One of the World's most popular low-cost air carriers, Norwegian, has confirmed today it has acquired an additional 28 weekly slots at London Gatwick Airport from summer 2018. The take-off and landing slots, purchased from Small Planet Airlines, will allow Norwegian to plan for continued growth at Gatwick as the airline heads into its busiest ever year in the UK in 2018.
London Gatwick is at the heart of Norwegian’s fast-growing UK operation, where the airline already flies more than 4.6 million passengers each year to over 30 global destinations. Norwegian’s route network at Gatwick includes affordable long-haul flights to 9 US cities and Singapore, with further long-haul routes to Argentina, Chicago and Austin launching early next year.
Planning work is now underway to allocate the newly acquired 28 weekly slots which cover the busy summer 2018 period at London Gatwick.
Norwegian Chief Commercial Officer Thomas Ramdahl said: “London Gatwick is at the heart of our global growth ambitions so securing these crucial new slots will allow us to offer our passengers' even more new routes, additional flights and affordable fares. Together with the launch of new routes to Argentina, Chicago and Austin in 2018, gaining extra capacity at London Gatwick is another huge boost as we get ready for our biggest ever year in the UK.”
Read on to see the next famous face to be featured on a tail of a sleek Norwegian jet.
Norwegian also announced today that British author Jane Austen will become its latest ‘tail fin hero’. and will grace the tail fin of a sleek Norwegian Dreamliner aircraft, as 2017 marked the 200th anniversary of her death.
Since Norwegian’s first aircraft took to the skies, the airline has always honoured iconic figures on the tails of its aircraft, using personalities who symbolise the spirit of Norwegian by pushing boundaries, challenging the norm and inspiring others.
To reflect Norwegian’s rapid growth in the UK, where it now flies 5 million UK passengers each year to more than 50 destinations, the airline is planning a series of British tail fin heroes. Jane Austen will become Norwegian’s sixth British tail fin hero, following the announcement of rock legend Freddie Mercury, footballer Bobby Moore, children’s author Roald Dahl, pioneering pilot Amy Johnson and aviation maverick Sir Freddie Laker.
Jane Austen, one of the world's most famous authors, born on 16th December 1775, spent most of her life in the historic and beautiful county of Hampshire. Its houses, countryside and people provided the inspiration for many of her novels. It was during her time in the quiet village of Chawton that she wrote and revised six of her most famous novels - Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice and Northanger Abbey, and wrote Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion. It wasn’t until 1810 that her first novel Sense & Sensibility was accepted for publishing by Thomas Egerton.
Norwegian’s Chief Commercial Officer Thomas Ramdahl said: “As Norwegian continues its rapid expansion in the UK, our ‘tail fin heroes’ offer us a perfect chance to pay tribute to some of the greatest Britons of all time. Jane Austen has inspired generations and as the world celebrates her bicentenary it is a huge honour to have one of the greatest authors of all time adorn our aircraft.”
The portrait of Jane Austen, which will be used to adorn the tail of a Norwegian aircraft, has been taken from a late nineteenth-century engraving, commissioned by Jane Austen’s nephew. The engraving is based upon National Portrait Gallery London’s pencil and watercolour sketch of Jane Austen, by her sister and closest confidante Cassandra Austen in 1810.
The Jane Austen tail fin will take to the skies next summer when it will adorn a Norwegian Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
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