Norwegian Air to offer direct Europe to US flights for £45

The flights will use US airports which see little to no international service

Europe's third-largest budget airline is considering flights from the US to Edinburgh and Bergen, Norway. (AFP)

You might be able to fly from Europe to the US for less than the cost of your monthly commute soon.

Norwegian Air hopes to offer one-way tickets from Europe to the US for $69 (£45) as early as 2017.

The airline's CEO, Bjørn Kjos, said it would be made possible by flying from US airports with low fees, such as New York's Winchester County Airport and Connecticut's Bradley International Airport, because they have little to no international service.

Norwegian Air, which is Europe's third-largest budget airline, is considering scheduling flights to Edinburgh and Bergen, Norway.

Average prices on such routes are likely to be closer to $300 (£196) for a round trip, Business Insider reported.

To cope with the proposal, Mr Kjos's company has ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets, with the first five expected to arrive in 2017.

The planes are equipped to cruise over the Atlantic but are smaller than most jets which currently make the journey, making them a better size for smaller airports such as Birmingham.

Regulators will have to set up customs stations at US regional airports to handle international traffic, although Mr Kjos said he is confident this can be arranged.

The airline said that while no decisions have been made on which UK airports to include, its existing operations at Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham would "naturally be the first destinations to consider operating from," according to The Telegraph.

The proposal is part of Norwegian Air's plans to cut prices and take a larger share from traditional airlines that dominate trans-Atlantic flights.

Norwegian Air isn't the only airline to market cheap flights across the Atlantic. Iceland's Wow Air recently offered one-way fares between Boston and Paris for $99 (£65).

Additional reporting by Reuters