Press release - 19 January 2018 07:00

Norwegian sets new record transatlantic flight time from New York to London with a Dreamliner aircraft

Low-cost airline Norwegian has set a new record time for the fastest ever transatlantic flight by a subsonic passenger aircraft this week using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Norwegian flight DY7014 from New York JFK to London Gatwick on Monday 15 January completed the full duration of the flight in 5 hours and 13 minutes – the fastest transatlantic flight recorded on a subsonic commercial aircraft. The previous record was 5 hours and 16 minutes.

The flight carrying 284 passengers departed New York at 11:44am and arrived at London at 9:57pm – 53 minutes early.

Europe’s third largest low-cost airline, operates double daily flights between London and New York using the state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The flight benefitted from strong tailwinds over the Atlantic Ocean that reached a maximum of 176 knots (202mph). The tailwinds pushed the aircraft to a top speed of 776mph during the flight.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft (G-CKHL) used on the record-breaking transatlantic flight adorns British tail fin hero Amy Johnson, a pioneering pilot who was the first female to fly solo from England to Australia in 1930. Norwegian honours iconic figures on the tails of its aircraft, using personalities who symbolise the spirit of Norwegian through innovation, challenging the norm, and inspiring others.

Captain Harold van Dam at Norwegian said: “The 787 Dreamliner is a pleasure to fly and it’s a great feeling to know that we have set a new record in this aircraft. We were actually in the air for just over five hours and if it had not been for forecasted turbulence at lower altitude, we could have flown even faster.”

The day before the record-breaking flight, London Gatwick-based Captain Pascal Niewold recorded his fastest ever transatlantic flight of 5 hours and 20 minutes while flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner from New York to London on Sunday 14 January. The flight had a maximum tailwind of 195 knots (224mph) and reached a top speed of 779mph.

Captain Pascal Niewold at Norwegian said: “The passengers and crew were very pleasantly surprised that we were already landing in London. It was a very smooth flight with almost no turbulence and as a result of the jet stream we arrived 25 minutes early.”

In 2018, Norwegian will take delivery of 11 brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, 10 of which will feature Norwegian's new expanded Premium cabin with 56 seats - 21 seats more than the airline's current Premium cabin.

Additional pictures are available at the bottom of this page or upon request at pressUK@norwegian.com

Topics

Norwegian in the UK:

Norwegian carries 5.8 million UK passengers each year from London Gatwick, Edinburgh and Manchester Airports to 50 destinations worldwide
Norwegian is the third largest airline at London Gatwick, with 4.6 million yearly passengers, and with more than 1,000 UK-based pilots and cabin crew
In 2014, Norwegian introduced the UK’s first low-cost, long haul flights to the U.S. - the airline now flies to 11 U.S destinations, Buenos Aires and Singapore
In 2017, Norwegian also launched affordable transatlantic flights from Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Shannon to the US East Coast, using the brand new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft
Norwegian is the only airline to offer free inflight WiFi on UK flights to more than 30 European destinations
The airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world with an average age of 3.6 years, including next-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Boeing 737 MAX and Boeing 737-800s
Norwegian has been voted ‘Europe’s best low-cost carrier’ by passengers for five consecutive years at SkyTrax World Airline Awards from 2013-2017, along with being awarded the ‘World's best low-cost long-haul airline’ in 2015, 2016 and 2017
Norwegian Reward is the airline's free to join award-winning loyalty programme offering members CashPoints and Rewards that reduce the cost of Norwegian flights

Contacts

For journalists only

Press contact Norwegian Press Office press@norwegian.com +47 815 11 816

Marketing/sponsorhip requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Press contact Marketing/sponsorship requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Norwegian.com

The Norwegian group is a leading Nordic aviation company, headquartered at Fornebu outside Oslo, Norway. The company has over 8,200 employees and owns two of the prominent airlines in the Nordics: Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe’s Flyveselskap. Widerøe was acquired by Norwegian in 2024, aiming to facilitate seamless air travel across the two airline’s networks.

Norwegian Air Shuttle, the largest Norwegian airline with around 4,700 employees, operates an extensive route network connecting Nordic countries to key European destinations. In 2023, Norwegian carried over 20 million passengers and maintained a fleet of 87 Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Widerøe’s Flyveselskap, Norway’s oldest airline, is Scandinavia’s largest regional carrier. The airline has more than 3,500 employees. Mainly operating the short-runway airports in rural Norway, Widerøe operates several state contract routes (PSO routes) in addition to its own commercial network. In 2023, the airline had 3.3 million passengers and a fleet of 48 aircraft, including 45 Bombardier Dash 8’s and three Embraer E190-E2's. Widerøe Ground Handling provides ground handling services at 41 Norwegian airports.

The Norwegian group has sustainability as a key priority and has committed to significantly reducing carbon emissions from its operations. Among numerous initiatives, the most noteworthy is the investment in production and use of fossil-free aviation fuel (SAF). Norwegian strives to become the sustainable choice for its passengers, actively contributing to the transformation of the aviation industry.