How to Survive a Norweigan Airlines Flight

Before flying with Norweigan Airlines, which is a low-cost airline, it’s a good idea to learn what you are getting into and to prepare as best as you can. There are some important things that I wish I had known before flying with them, so in this post, I will tell you all of my tips and tricks and what you need to know before flying with Norweigan Airlines.

Hello from the sky, friends! I am currently writing this from a transatlantic flight with Norwegian Air, flying 12 hours from Madrid to Los Angeles (I wrote this weeks ago). This is not my first encounter with Norwegian, as I flew with them back in 2016 from New York to Copenhagen and got hit with some major bag fees. You may or may not know, but Norwegian offers low cost flights with the bare essentials to get you through the journey. For this current flight, my one way tickets was just 200€ while Luis only paid a little over 400€ for his round trip ticket. “How is it so cheap?”, you’re wondering. Well, it’s because they literally give you as little as possible. For the lowest price, you can’t choose you’re seat, no food is included (even on these 12 hour flights!), and you only get to bring a carry on bag and small personal item that weighs less than 10 kg combined (22 pounds total). I was shocked that they gave me water (when I asked).

Norweigan Airlines ropes you in with those low fares and then tell you just how little you’re going to be getting. When I flew from New York to Copenhagen and then Madrid, I paid just over 300€ one way, but didn’t realize they were going to weigh EVERYTHING including my food and water bottle and “personal item”, which put everything over the 10 kilo limit. I had to pay to check my bag TWICE since I had a layover on my way to Madrid. Despite my best efforts at crying and sputtering how I had no idea (really I didn’t), I had no choice and checking the bag twice cost about half of what I paid for my original ticket. Lesson learned.

When Luis and I found cheap tickets with Norwegian, I was apprehensive to fly with them because I’d pretty much blacklisted them for life….but who can turn down a 400€ round trip and DIRECT flight. No one. As I sit here on this Norweigan Airlines flight, about 8 hours in and everyone mostly comfortably snoozing away, I am thinking that Norwegian really isn’t so bad, but there are some things you should know before flying with Norweigan Airlines and some tips and tricks to make it more comfortable.

What to Know Before Flying with American Airlines

One person should purchase ‘Flex Plus’ If you are flying with a companion, I suggest one of you purchase the flex plus fare, which allows you to check a bag up to 20 kilos and each can still bring 10 kilos of carry on. This person also gets to choose their seat and gets the included meals. For Luis, that ran him about 70€ extra each way (certainly not cheap).
They weigh the bags! Keep in mind that they MAY weigh your bags. Like I said, they weighed my bags in New York and every single one of them- including my food, water, and ‘personal item’. They were not lenient at all in terms of overages. I’ve heard that sometimes they do weigh and sometimes they don’t weigh (they did not weigh my bag in Madrid, but this may be because Luis had purchased the Flex plan), but you want to make sure you are not totally over in the case that they do. Remember, you can wear heavy coats, put food and water in the pockets, carry your camera around your neck, and find other ways to cut some weight when you go to the check in counter.
Don’t purchase the meal. Don’t do it (unless it’s part of the Flex plan you purchase). It’s 35€ per person for this tiny, laughable meal. Luis asked 3 of the stewardess’ if they would be bringing around a 2nd course. For a 12 hour flight, this meal couldn’t have had more than 500 calories and much to Luis’ dismay, “didn’t even come with bread!!”. Luis’ meal had a tiny salad, a hot plate with weird chicken, mashed peas and some vegetables and a small brownie. FYI the woman next to us ordered the gluten free meal and hers was considerably larger with a chick pea salad and a hot plate of chicken breast, rice, and roasted vegetables, and an apple for dessert. I guess if you can choose, maybe go for gluten free. All in all, It’s not worth the price. See my next point.
Bring food and lots of it, especially for a long journey. This is where having the flex plus fare can come on handy- if one person is able to check a bag, they likely have some wiggle room to fit some things into their carry on. Yesterday, we made 5 bagel sandwiches (1 salmon with cream cheese, 2 almond butter and cherry jam, 2 turkey and cheese) along with a big tortilla sandwich and a triple decker turkey sandwich. We also have 2 hard boiled eggs and 2 peaches. Lastly, I bought one of those pre-bought salads for the grocery store that had lettuce, tomatoes, pasta, chicken and cheese for 2.50 € and it was bigger than Luis’ hot meal. Even though Luis got a meal, it really isn’t enough and he has been powering through the sandwiches since we got on the plane. I recommend going to the supermarket and buying yourself a bunch of pre-packaged meals that travel well. Other things to bring: dried fruit and nuts, fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, wraps, pasta salad in a container, empanadas or something similar. If you DON’T purchase the Flex Plus plan, and don’t have wiggle room with the weight allowance, I would put a couple sandwiches in your pocket and buy a meal at the airport (which is less money than the meal on the plane).
Things you should bring that are NOT included (but you can purchase): headphones for the movies and a blanket. Try to bring something small, but warm. This plane is cold! Maybe an eye mask, a water bottle (you can ask them to fill it) and some sleeping meds.
Pay to choose your seat if there are exit rows available. I hemmed and hawed about this for a little while, since it’s an additional 35€ to choose your seat, but I am SO GLAD I DID. Luis had seat selection as part of his fare, but with an additional 35€ (that I paid on my ticket), we are not only able to sit together but we are also sitting in the exit row. Just be aware that it’s possible that they change the aircraft, in which case you will be reassigned to a random seat and may not get the exit row you chose ( this happened to my mom on a Norwegian flight) so be sure to check back every once in a while. If you do get an exit row, this extra leg room is everything. My knees and hamstrings still ache like they do on flights, but I can stretch often without bothering people.