I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight.
Joey Hadden
- I took a red-eye flight from NYC to Berlin to start a two-week trip to Europe in October 2022.
- For $180, I flew through the night with Norse Atlantic Airways and had a row of seats to myself.
In October 2022, I flew from my home in NYC to Berlin for a two-week train trip through Europe.
When booking air travel, I usually choose the cheapest nonstop flight leaving from my local airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). For this trip, that option was an eight-hour red-eye flight on an airline I'd never heard of, Norse Atlantic Airways.
Norse Atlantic Airways is a new budget airline that started flying in 2022 with nonstop trips from the US to Germany, Norway, the UK, France, and Italy, according to its website.
I booked the lowest tier of ticket — economy light, which included a seat and space to store a personal item for $88. I also paid $75 to select my window seat in advance and a $20 check-in fee at the airport, for a grand total of $183.
I like how domestic red-eye flights give me an extra day at my destination, but I'd never taken one internationally. And I found that the long-haul flight through the night left me exhausted at the beginning of my trip. To me, it wasn't worth the day I saved.
I arrived at JFK at 9:30 p.m. for my 12:30 a.m. flight.
I could have checked in online for free, but I wanted to print my boarding pass at the airport.
On a late Sunday evening, the terminal at JFK felt quite empty.
Aside from people in line to board an aircraft, I hardly saw anyone.
My flight began boarding at 11:30 p.m.
I was among the last to board and got situated in my seat right around midnight.
The flight's seating arrangement was three columns with three seats in each row.
I paid extra to select a window seat before the flight so that I could lean against the window to rest.
A representative from Norse told BI that economy light seats are 17.2 inches wide with a 3-inch recline.
It felt like a standard plane seat to me.
I thought I had enough legroom even with my backpack shoved underneath the seat.
The seat pitch was between 27 and 32 inches, according to the representative.
There was an entertainment screen with movies, TV shows, and information about my flight in front of me.
Although I spent most of the time trying to sleep, I appreciated having the screen.
As the plane prepared for takeoff, I was thrilled that I had a whole row to myself.
In fact, I noticed many of the seats were empty.
My seat back pocket contained a menu of amenities, including earbuds, blankets, neck pillows, and sleep masks, although I didn't buy any.
Amenity prices ranged from $3.50 to $6.50.
After takeoff, the plane was quiet and dimly lit. But I hardly ever sleep well on planes, and this was no exception.
I woke several times through the night.
At one point in the night, I went to the bathroom and found it cleaner than most aircraft bathrooms I've been in.
Unlike most economy aircraft bathrooms I've used, the floor wasn't sticky and the trash can wasn't overflowing.
In the morning, flight attendants came around with food and beverage service. So I looked at the menu in my seat back pocket.
I found that food and beverages weren't included in the price of my ticket, so I decided to skip it.
I landed in Berlin nearly an hour earlier than scheduled, so I was only in the air for seven hours.
Still, when I got off the plane, I felt completely exhausted due to a lack of sleep.
Despite feeling tired, as I would after any red-eye flight, I was impressed by the budget airline and would definitely book with Norse again.
The flight was comfortable and clean, and landing early was a nice bonus.
Once in Berlin, I still had a two-hour train journey to my Airbnb outside the city, and I could barely keep my eyes open.
Even after a night of sleep, I found that the exhaustion from the overnight flight — combined with jet lag — lasted for days. This wasn't ideal at the start of a two-week adventure.
My exhaustion wore off within a couple of days of my trip, but I had a lingering thought — next time I fly internationally, I won't mind spending a little more money and a little less time at my destination for a day flight.
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