Airline review: Norwegian 737-800 economy class, Stockholm to Vilnius

Norwegian 737-800 economy class, Stockholm to Vilnius
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01. Trip report introduction
02. Norwegian 737-800 economy class, Stockholm to Vilnius
03. Which Baltic state is the best?
04. SAS/Cityjet CRJ900 economy class, Vilnius to Stockholm
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Stockholm (ARN) to Vilnius (VNO)

Date: 2018-03-18
Flight number: Norwegian DY4555
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Registration: LN-NIJ
Age of aircraft: 1 month (!)
Duration of flight: 1:01 (gate to gate)
Seat: 29D (economy class)

Seat map with my seat (29D) in red. Courtesy of Seatguru.com

I booked this flight in October last year, but I didn't book a specific seat. Unlike LCC competitor Ryanair (where choosing a specific seat is often close to complimentary), Norwegian charge quite a lot. So when the online check in opened, I logged in as soon as I could, in order to secure a window seat. No can do... Norwegian randomly assign seats upon online check in, and the seats cannot be changed unless you pay €25 at the airport (if there are any other seats free), or unless you buy a flex ticket, which is a lot more expensive. Bummer! Ryanair - Norwegian, 1-0...

So, I received an aisle seat, way back in row 29. It could be worse, though. I don't really mind sitting far back in an aircraft (as long as it's not the last row) and at least it wasn't a middle seat.

Since I didn't have any luggage with me, and had already checked in online, I din't have to be at the airport so early. I arrived by public transport with 90 minutes to go. I've mostly taken the train to ARN recently, but I didn't this time. So instead of arriving directly in the departures hall via the escalators from the train platform, I arrived curbside at Terminal 5, and got the chance to take a picture of the exterior.

Standing curbside at Terminal 5

Less than ten minutes later, I was airside. It seemed like a calm morning here at ARN. When I arrived at the gate, our bird was already parked, but since there was still an hour or so until boarding, I wandered around Terminal 5 to do some plane spotting.

Star Alliance members Swiss and Thai (both of which I have yet to fly) alongside charter airlines Novair and TUI

LN-NIJ parked at our gate (13)

With the aircraft already at the gate, chances were good for an on time departure

I got back to gate 13 a few minutes before boarding commenced. They started boarding 25 minutes before scheduled departure, but a number of passengers had already boarded before the agent made the actual boarding call. Kind of strange... There were no ID checks (either at security or here at the gate). That happens sometimes on EU flights, but it still fascinates me. There were no ID checks in Vilnius on my way back home either, which basically means that I could have given my tickets to someone else...

Norwegian physician Jens Moe is the "tail fin hero" on LN-NIJ

Although the aircraft was parked at a gate with a jet bridge, those sitting in the aft half of the plane had to walk out on the tarmac and use boarding stairs instead. I didn't mind! Better views of the aircraft!

This B738 was basically brand new. It was delivered to Norwegian less than a month before this trip!

On my way to row 29...

Parked in my spot for this short hop across the Baltic Sea

Hang on a second... isn't that a window seat..?

I was one of the last ones to board through the aft door, and I quickly noticed that there were a lot of empty seats in the last four rows. Actually the last three rows were completely empty, but if you don't count rows 29-32, I'd guess that the flight was almost fully booked.

As "Boarding completed!" was declared, I asked the flight attendant who stood by the aft galley if I could move to the window seat (29F). In my experience, FA:s are not too keen on letting passengers switch seats before take off, but this guy was accommodating, so I quickly jumped over to seat 29F for a window seat for this flight. Yay!

Safety demonstration

These slides look kind of fun, but I hope I'll never have to use them...

The entire process, from boarding to take off, was extremely smooth and efficient. A quick pushback ahead of schedule, a short taxi to runway 19R, and then we were off!

Taxiing past the Thai 777 that I spotted on my walk through Terminal 5 earlier this morning

Blue LED mood lighting

Thundering down runway 19R, taking off to the south

Lift-off!

Looks like our shadow is chasing us...

We headed south for a while, catching a glimpse of downtown Stockholm, before turning west and heading out towards the archipelago and the Baltic Sea. A few clouds here and there, but the weather was stunning today!

Flying past downtown Stockholm (which is not that big)

Leaving the archipelago of Stockholm behind, and heading out on the Baltic Sea

As the last rows were empty, I felt uninhibited and snatched a few shots of the slim seats and the seat pitch. I wouldn't have been as comfortable doing that if this was a full flight...

The mood lighting was switched from blue to orange after take off

Man, those seats are slim! But perfectly comfortable for a short flight like this

Yours truly enjoying the unexpected window seat

I didn't have a look at any menu for this flight. Nothing edible or potable is complementary on Norwegian flights, and I didn't want to spend any money on such a short flight. Better saving that for Vilnius! It didn't take long before we were in Lithuanian airspace, and just over an hour after taking off, we touched down in southeastern Lithuania, not far from the Belarusian border.

Lithuanian countryside - a lot less snow here than in Stockholm

Touchdown! Welcome to Vilnius!

Just like at ARN, boarding stairs were used (although this time for both exits) However, we were close enough to the terminal building, so we didn't have to take a bus, but could walk the short distance.

Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 being pampered on the tarmac

Thanks for this flight!

The characteristic red nose. It looks as brand new as it felt!

As it turned out, this was a delightful flight! I got an unexpected window seat, the aircraft was brand new, and the weather was gorgeous. I could not have asked for a better start to my short Lithuanian adventure. I walked through the arrivals hall, and headed out into the sunlight. It was cold, but there were hints of spring in the air. Lovely! There are numerous buses running between VNO and downtown Vilnius (I took one of them on my way back in the evening), but I walked a couple of minutes to the train station, to catch a train to the central station. A train ride that took seven minutes and cost less than a Euro, so it's very cheap and convenient to get to/from the airport.

The terminal building at VNO