Budget airlines launch new flights to Africa, Thailand

Over the last year, budget airlines around the globe have significantly expanded their reach with flights that span farther and farther distances.

Africa, in particular, has been on the radar of several airlines. London-based EasyJet (EJTTF) recently announced a new route between London’s Gatwick Airport and Luxor in southern Egypt; the route will start running in November.

Oslo-based Norse Atlantic Airways NRSAF now also has a 5,188 nautical mile flight between London and Cape Town. With the inaugural flight taking place on Oct. 28, the new route runs on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane (BA) three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

First Norse Atlantic Airlines flight between London and Cape Town runs fully booked

According to the airline, every seat on the Oct. 28 flight was booked in both directions. The $486 one-way rate that Norse currently displays on its website for certain weekdays in November is significantly less than the upwards of $2,000 one would pay for a similar route on a mainstream airline like British Airways or South African Airways.

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The $486 tickets are a promotional rate that is being offered to market the new flight; typical pricing is within the $600 range.

Meanwhile, British Airways reprised a route between Gatwick and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport that it discontinued after the steep drop in traveler numbers to Asia during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020. JetStar, an Australian low-cost subsidiary of Qantas Airways (QUBSF) , has a new route to the Thailand capital from the Australian city of Brisbane — all of these flights are designed to tap into tourist interest.

An airplane is shown in flight over a grassy field.
Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Why are there no such low-cost flights to the U.S.? A quick summary

“We know that Bangkok has been a highly anticipated route restart for our customers, so we are thrilled to see it firmly back on our global route map,” said Neil Chernoff, British Airways chief planning and strategy officer, in a statement about the new Bangkok route.

Given the geographical distance between Africa and Asia from the United States, such low-cost flights do not currently exist for Americans — most of the cross-continental budget airlines go between East Coast cities and European capitals such as London, Paris, Copenhagen and Reykjavik. Iceland, in particular, offers flights on both its flagship carrier, Icelandair, and budget airline Play.

Norse, however, also said that it expects its new route to Cape Town to be popular among Americans who may travel there from London. It has been marketing the route as a way to “break the duopoly” that for many years has been held by British Airways and South African Airways by offering a very competitive rate (as any budget airline, the business model is to win over customers with a low base fare and then make up for the difference with fees for baggage and seat selection).

"At Norse Atlantic Airways, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to experience the wonders of the world and our new route to Cape Town will allow many more people to visit this amazing destination," Norse founder and CEO Bjorn Tore Larsen said in a statement when the new flight was announced in April.

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