This is now the Norse experience in the Europe to USA direction. Initially booked in Economy, I decided to upgrade to Premium through customer service, which will allow me to share this experience with you as well.
As a reminder, here is the itinerary followed:
This series of articles is a collaboration between TravelGuys and Norse Atlantic. Therefore, the route between New York JFK and Paris Charles-de-Gaulle was courtesy of Norse.
The rest of the air itinerary and the hotel stays were financed directly by us. While we, at TravelGuys, try to maintain a certain level of objectivity, our comments about the airline may be subject to an obvious cognitive bias.
Pre-flight customer service
As I mentioned in the introduction, and following my positive experience in Premium class on the outbound flight, I decided to purchase a paid upgrade for the return flight, or at least to evaluate this possibility according to the fare requested.
The formalities are very simple and are carried out exclusively by e-mail. So, the day before departure and after my outbound flight, I inquire about the amount required for an upgrade on the return leg.
I receive a response within 5 minutes with a quote of $200 for the upgrade.
I quickly confirm my agreement and proceed to the payment directly from the Norse website.
Absolutely perfect for people like me who hate to call.
Check-In and ground experience
I will leave my hotel shortly after 4pm and go to Paris Charles-de-Gaulle by Roissybus from Opéra.
Due to traffic problems, I will arrive at Roissypôle a little less than 2 hours before the flight departure. To avoid the slowness of the Roissybus service to Paris Charles-de-Gaulle, I will get off at the first stop, CDG1, and then take the automatic CDGVAL shuttle to Rossypôle, then terminal 3.
When I arrived, the check-in desks were almost deserted and I was taken care of almost immediately.
The hostess will be charming and will proceed with the check-in formalities. They will ask me for my home address and give me a blank COVID certificate to fill in and hand in at the gate.
I will then proceed with the security checks and then emigration outside the Schengen area, in less than 15 minutes.
Boarding
After about thirty minutes of waiting, the boarding of zones 1 and 2 is called and I board… On the bus that will take us to the plane.
The bus will be quite full… And as I’m at the back, I’ll wait a good 10 minutes once I’m on the plane to access the aircraft.
Cabin and welcome
The feeling of boarding from the tarmac is pleasant, and the welcome on board is good. I head for seat 03H.
It’s the same cabin as on the outward journey and I won’t have a seatmate either. The cabin will be less than 20% full on this flight.
A welcome drink is provided and I choose an orange juice.
The captain will take the microphone to inform us of a 55-minute delay in departure due to the social movement of French air traffic controllers.
In the meantime, the crew will come and distribute the headsets for the use of the IFE.
Service and catering
The service starts about 15 minutes after the aircraft takes off.
In the seats, the menu as well as the on-board sales map is present.
The first drinks service is carried out. I’ll have a Whisky on the rocks, accompanied by still water. It is a pity that nuts are not served with this aperitif.
About fifteen minutes after the serving of the aperitif, the distribution of the main service begins. As on the outward journey, there is no starter, and a choice between two dishes: today it’s chicken with tomato rice or salmon and spinach with dill purée.
I will choose the salmon which will be absolutely delicious.
I note that the items are from Germany, so I assume that the loading was done on the previous flight.
I will accompany the meal with a warm wholemeal bread.
I will skip the dessert which was a chocolate mousse.
When it’s time to clean up, I’ll take a berry tea and sip it while I finish watching a series.
I will then rest for a few hours before the arrival and sleep much more than I wanted to.
Less than an hour and thirty minutes before arrival, the second service is served: a mini-pizza turnover and a set of two macaroons. It will be excellent and I will top it off with a Fanta.
Arrival and disembarkation
We landed at New York JFK about 30 minutes later than originally scheduled, due to our late departure which we largely made up for during the cruise.
The immigration formalities will be quickly cleared and I will be landside less than 20 minutes after our arrival at the gate.
Bottom line
An excellent flight on Norse, despite a delayed arrival. The crew really go out of their way to accommodate premium class passengers and the seat is really excellent for premium economy.
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