The Port of Seattle welcomed the inaugural arrival of low-cost carrier Norwegian beginning service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to London’s Gatwick International Airport. The Port of Seattle Fire Department welcomed the first arrival with a traditional turret salute.
Norwegian, the lead customer for Boeing’s 737-MAX as well as ordering 32 787 Dreamliners, will use the 787-9 on the Seattle to London route, configured to have 35 premium and 309 economy cabin seats. Norwegian has garnered numerous awards including being named 2016’s “World’s Best Low-Cost Long Haul Airline” by Skytrax.
“This is another example of how diverse and widespread our economic growth is here in the region as Norwegian will provide another choice for travelers at Sea-Tac,” said Lance Lyttle, Managing Director of Sea-Tac Airport. “We welcome Norwegian to the team here, this is the 16th new international service in the last ten years.”
“We are very excited to continue our expansion from the United States and add Seattle to our ever-growing route network. Seattle has always had a special place in Norwegian’s history and corporate profile as we have an all-Boeing fleet of more than 130 aircraft delivered from Washington State, and more than 200 Boeing aircraft on order. Now we can finally bring Washingtonians what they have been asking for: more affordable flights from Seattle to Europe. As of today, we can take them nonstop to London or connect onwards to many of our other destinations across Europe. At the same time Seattle and Washington State are both highly attractive for European business and leisure travelers alike, thereby bringing thousands of additional visitors to the U.S., while we continue to support almost a hundred thousand jobs at Boeing with our aircraft orders,” said Thomas Ramdahl, Norwegian’s Chief Commercial Officer.
Massive international growth at Sea-Tac
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International passenger traffic up 11 percent in 2017 (compared w/2016)
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Five new international airlines in past 12 months: Volaris, Xiamen, Eurowings, Virgin Atlantic and Norwegian
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16th new international service in past 10 years
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An international long-haul service generates $89 million in economic activities in our region annually
The Port of Seattle is poised to welcome more international travelers with a new International Arrivals Facility scheduled to open in late 2019. The facility will double passenger capacity, reduce connection times and increase gates capable of serving international wide body airplanes from 12 to 20. Click here to read about all of the improvements coming soon to Sea-Tac.
About Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Operated by the Port of Seattle, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA, KSEA) is ranked as the 9th busiest U.S. airport, serving nearly 45.7 million passengers and more than 366,000 metric tons of air cargo in 2016. With a regional economic impact of more than $16.3 billion in business revenue, Sea-Tac generates 171,796 jobs (109,924 direct jobs) representing over $2.8 billion in direct earnings and more than $565 million in state and local taxes. Twenty-four airlines serve 83 non-stop domestic and 24 international destinations.
About Norwegian
Norwegian is the world’s sixth largest low-cost airline and carried 30 million passengers in 2016. The airline operates 450 routes to 150 destinations in Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Thailand, Caribbean and the U.S. Norwegian has a fleet of 120 aircraft, with an average age of 3.6 years, making it one of the world’s youngest fleets. Norwegian was named the Most Fuel-Efficient Airline on Transatlantic Routes by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). Norwegian was named the World’s Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline by the renowned SkyTrax World Airline Awards in 2015 and 2016, and for the fourth consecutive year, named Europe’s Best Low-Cost Airline. Norwegian employs 6,000 people. The airline offers 50 nonstop routes from the U.S. to London, Paris, Scandinavia and the Caribbean.
