Review of Norwegian flight from Stavanger to London in Economy

Bidding farewell to scenic Norway on Norwegian Air Shuttle's B738 from Stavanger

Flight Background:

Hello Flight-Report community,

This is my third and also final flight report on my dream trip to Norway in July, 2025. After arriving in the historic and bustling port city of Bergen on Wideroe's DHC-8-100, I travelled to Stavanger, the oil capital of Norway, by Vy Express coach. The 5hr coach journey itself was interesting enough as it had to go on two car ferries and several long tunnels. One of the undersea tunnels even has a roundabout! In Stavanger, I hiked the famous Preikestolen or Pulpit Rock. It is one of the three iconic rock formations in Norway alongside Trolltunga and Kjeragbolten. Visiting Preikestolen was one of the best and unique hikes in my life and I even saw a rainbow there. But finally, my lovely and memorising 17-day trip in this spectacular and scenic country had to come to an end as I would leave Stavanger and flew to the U.K. 

Flight Selection and Purchasing:

I had already travelled on SAS and Widerøe in this trip, so it was logical to try the remaining Norwegian airline that I had yet to fly on, Norwegian Air Shuttle. In the summer of 2025, Norwegian served London Gatwick (LGW) and Manchester Airport (MAN) from Stavanger Airport (SVG). I had selected the LGW flight as it was cheaper and had higher frequency (about five or six weekly in July 2025). It would also be interesting to see Norwegian's performance after its emergence from bankruptcy protection and restructuring following its previous issues of over-expansion and the Covid-19 pandemic between 2018 and 2021.

The one-way ticket from SVG to LGW cost me GBP78.3 in LowFare+ class, which includes one underseat bag+ one overhead cabin bag (max 10kg in total) and one checked baggage (max 23kg). Interestingly, seat reservation (except emergency rows) is included in LowFare+ since many LCCs require passengers to pay extras for seat selection unless you are travelling on the most expensive fare class. 

The below photo shows the three different types of fare class offered by Norwegian.

Getting to SVG:

SVG is connected with Stavanger city centre by the Flybussen route FB40. I boarded the bus at Stavanger bus terminal which is located next to the train station. The single ticket cost me NOK 179/ GBP 13. The journey took about 25 to 30 minutes and I selected the 17:05 departure online for my 19:30 flight. Like most public transportations in Norway, it is best to book or buy tickets on websites or apps for cheapest price.

The bus dropped us off just outside SVG's departure area.

Some Banksy-like artworks on the facade of the airport's carpark, opposite to the terminal building. 

Check-in at SVG

The terminal building is split into two levels. The ground floor has plenty of staffed counters and automated check-in kiosks. I went for the staffed counter since the waiting line was not that long compared to the kiosk and I also had to ask for tax-free refund. Norwegian had only opened one counter for our LGW flight but the staff was efficient and soon my baggage was checked and received my physical boarding pass even though I had already checked-in the night before the flight. I also really appreciate the airport has used part of its LED advertisement screen to show departure information, which is big and clear. 

Departure Area of SVG:

After checking-in, passengers have to go through security which is located at the above level. There was a short waiting line for security as several flights were departing at similar time. It took about 10-15 minutes. Afterwards, it is the departure area for domestic and Schengen flight. The area has plenty of shops, cafes restaurants and bars, and I grabbed a salmon salad bowl at a connivence store. For passengers who need tax-free refund, it is done at the cashier of the ARK bookstore here.

Be aware not to spend too much time shopping or eating if you are flying to non-Schengen area. This is because non-Schengen flights are allocated to designated gates in the international departure area that is further away. It requires quite a walk with a long stretch of duty-free shops along the way. There is a border control before entering the international departure area. It has two counters: EU/EEA/CH passports on the left, and others on the right. Luckily, there was only about six people queueing in front of me when I arrived.

Aircraft and Flight Information:

The plane that operated today's DY1336 flight was LN-NIK, a 15.3 years old B737-8FZ(WL). It had its first flight on 7 May 2010, and joined China's Shandong Airlines. It then flew for South Korea's Easter Jet between 2018 and 2020. It was eventually transferred to Norwegian on 23 March 2022 from the lessor. Unlike some planes in Norwegian's fleet, it does not have the airline's signature decorative tail fin of Scandinavian heroes. Instead, it only has a blank tail fin. The fuselage is painted in white and the front section is in red with a blue strip behind it. All the colours resemble the national flag of Norway. 

Do you spot the helicopter behind? That is because SVG has a lot of helicopter traffic between it and the offshore oil platforms on the North Sea outside of Stavanger. In fact, it has a designated helicopter terminal and the largest helicopter maintenance facilities in Northern Europe.

Date: 24 July, 2025
Flight: Norwegian Air Shuttle DY1336
Route: Stavanger (SVG) - London Gatwick (LGW)
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-8FZ(WL)
Aircraft Registration: LN-NIK (Y189)
Seat: 9A 
Scheduled Time of Boarding: 19:00 CEST
Actual Time of Boarding: 19:10
Scheduled Time of Departure: 19:30
Push Back: 19:30
Takeoff: 19:38
Scheduled Time of Arrival: 20:35 BST
Landing: 20:13
At Gate: 20:17
Passenger Load: 90% 

Boarding of DY1336

LN-NIK's previous flight from Copenhagen had arrived late. It showed up at gate 8 about 5-10 minutes before the scheduled boarding time of our flight. Amazingly, the staff did a rapid turnaround and our actual boarding time was only delayed by ten minutes and started at 19:10. The boarding process was mostly smooth and orderly albeit some confusion among passengers who had to board the plane using the stair truck as they were sitting at the rear section of the plane.

Cabin and Seats of LN-NIK:

Norwegian' have installed either 186 seats spread across 31 rows or 189 seats spread across 32 rows in a 3-3 configuration on their B738s. LN-NIK is configured with the latter. All seats are identical in a single economy class design. The seat pitch is between 29" and 30" (except  for emergency exit row 15 and 16).  The plane is configured with dark grey seat upholstery, light grey seatback and black carpet. The only colour that pops in the cabin is the red headrest cover. 

I assigned myself seat 9A. Norwegian has installed Recaro BL3710 slimline seats on the 189-seat B738s. The seat upholstery is made of material similar to synthetic leather. They have no physical headrest but only a red headrest cover with Norwegian's coporate logo on it.

Like most slimline seats on narrow-bodies, the seatback is divided into three parts. The literature pocket at the top, tray table in the middle and a small-sized seat pocket at the bottom. However, there is no usb charging ports or sockets installed unlike its competitor SAS. 

I am 175cm tall, and I found the legroom to be acceptable when sitting upright. However, I found the padding of the seat to be slightly worn. The seat pad is also quite short and lacks enough support for my lower thigh. I think the seat is passable for a two-hour flight to LGW but certainly quite uncomfortable if the flight was more than three hours. I also dislike the fact that these seats lack proper, physical headrest.  

The tray table when opened. The size is decent but it does not have a folding mechanism.

The cleanliness around my seat certainly had room for improvement. I understood that the crew might have to rush the cleaning process before boarding due to short turnaround time as the previous flight arrived late.

The overhead panel is of older design of the B737 NG planes. But I always appreciate that there are individual air nozzles.

Departure from SVG:

Although the boarding time was delayed due to late inbound flight and a relatively full flight, we managed to pushback on time at exactly 19:30. Kudos to the efficient crew and the utilisation of jet bridge plus stair truck to speed up the boarding process.

The captain also made pre-departure announcement, informing us the flight time of 1hr 25min and weather at LGW was overcast. He also told us the low clouds around southwestern Norway and nearby North Sea would lead to some turbulence when we climb out of SVG

SVG was quite quiet this evening. I could only spot a Bombardier CRJ900 which is operated by Irish CityJet and wet leased to SAS, as well as a private plane when taxiing to the runway.

Taxiing took around eight minutes and we took off from runway 36 at 19:38. Our plane was "racing" with another B738 of the same company on the adjacent taxiway, which is LN-NIP with "Gidsken Jakobsen" as its tail fin hero.

The pair of CFM56-7 engines took LN-NIK to the air towards north. It is always interesting to look at the engine and the wing from the forward section of a plane. 

Unfortunately, the view of Stavanger's surrounding suburbs was soon blocked by low clouds as predicted by the captain, and we did experience some minor turbulence when climbing. 

The fluffy clouds outside looked like candy floss/ cotton candy.

The clouds stretched from the land to the North Sea at a low altitude. But we had clearer sky when the plane reached its higher cruising attitude. 

Literature Materials:

I had a look at what was inside the literature pocket. There was a safety card, an air sickness bag and a menu for inflight meals and shopping.

I forgot to take photos of the contents, so I would show some of the pages from the digital menu on Norwegian's website which is identical with the menu on my flight. The food and drink selections are decent for a LCC but I did not purchase any as I had already eaten before the flight plus I had brought my own water. Norwegian provide pre-order meal service if the flight is international and longer than 2hr 15min, which our 2hr 5min flight to LGW was not, unfortunately. On the plus side, I really appreciate that despite being as a LCC, Norwegian provide branded playing card and toys for purchase. 

Cabin Crew and Service on DY1336:

The two-hour flight went smoothly and uneventful, which meant the cabin was quiet during the journey. The cabin was quite warm during boarding, but it improved after takeoff. The flight attendant performed manual safety demonstration over the PA system in English first then Norwegian. I did not notice much interactions between them and the passengers since I was sitting in the forward section and I felt that not many passengers had purchased food or drinks on this flight. However, they were quite friendly during boarding and disembarkation.

I specifically want to compliment the captain on this flight. He made some of the most informative and knowledgeable announcements I have ever heard of on a flight. Not only he warned and notified the cabin when there was turbulence, he went beyond and explained the cause of the turbulence. For example, the plane experienced some minor clear-air turbulence about 15 minutes after takeoff. He explained that the plane had reached a transitional zone where the cool North Sea airmass and the relatively warm southern airmass met. This led to a change of wind direction and temperature variation, and therefore the occurrence of turbulence. He then added that the turbulence should last for approximately ten minutes. I did not expect to have a meteorological lesson on an ordinary flight across Northern Europe!

Descend towards LGW:

At  20:36 CEST/ 19:36 BST, almost an hour after takeoff, the plane began to descend and landing announcement was made. As expected, the weather at London was cloudy. The airspace in the London area had always been busy and we had to make some turns before reaching LGW.

Landing at LGW:

Eventually, the plane landed on LGW's main runway of 08R at 20:13 local time.

After a short four-minute taxi to LGW's South Terminal, the plane arrived at gate 22 . We were welcomed by some light drizzle. 

Arrival in LGW:

I got a great view of runway 08R and South Terminal when waling to immigration. LGW has a good variety of airlines, mostly LCCs (operational base for easyJet) and regional airlines. I was still surprised by the number of Norwegian's planes at LGW. 

Despite LGW's mixed or even negative reputation, I found it to be quite pleasant compare with other airports in the U.K. (at least much better than MAN). In fact, I have used LGW the most even though I am currently in Midlands since it has decent public transportation connection and relatively extensive destinations. I was also fortunate that I did not experience any long wait at immigration or baggage reclaim like others did. Though I had to wait for about 15 minutes at immigration this time. 

After exiting LGW, I then headed to the train station adjacent to South Terminal and took the Southern train to London Victoria Station.