Norse Atlantic has adjusted its winter programme to place more emphasis on the Far East, weeks after saying it was considering more transatlantic flights.
In August, CEO Eivind Roald said the airline saw an opportunity to increase capacity in its own network, including adding more capacity to New York and Orlando, as fuel prices eased and demand remained strong.
Now the airline is leaning further into the Far East, building on the routes it announced earlier this year, including three new weekly flights from London Gatwick to Phuket in Thailand and four weekly flights from Manchester to the Thai capital Bangkok from December.
Norse’s other UK winter flights are from London Gatwick to Bangkok, Orlando, New York and Cape Town.
Eivind said: “In line with our flexible fleet deployment strategy, we have adjusted our winter programme with increased focus on the Far East and see continued positive momentum for initial bookings.
“Norse continues to pursue attractive opportunities for additional fleet allocation in the charter and ACMI markets.”
Norse’s latest results also showed a decline in passengers carried due to targeted capacity reductions, with 109,202 passengers transported across its network and ACMI/charter operations in September, down 32% year-on-year.
However, load factor across its network and ACMI/charter operations rose from 95.2% to 96.9%, while unit revenue (TRASK) climbed 35% year-on-year to ¢5.8 per available seat kilometre.
Eivind said: “Unit revenue to date in 2026 is up 25% from last year, as Norse maintains a strong network performance with close to full airplanes and stabile operational performance. We continue to fly with reduced capacity in response to the prolonged high fuel prices, while continuously optimising our fleet allocation going forward.”
