Direct flights from Edinburgh to New York could cost just Â£60

Scots could be able to fly to the US for less than Â£60 from next summer, the chief executive of low-cost carrier Norwegian Air has said.

By The Newsroom Tuesday, 27th December 2016, 4:07 pm Updated Thursday, 29th December 2016, 3:23 pm

Times Square in midtown Manhattan. Norwegian Air will offer direct flights to New York from Edinburgh next summer. Picture: iStock

Bjorn Kjos said the airline, which is headquartered in Oslo is investing in new aircraft that is cheaper to run and more fuel efficient. Norwegian will take delivery of six new Boeing 737MAX aircrafts in April.

These will be used to launch a new direct service from Edinburgh to New York a few months later with prices as low as $69 (£56). Norwegian currently operates services twice a day from Gatwick to New York with prices starting from £125 for a single journey.

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The lower fares will only apply to flights from Edinburgh, where it is launching a service for the first time using the new aircraft.

“Our planes are very, very fuel efficient. We have a totally different set up to other airlines. The Boeing 737MAX has a very modern engine, which means it can go for a longer distance.

“We’ll also be flying to secondary airports in New York (not JFK). That means we don’t pay as much and can charge cheaper fares”, said Mr Kjos.

Norwegian has become a thorn in the side of major players such as Virgin and British Airways since launching its first transatlantic route in 2014.

Starting with flights to New York, the airline now offers direct flights to Florida, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Last month, it launched twice-weekly flights to Las Vegas for less than £400 return.

Next year, the airline is increasing its number of flights from London to the US by 55 per cent after seeing “huge” demand from passengers.

Mr Kjos said its planes are typically 95 per cent full for long-haul destinations.

The airline is also planning to launch services from Cork in Ireland next year, and expects to launch new routes between London and Asia and South America late next year. In total, it expects to take delivery of 200 new aircraft over the next five years.

“Everyone said would low cost long-haul work. But passengers have shown that is demand there”, said Mr Kjos.