I'm flying home for under £50,
despite booking less than a fortnight before my flight. With the fare I've
booked, I'm not charged extra to check my luggage in, and the allowance is a
pretty reasonable 20kg. They don't charge me extra to choose my seat either;
that money-spinning device is one I was never prepared to pander
to.
I don't have to waste my own
time before leaving doing the airline's admin for them; I don't have to check in
online and print off a boarding pass. I just turn up to the
airport.
Five minutes before I arrive, I
receive a text message with my login details for the free onboard wifi. The
staff are pleasant, courteous and helpful; unlike the usual budget airline
experience, they don't seem keen on annoying their
customers.
Boarding the plane seems more
convenient than usual. They only make the announcement that it's time to board
the aircraft when, you know, it's actually time to hop onboard the plane.
Unlike, ahem, some companies that I could mention which keep you standing around
in unnecessary queues for their own convenience.
The plane is too hot when I
board, but that's okay because the modern - and actually relatively comfortable
- plane actually has air-conditioning and the cabin crew have the common sense
to switch it on rather than leave me in a nauseating and unnecessary heat until
the plane is fully boarded. Air-con that works; innovative stuff in this
industry!
I'm not asked to surrender my
hand luggage for the hold, because the overhead lockers aren't actually
overcrowded: funny how allowing people to check in baggage without extortionate
extra charges can make the flight more pleasant.
Once in the air, the flight is
as smooth as possible. Even the in-flight magazine is less pointless than most,
and no they haven't removed those little pouches for storing things. Then the
wifi is switched on. I can actually surf the internet whilst in the air, though
as I'm returning from holiday I decide to write this article rather than do too
much work. I don't know if my flight is on time or not, though I suspect it is;
I don't really care - for once I'm not clock-watching.
Norwegian have got rid of 90% of
the inconvenience of flying; the other 10% is the airport's responsibility
anyway.
After this experience, I would
actually pay extra to fly Norwegian in future. Good customer service on a
reasonably-priced airline, whatever will they think of next? Other airlines have
a long way to go to compete with this.
I'm
publishing this article whilst still in the air. Admittedly I'm taking the risk
that my luggage will arrive unharmed; perhaps I'm tempting fate a little too
much...
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