Review of Norwegian flight Oslo Kraków in Economy

Airline Norwegian
Flight DY1040
Class Economy
Seat 27B
Aircraft Boeing 737-800
Flight time 02:05
Take-off 11 Dec 16, 09:35
Arrival at 11 Dec 16, 11:40
DY   #9 out of 22 Low-cost airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 96 reviews
King
By 694
Published on 9th January 2017
This is my first Flight Report, so feedback is appreciated!
I chose to just report on the flight down to Krakow, and not the return since the flights were pretty similar and I was quite tired on the return.

Carrier: Norwegian Air Shuttle
Date: December 11th, 2016
Route: Oslo (OSL) - Krakow (KRK)
Flight #: DY1040
Aircraft: LN-NGG



My trip started at Oslo Central Station where I traveled to the airport by train. There air two companies that operates train from Oslo to Oslo Airport, and they both take just over 20 minutes. I chose the NSB and not the Airport Express Train on this journey, with cost as the reason.
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The NSB trains can be full during peak hours, but for this trip I had many seats to choose from.

When I arrived at the Airport I just had to take a couple escalators to get to the departures hall.
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The check in process on Norwegian is fully automated and you print your own boarding pass and bag-tags from the self-serve kiosks.
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Then you place your bag at one of the bag-drop stations, scan the tag and off you go! Both Norwegian and SAS (and other airlines) uses this system at Oslo Airport.
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Oslo Airport are expanding and will be fully finished in April. However, the new departures hall opened for selected flights in December. It will be used mostly by Norwegian for their many flights out of Oslo.
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After security I went through the gates for the international flights.
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I then had to go through the new tax-free store, before I had to pass through some construction where the old tax-free store had been located to get to the main terminal.
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The angled windows at Oslo Airport makes it hard to take photos of the planes outside.
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The aircraft that would be taking me to Krakow. A Boeing 737-800 registered as LN-NGG. It actually had its first flight December 11th 2012, so the plane celebrated its fourth birthday the day I flew it.

Boarding started on time.
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Norwegian has dark leather seats on all of ther short-haul aircraft.
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The pitch was reasonable for such a short flight.

Boarding completed at 9.30, and we were pushed back right on time at 9.35.
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The cabin on Norwegians short-haul aircraft feels really fresh, and the mood lightning make for a comfortable environment.

After a short taxi we arrived at the runway, and takeoff were at 9.44. Under five minutes later the captain switched off the "fasten seat-belt sign" and we were underway to Krakow!
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Norwegian have no included food or drinks on any of their flights, but a Buy on Board menu are distributed on all flights lasting more than 2 hours. Since this flight was blocked at 2h 5min I asked for the menu, but I got told none were available. (Menus were handed out on the return flight). The crew told the menu in the in-flight magazine (for sub 2 hour long flights) were the one to use, but I wasn't that hungry so I decided to wait until i arrived.
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The cabin crew did their job as far as selling the Buy-on-board products go, but they didn't really appear friendly and smiling. On the return flight however, the crew was great.

The entertainment on Norwegians short-haul flights compromise of an inflight-magazine and free internet access for all passengers. They also have some free games and TV series, together with a traditional flight-map etc. which is accessible on your own device. There are also movies available for purchase. I took mulitple screenshots from the flight map and layout etc., but I had a problem with my tablet last week which meant I unfortunately lost all the photos before I had a chance to publish. The WiFi was usable, and I were able to read and send emails, and do some research about my destination. Overall the in-flight entertainment on Norwegian is really good, and if they also include some free movies I will give them 10 points in the future.
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A short flight later we started our decent into Krakow. The flight had been smooth the entire way, but there were some crosswinds upon landing.
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We landed at Krakow airport at 11.30 and a short taxi later we were parked at a remote stand. Krakow airport seems to use remote stands for all their flights.
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A Ryanair flight departing in the background.
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We then drove past a couple private jets..
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If anyone knows aircraft type etc. I would appreciate the information .
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We parked next to an LOT Polish Airlines Q400 in the EuroLOT livery.
We then deplaned through the back door onto the waiting buses and wished our plane goodbye.
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On our short drive to the terminal we drove past an EasyJet A319
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And then we had to walk through a short hallway on our way to baggage claim.
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See more

Verdict

Norwegian

6.5/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew5.0
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Buy-on-board menu5.0

Oslo - OSL

8.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness10.0

Kraków - KRK

7.0/10
Efficiency6.0
Access8.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness8.0

Conclusion

Norwegian is a great airline for short intra-European flights. Their prices are reasonable, and even though they are classified as a Low Cost Carrier they offer a great cabin with leather seats, a decent seat pitch and free WiFi on-board. The food and beverage menu (Buy on Board) is limited, but on a two hour flight this is not really an issue.

Related

10 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 380846 by
    thejetflyer BRONZE 149 Comments
    Beautiful detailed review of a progressive European airline !
    Sorry to hear crew weren't so friendly.
    Norwegian will be commencing Edinburgh to New York flights on 737Max aircraft this year and will halve the fares from the UK to New York. It will likely be New York Stewart Airport which Norwegian will fly from. Thanks for a lovely trip report !
    • Comment 380903 by
      King AUTHOR 9 Comments
      Thanks a lot! I am too looking forward to the launch of the 737MAX aircraft, but Norwegian are also scheduled to double their long haul fleet of B787s in 2016 which would mean a lot of new exiting routes. I've heard talks about both South America, China, Japan, Singapore and South Africa, and Norwegian has promised flights from Europe to South America for a third of the prices today! 2017 will be a great year!
  • Comment 380848 by
    Pilpintu TEAM 997 Comments
    Is this really your first report??
    Wow! You write like an expert!!!
    The information is relevant and detailed. Your pictures are clear and very illustrative. Great job!!

    I love the Sky Interior on those 737-800!!

    Many thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more reports!!
    • Comment 380906 by
      King AUTHOR 9 Comments
      Thank you very much Nechus!
      I have read a ton of reviews so I just tried to follow the formula.

      Unfortunately most of my flying are domestic 1 hour flights in Norway on Norwegian an SAS, so nothing really special, but come summer I should have a couple exiting reviews.
  • Comment 380850 by
    fiftytwo GOLD 1418 Comments
    Hi king

    Welcome on FR ! Good job for your first report
  • Comment 381268 by
    DiegoSS02 78 Comments
    Excellent report! Norwegian appears to offer a very good product for being a low-cost carrier (In comparison with FR, U2, and others).
  • Comment 381299 by
    joaointhesky 68 Comments
    Thanks for this amazing FR! I always that Norwegian's flight experience was as bad as Ryanair's. But it seems to be way better than all low-cost airlines' in Europe!
    • Comment 381371 by
      King AUTHOR 9 Comments
      Thank you Jaoointhesky!

      Norwegian really is much closer to carriers such as SAS and British Airways inside Europe, and a huge step up from Ryanair which charges you a million euros if you don't print you bording pass at home,. The major thing that differentiate Norwegian from traditional carriers are that you have to pay extra for food and beverages, luggage, and seat-reservation. However all options are reasonably priced.

      Price examples from this trip:
      OSL - KRK: 499NOK = 55 EUR
      KRK - OSL: 245NOK = 27 EUR
      Luggage (each way) = 100 NOK = 11 EUR
      Seat reservation (each way) = 100 NOK = 11 EUR
      Luggage + seat reservation bundle (labeled as LowFare+ tickets) = 150 NOK extra each way = 16,5 EUR

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