Thursday, December 12, 2024

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I’d book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn’t go overnight.

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When booking air travel, I usually choose the cheapest nonstop flight leaving from my local airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). For this trip, that option was an eight-hour red-eye flight on an airline I’d never heard of, Norse Atlantic Airways.

Norse Atlantic Airways is a new budget airline that started flying in 2022 with nonstop trips from the US to Germany, Norway, the UK, France, and Italy, according to its website.

I booked the lowest tier of ticket — economy light, which included a seat and space to store a personal item for $88. I also paid $75 to select my window seat in advance and a $20 check-in fee at the airport, for a grand total of $183.

I like how domestic red-eye flights give me an extra day at my destination, but I’d never taken one internationally. And I found that the long-haul flight through the night left me exhausted at the beginning of my trip. To me, it wasn’t worth the day I saved.

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