that the airline flies "with nearly full airplanes" and that winter bookings "continue to show promise." Even so, Norse flew about a third less in September than a year earlier.

Its jets are flying for other airlines

Norse has 12 Boeing 787-9s, but it does not fly all of them itself. Until this summer, half of the fleet flew for India's IndiGo, which was using Norse's planes and crews to start flights to Europe. IndiGo dropped those plans in July, and the six jets are due back by Nov. 1.

Norse has already found work for two of them. On Oct. 9, it signed a deal to fly two 787-9s for Pakistan International Airlines on routes between Pakistan and the UK. Norse will supply the crews, maintenance and insurance. Flights could start as early as November. Neither side has said how long the deal runs or what it is worth.

These deals, known as wet leases, give Norse steady income without the risk of selling its own tickets. They also mean fewer seats on its own routes.

A buyer wanted

Money has been tight. Norse had less than $5 million in cash at the end of March. A share sale in June raised about $100 million, but the airline still lost $70.5 million before tax in the second quarter. Its capacity was down 64% from a year earlier.

In July, Norse hired JPMorgan to look for a buyer, a merger partner or another kind of deal. Several groups have signed confidentiality agreements, and the airline expects early offers before the end of the year. It is also trying to cut $50 million a year in costs.

That is why Norse made our list of the 10 airlines most at risk over the next 12 months. It is still flying and selling tickets, but its future depends on what comes out of the sale process.

What it means for travelers

For years, Norse helped keep a lid on fares between New York and Europe. With it gone from JFK this winter, expect fewer bargains on those routes.

If you are booked on Norse, keep an eye on your email for schedule changes, and pay with a credit card if you book again. Norse does not include lounge access, even in its Premium cabin, so a lounge membership or pass is your best bet. At London Gatwick, where most Norse flights leave from, the No1 Lounge in the South Terminal and the No1 Lounge in the North Terminal are two of the best Priority Pass options. You can find Norse's latest ratings on its airline page.