Betting big on Bangkok: Norse adds flights from London to Thai capital   

Norse Atlantic Airways has announced that it will commence a new direct service from London-Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) in Thailand. The new non-stop flights are due to begin toward the end of 2025, with the carrier also operating flights to the Thai capital from its bases in Stockholm and Oslo for the 2025/2026 northern winter season.

The new service from London-Gatwick to Bangkok will launch on October 26, 2025, and will operate up to four times weekly using Norse’s fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. London-Gatwick is currently the airline’s only UK base and one of its key hubs across its network of flights from European cities to destinations in North America, Asia, and South Africa. The introduction of the new Bangkok service marks “a significant expansion of the airline’s operations in the UK market,” says the carrier in a statement.

With Bangkok seeing flights from London-Gatwick being initiated, the city will also see a ramping up of other Norse services in the forthcoming winter season. Weekly flights between Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) and Bangkok will increase from two to four starting on December 5, 2025. Additionally, flights between Oslo (OSL) and Bangkok will increase from three to four times weekly beginning December 3, 2025.

Timo Briedenstein / Norse“We’re excited to launch direct flights between London Gatwick and Bangkok, a top choice among our travelers,” said Bjørn Tore Larsen, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Norse Atlantic Airways. “This addition not only strengthens our existing network between Asia but also builds on our routes from London Gatwick to destinations across the Atlantic and South Africa.”

“For us, it’s all about offering more travel options at great prices without compromising on comfort and service for those looking to enjoy a beautiful and warm winter sunshine destination,” he added.

Historically, Norse has concentrated on transatlantic flights from London and Oslo but has been adding flights to the US from other European cities more recently including Rome, Berlin, and Athens. The airline is also currently operating between London-Gatwick and Cape Town for the current 2024-25 winter season. The carrier has previously had a tendency to pick up and drop US routes, often at relatively short notice, in the past, and it will be interesting to see how the increase in flights to Thailand will affect its route network and frequencies elsewhere on its network.

Norse Atlantic AirwaysAnother issue that may impact the airline’s future operations is that in December 2024, it was disclosed that Norse had reached an agreement in principle that would see up to six of its current fleet of eight Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners wet-leased to another carrier for the bulk of 2025.

Although the identity of the customer airline has not been confirmed by the Oslo-based carrier, at the time of the announcement the recipient was described as a “reputable international airline.” It has since been widely reported that India’s IndiGo is to be the operating carrier using these aircraft, potentially to instigate long-haul flights to Amsterdam and London from Delhi and Mumbai.

With up to three-quarters of its fleet leased out at the end of 2025, Bangkok will likely make up the bulk of the airline’s other operations in the winter 2025-26 period,  with US routes possibly facing cutbacks as a result.       

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