I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (2024)

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Travel

Joey Hadden

Updated

2024-06-27T16:55:16Z

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (1)

I took a red-eye flight from NYC to Berlin to start a two-week trip to Europe in October 2022.
For $180, I flew through the night with Norse Atlantic Airways and had a row of seats to myself.
Although I thought the flight itself was ideal for a red-eye, I started my trip feeling exhausted.

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In October 2022, I flew from my home in NYC to Berlin for a two-week train trip through Europe.

When booking air travel, I usually choose the cheapest nonstop flight leaving from my local airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). For this trip, that option was an eight-hour red-eye flight on an airline I'd never heard of, Norse Atlantic Airways.

Norse Atlantic Airways is a new budget airline that started flying in 2022 with nonstop trips from the US to Germany, Norway, the UK, France, and Italy, according to its website.

I booked the lowest tier of ticket — economy light, which included a seat and space to store a personal item for $88. I also paid $75 to select my window seat in advance and a $20 check-in fee at the airport, for a grand total of $183.

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I like how domestic red-eye flights give me an extra day at my destination, but I'd never taken one internationally. And I found that the long-haul flight through the night left me exhausted at the beginning of my trip. To me, it wasn't worth the day I saved.

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I arrived at JFK at 9:30 p.m. for my 12:30 a.m. flight.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (5)

I could have checked in online for free, but I wanted to print my boarding pass at the airport.

On a late Sunday evening, the terminal at JFK felt quite empty.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (6)

Aside from people in line to board an aircraft, I hardly saw anyone.

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My flight began boarding at 11:30 p.m.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (7)

I was among the last to board and got situated in my seat right around midnight.

The flight's seating arrangement was three columns with three seats in each row.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (8)

I paid extra to select a window seat before the flight so that I could lean against the window to rest.

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A representative from Norse told BI that economy light seats are 17.2 inches wide with a 3-inch recline.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (9)

It felt like a standard plane seat to me.

I thought I had enough legroom even with my backpack shoved underneath the seat.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (10)

The seat pitch was between 27 and 32 inches, according to the representative.

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There was an entertainment screen with movies, TV shows, and information about my flight in front of me.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (11)

Although I spent most of the time trying to sleep, I appreciated having the screen.

As the plane prepared for takeoff, I was thrilled that I had a whole row to myself.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (12)

In fact, I noticed many of the seats were empty.

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My seat back pocket contained a menu of amenities, including earbuds, blankets, neck pillows, and sleep masks, although I didn't buy any.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (13)

Amenity prices ranged from $3.50 to $6.50.

After takeoff, the plane was quiet and dimly lit. But I hardly ever sleep well on planes, and this was no exception.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (14)

I woke several times through the night.

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At one point in the night, I went to the bathroom and found it cleaner than most aircraft bathrooms I've been in.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (15)

Unlike most economy aircraft bathrooms I've used, the floor wasn't sticky and the trash can wasn't overflowing.

In the morning, flight attendants came around with food and beverage service. So I looked at the menu in my seat back pocket.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (16)

I found that food and beverages weren't included in the price of my ticket, so I decided to skip it.

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I landed in Berlin nearly an hour earlier than scheduled, so I was only in the air for seven hours.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (17)

Still, when I got off the plane, I felt completely exhausted due to a lack of sleep.

Despite feeling tired, as I would after any red-eye flight, I was impressed by the budget airline and would definitely book with Norse again.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (18)

The flight was comfortable and clean, and landing early was a nice bonus.

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Once in Berlin, I still had a two-hour train journey to my Airbnb outside the city, and I could barely keep my eyes open.

I spent just $180 for a coach ticket on a 7-hour red-eye flight to Europe. I'd book the same budget airline again, but I wouldn't go overnight. (19)

Even after a night of sleep, I found that the exhaustion from the overnight flight — combined with jet lag — lasted for days. This wasn't ideal at the start of a two-week adventure.

My exhaustion wore off within a couple of days of my trip, but I had a lingering thought — next time I fly internationally, I won't mind spending a little more money and a little less time at my destination for a day flight.