Transatlantic flights on 10 routes, starting at $65

NORWEGIAN AIR Shuttle ASA plans to offer transatlantic flights on 10 new routes between the United States and Europe with tickets starting at $65 one way, putting pressure on US and European rivals to compete, it said on Thursday.

Norwegian is expanding its network of flights to the United States starting in mid-june after receiving long-awaited US approval in December for its Irish subsidiary Norwegian Air International to operate routes across the Atlantic.

Norwegian’s $65 fares will be for a one-way ticket to UK and Irish destinations from smaller airports in New York state, Providence, Rhode Island, and Hartford, Connecticut. Destinations include Belfast, Northern Ireland; Cork, Dublin and Shannon, Ireland; and Edinburgh, Scotland. “I pay for what I want, you pay for what you want. We don’t pay for what everybody else on the plane wants,” Norwegian Air spokesman Anders Lindström said of its fares. The burgeoning competition on transatlantic routes has prompted action by more established European airlines. British Airways and Iberia owner IAG is planning to start low-cost transatlantic flights from Barcelona this year to US destinations.

Meanwhile, Air France, part of Franco-dutch group Air France-klm, also plans a new low-cost unit in a project dubbed Boost, while Lufthansa is expanding long-haul budget flying through its Eurowings business.

The company said that thousands of one-way tickets will be offered at $65, with fares on the next pricing tier starting at $99.

By comparison, prices for a one-way ticket from New York to Dublin in mid-june with other airlines range from about $655 to $2,755 on the Expedia travel website.

To keep costs low, Norwegian said it will fly from smaller US airports with lower fees, using narrow-body Boeing 737-MAX aircraft, which are due to be delivered later this year.