Budget airline Norwegian Airways to offer New York flights from UK for £56

The new flights will be available from summer 2017

Norwegian Air will offer direct flights to New York from Edinburgh next summer

Flights between Britain and the US for less than £60 are set to be introduced in the new year, the chief executive of low-cost carrier Norwegian Airways has said.

Budget airline Norwegian Airways is to launch a one way fare from Edinburgh to secondary airports in New York from the UK for just £56 from summer 2017.

The sharp 50 per cent price drop would make them the cheapest transatlantic tickets on the market.

Bjorn Kjos, the chief executive of the low-cost carrier, told the i newspaper that the airline, which is headquartered in Oslo, is investing in new aircraft that is cheaper to run and more fuel efficient.

“Our planes are very, very fuel efficient. We have a totally different set up to other airlines,” Mr Kjos said.

“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”, he added.

Although, the airline has a UK base at Gatwick airport the new low-cost flights will only be available from Edinburgh.

Passengers will also have to pay for extras such as check-in luggage and meals.

Norwegian currently operates services twice a day from Gatwick to New York with prices starting from £125 for a single journey.

It also offers direct services to Florida, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Last month, it launched flights to Las Vegas for less than £400 return.