SINGAPORE, 12 September 2018: Norwegian, a European low-cost airline offering long-haul services to the US and Asia, will end its Singapore flights in January 2019.
According to timetable information from Airlineroute, the airline has closed reservations for the London Gatwick-Singapore service, effective 12 January.
Serving the route currently with a four weekly service using a 344-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner the last flight from London will depart 10 January and return to London, 11 January
Until then, flights will operate four times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.
A check of the airline’s booking website indicated it was not possible to book a flight after 11 January from Singapore.
When the airline launched the service, September 2017, it was advertised as the world’s longest low-cost flight, at just less than 13 hours, but the claimed one-way fare of UKP150 was an elusive figure unless you pre-booked months in advance.
Even when booked months upfront, the lowest one-way fare was more likely to be UKP200 or UKP250. The airline charges an additional UKP25 for luggage and UKP25 for two meals during the flight. From Singapore the lowest one-way fare to London this month starts at SGD227.90.
Operating out of London Gatwick as a subsidiary airline of Norwegian, it flies to 11 destinations in the USA. Singapore was its sole long-haul destination in Asia.
However, the parent airline, Norwegian, serves Bangkok, Phuket and Krabi from bases in Scandinavia with an increase in services planned for the October to March timetable.
In its last financial report, Norwegian reported strong passenger growth saying it carried more than 3.6 million passengers in August.
Passengers increased by 10% compared to the same month in 2017. The load factor was approximately 90% on the entire route network and 94% on the company’s long-haul routes, operated by 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
In related news, parent airline, Norwegian, opens the company’s first Scandinavian long-distance base in Copenhagen this October, where about 80 pilots will be stationed. The base will be fully operational by the start of the peak winter season October to March and will serve long-haul routes from Scandinavia.
The airline has long-distance bases in Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, London, New York, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale and Bangkok.
