Norwegian Air Premium Cabin Review
Norwegian Air’s Premium Cabin is the best “bang for your buck” when flying long haul.
Recently, I had the pleasure of flying in the Norwegian Air Premium Cabin. I flew in the Norwegian Premium Cabin from Los Angeles to London Gatwick on my way to Northern Norway. I also flew the return from London Gatwick to New York’s JFK.
The Norwegian Air Premium cabin is often referred to by travelers as Norwegian Air Business Class. Although Norwegian Air’s Premium Cabin is not a traditional business class seat, it is an excellent replacement at a much better price!
About Norwegian Air
Norwegian Air has one of the youngest fleets in the world, with the average fleet age of just under 4 years. The airline flies both Boeing 737-800, Boeing 737 Max and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Aircraft
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is what Norwegian Air flies for long-haul international flights and the Dreamliner is one of the best aircrafts in the world. It’s one of the most fuel efficient aircrafts, and also helps prevent jet lag with it’s air pressure and filtration system, and boasts the larger windows in the sky.
The Dreamliner is also where you will find the Norwegian Air Premium Cabin Trust me, once you turn left, you never go back. Farewell, economy!
Types of Fares
There are two types of fares available when booking a ticket in the Norwegian Air Premium Class Cabin, Premium and Premium Flex.
Premium Flex will cost just a bit more, but it will provided added benefits. Premium Flex tickets will allow the passenger to change their ticket up to 30 minutes before departure. Flex tickets are fully refundable. When you purchase a Premium Flex ticket, you also receive lounge access at select airports.
Seats
The seats in the Premium Class Cabin on Norwegian Air are the best part of the experience. With the extra legroom and quite a bit of recline, it’s easy to relax or get some sleep while onboard.
The configurations vary, some flights will have an expansive premium cabin with up to 56 seats, some flights will have as little as 35 seats in the premium class cabin. The seats recline quite a bit with a pitch of 43-46 inches depending on the aircraft, and 55 inches of legroom.
In addition to the reclining seat, with the flip of a button, a leg rest comes out making the seat very similar to sitting in a La-Z-Boy recliner.
Entertainment and Amenities
Along with a blanket and pillow, each seat in the Norwegian Air Premium Class Cabin will come with it’s own entertainment system. This system not only has an enormous amount of choices for in-flight entertainment, but it has the ability for you to order drinks and snacks on-demand from the comfort of your seat. Additionally, each premium class seat has it’s own power outlet to charge your devices while in-flight.
Food & Alcohol
Although only non-alcoholic beverages are served prior to take off, once in the air you are welcome to unlimited alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks.
Choice of meals will be served in a small box, with an appeztizer, entree and dessert. The food served in the Norwegian Air Premium Cabin was rather tasty for airplane meals and I appreciated the healthy amount of greens in the salad.
Meal service began about 45 minutes after take-off. About 90 minutes prior to landing a second meal service was provided.
Baggage
When booking the Norwegian Air Premium Cabin, passengers will receive two checked bags for free! This is an amazing policy for anyone traveling with a lot of luggage- it really increases the value of the Premium cabin ticket. Check the Norwegian Air website for up-to-date details of size and weight restrictions.
Lounge Access
Norwegian Air Premium Cabin Class Review London Gatwick No. 1 Lounge
As mentioned above, if you purchase a Flex Ticket, you have access to select lounges (pending availability in the lounge). On my departure and return, I enjoyed the No. 1 Lounge at London’s Gatwick airport. Not only did the lounge have a chic high-end design, but it also served meals-to-order. Instead of a buffet style self-selection, I enjoyed a made-to-order meal ordered from a menu. All drinks, with the exception of champagne, are included with access to the lounge.
The Lounge at Tom Bradley International at LAX was also excellent, but the Gatwick Lounge was much more impressive.
Price Point
The price point for the Norwegian Air Premium Cabin is beyond excellent. Not only are the costs thousands of dollars below a traditional long-haul business class seat, but they are far more comfortable than an economy seat.
While searching for various flights, I found round-trip fares from the US to destinations around the globe, I found the Norwegian Premium Cabin from $1,100 USD and up. Keep in mind, this was just a quick search, and airline sales and various destinations will effect the actual price.
Overall Experience
Overall, the experience in the Norwegian Air Premium Class Cabin exceeded my expectations. As someone who is either in a lay-flat business seat, or squished in economy, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about a premium cabin.
I was able to relax, get some sleep, and enjoy my in-flight experience, the same way I would in a business or first-class cabin. The in-flight entertainment system was great, the food was good, and the flight attendants were lovely.
For the price-point, I cannot think of a better product for traveling long-haul. Many “traditional” business class seats do not even lay flat and recline approximately 55”-75”, and most premium class seats only recline 34”-38”. I found the 46” recline in the Norwegian Air Premium Cabin seat to be just as comfortable and enjoyable as the business class products that don’t lay completely flat.
Trusted Travel Tip: When booking the Norwegian Air Premium Cabin on a third party website, such as Kayak, be sure to select “Business” and not “Premium Economy” as your cabin. Although Norwegian Air Premium Cabin is not technically a Business Class seat, it is much closer to a Business Class Cabin, and likely that is why it is aggregated under that category.