Norwegian Air Shuttle : reveals how to escape ‘Blue Monday’

Low-cost airline Norwegian has revealed how to escape the dreaded 'Blue Monday', reported to be the most depressing day of the year. Falling on the third Monday in January (16thJanuary 2017) the date has been dubbed 'Blue Monday' due to a number of factors including post-Christmas blues, the gloomy weather, a lack of money, and low motivation levels.

Europe's third largest low-cost airline Norwegian is making sure holidaymakers can combat the 'Blues' with flights to some of the happiest places on Earth…

Puerto Rico

According to the 2016 World Happiness Report, Puerto Rico ranked the 15thhappiest country in the world making the island the happiest in the Caribbean. Norwegian started flying to Puerto Rico in 2015 offering the only direct route to the island from the UK, perfect for travellers looking for some winter sun and well-needed vitamin D.Norwegian offers twice-weekly flights from London Gatwick direct to Puerto Rico from £139 one-way.

Sweden

Making in it at the number 10 spot is Sweden, a diverse country made up of thousands of coastal island and inland lakes, with forests and glaciated mountains alongside historical cities. Travellers can explore the Vas Museum in Stockholm or head west and stroll along Haga in Gothenburg.Norwegian flies direct to Stockholm and Gothenburg from London Gatwick from £29 one-way.

Finland

With over 3million saunas found throughout Finland, holidaymakers looking for a way to 'steam' out the over indulgence from the festive period can enjoy a traditional Finnish sauna to relax and unwind ahead of 2017. For travellers still looking to enjoy the Christmas spirt, the northern town of Rovanemi offers a chance to meet Santa Claus 365 days of the year, so it really can be Christmas every day!Norwegian offer a direct flight from London Gatwick to Helsinki from £29 one-way and Rovaniemi from £69.90 one-way.

Norway

With its abundance of outdoor pursuits and fantastic scenery, as well as the chance to see the Northern Lights, it is no wonder Norway made it to number four in the World's Happiest Countries list. Travellers looking to tick off a new year's resolution can take advantage of the country's gorgeous landscape and hike through Norway's magnificent fjords before heading to the capital Oslo for some cultural experiences.Norwegian fly direct from London Gatwick to Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim and Oslo from £29 one-way, Tromso from £61.90 one-way and direct from Edinburgh to Oslo from £37.60 one-way.

Iceland

Late last year Norwegian continued its UK expansion with the launch a new direct service from London Gatwick to the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, who also ranked as one of the happiest place in the world. Renowned for its natural hot springs and geothermal pools, Iceland is the ideal choice for a detox break to banish the winter blues.Norwegian offers three weekly flights from London Gatwick direct to Reykjavik from £34.90 one-way.

Denmark

Leading the way to the number one spot as the happiest country on Earth is Denmark, according to the World Happiest Report. With the British taking inspiration from the Danish tradition of 'hygge' (loosely meaning 'cosiness') throughout 2016, travellers can head to Copenhagen with Norwegian to experience the Danish way of living for themselves.Norwegian flies direct from London Gatwick and Edinburgh to Copenhagen from £29 one-way or direct to Aalborg from London Gatwick from £29.

Thomas Ramdahl, Chief Commercial Officer at Norwegian said: "With the 16thJanuary being named the most depressing day of the year, Norwegian are making sure the British public have plenty of chances to beat the winter blues, with low-cost fares to some of the happiest countries on Earth."

Award winning airline Norwegian operates 65 business and leisure routes from the UK to nearly 50 destinations worldwide. All short-haul flights are operated by a fleet of brand new 186 seat aircraft that will keep passengers connected in the skies with free inflight Wi-Fi.

Norwegian offers the UK's only direct low-cost flights to the U.S. with fares available from £135 in economy and £399 in Premium to 8 US destinations including Boston, Las Vegas and Oakland-San Francisco from London Gatwick, all served by state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Seats are available to book now atwww.norwegian.comor call 0330 8280854

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Norwegian in the UK:

• Norwegian carries4.5 million UK passengers each yearfrom London Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester Airports to50 destinations worldwide
• Norwegian is thethird largest airline at London Gatwick, with 4 million yearly passengers, and with more than 700 pilots, cabin crew and staff working from its Gatwick base
• In 2014, Norwegian introduced theUK's first low-cost, long haul flights to the U.S.- the airline now flies to 8 U.S destinations with fares from just £135 one way
• Norwegian is the only airline to offerfree inflight WiFion UK flights to more than 30 European destinations
• The airline has one of theyoungest aircraft fleets in the worldwith an average age of 3.6 years, including next-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Boeing 737-800s
• Norwegian has beenvoted 'Europe's best low-cost carrier' by passengersfor four consecutive years at SkyTrax World Airline Awards from 2013-2016, along with being awarded the'World's best low-cost long-haul airline'in both 2015 and 2016