The Violent Vegan: My Experience with Norwegian Air

Booking on the website is straightforward (and cheap!) and I was worried a bit that the catch would be in the flight experience itself.

Luckily, from the get-go, it was a pleasant experience that matched every other flight I'd had up until that point.

Check-In: I flew out on a Friday evening and was at the airport by late afternoon. Literally no one else was in line, and I started to pull one of these:

That's me in the yellow hat.

After turning a couple of corners, the nice guy at the check-in counter came to fetch me, and brought me straight up to the front, where he processed my boarding pass with efficient courtesy.

I didn't pay extra for check-in luggage, or an in-flight meal, or headphones, or anything else, really. Just bare bones all the way. He asked if I had any luggage to check in, and I said no, but I asked him if he needed to weigh my carry-on backpack, and he smiled and said that there was no need. "We're not Ryanair," he said.

Burn! Love it.

Boarding: The boarding process was pretty standard, and so were the seats. As I boarded a little bit later, there didn't seem to be any room in the compartment over my seat, but there was a little bit of space in the one next to it, so it all worked out.

Meals/Snacks: Food-wise, even though I didn't order any meals in advance, I was still able to order snacks from the little TV, and it was priced as you would expect, i.e. airport prices. They had a variety of drinks, alcohol, snacks, and mini-meals like sandwich + potato chip combos. Vegan fare was about standard, and if you don't plan on ordering a meal with your flight, it would be a good idea to pack your own snacks for the trip.

Entertainment: There was a surprisingly great selection of TV shows and movies! Among the best I've seen, actually. It made the 10-11-hour flight pass by really quickly.

Temperature: I know it gets cold up there, but I have never had a flight as cold as Norwegian. Granted, it was mid-April, and I didn't bring a jacket, and I didn't purchase a blanket, so maybe it just seemed colder to me. If I weren't so in the budget zone, I would have caved and "bought" a blanket.

The way back was much better, temperature-wise, because I had bought a jacket during my trip. Food-wise, not so much, since I told myself I wouldn't buy any snacks or food. (More on that another time.)