Orlando nonstop flight to Stockholm begins tonight
Norwegian Air’s inaugural nonstop flight from Orlando to Stockholm departs a few minutes after 10 tonight for a scheduled 8 hours and 50 minutes to the Swedish capital.
It will be the start of Norwegian’s fifth link to a European city from Central Florida. The lowcost carrier is one of the fastest growing for international service at Orlando’s airport, which has made a top priority of recruiting foreign airlines.
Norwegian touts itself as the world’s fastest-growing airline.
Norwegian’s 787 Dreamliner’s carry several hundred passengers, and spokesman Anders Lindström said the Stockholm flight is nearly full.
“The very first flight for any airline is almost never fully booked,” Lindström said. “The numbers look very good and above expectations.”
Here are snapshots of Norwegian’s presence in Orlando and internationally.
Norwegian’s nonstop flights from Orlando began with one to Oslo in 2014, followed by service to Copenhagen, London and Paris.
On Wednesday, Norwegian will began service from Tampa to London.
Fort Lauderdale followed New York as Norwegian’s second U.S. destination in 2013. The South Florida city is the airline’s busiest in the state, flying to the same destinations as from Orlando, with the additions of Madrid, Barcelona and the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Norwegian also established in Fort Lauderdale crew and pilot bases, and the airline says it is the only foreign carrier hiring American pilots in the U.S.
Norwegian flies out of Orlando 10 times a week, with half of those flights to London.
With the addition of the Tampa flight to London, the airline will have 58 routes out of 16 U.S. cities to 15 European cities and two destinations in the Carribean.
About 20 percent of all passengers on Norwegian’s Orlando routes are Americans.
About 50 percent of passengers on Norwegian’s Paris flights are Americans.