Oslo to Leeds Wideroe FlUSyveselskap A/S Flights

  About Leeds

Located in the northern English county of Yorkshire is the quaint and lovely city of Leeds. It is snuggled up on the banks of the Aire River and is recognised highly to be one of the fast-paced economies. The city also has some famous food and the third busiest railway station in the country.

Best time to visit Leeds

As a city that is predominantly known to be cold, the summers automatically become the best season to visit. Even in summer, Leeds is not really hot to be specific as the temperatures stand at 21 degree Celsius during the days. Now, this could also vary depending on the erratic changes in the temperatures. Mainly, it ranges from 13 degree Celsius to 21 degree Celsius. June to August is considered to witness the best of summers in Leeds as the temperatures are extremely favourable, especially if you come from a hot country and do not wish to see extremely cold temperatures. July and August's months see a proper summer in Leeds. It is undoubtedly the best time to visit Leeds and also comes with some surge in the tourism industry. The hotel reservations are severe as many people from around the country and world flock over to witness the Leeds summer. This results in a massive spike when booking hotels in Leeds. Even flight tickets to Leeds are expensive during their summers. Hence, you should make prior bookings and avoid the excess surge in rates.

No matter what happens, though, avoid winters. The temperature can get quite low, and the air would be very dreary. The city continues to keep the morale up by hosting festivals and events, including ringing in the alluring Christmas and New Year's. However, the brisk cold breeze and temperatures could be bad for you. Not to mention how it could also lead to frostbites and other health conundrums that accompany cold weathers. Leeds is also known to face the typical English weather with monsoon showers taking over amid summers and winters. The fickle nature of the rain often might disrupt with your touristy plans. But do not let it bring your spirit down as the city's spring and summer do have a pleasant vibe. The best thing about spring in Leeds is it comes with a slash in hotel prices. You can actually book hotels in Leeds for cheap during spring. In fact, the earlier you book your rooms and flight tickets, the better it is. You might even be able to snag some lovely online deals that would enable you to save up and spend more pounds on other activities in the city.

Places to visit Leeds

Leeds is home to some interesting attractions that would further add to the tourist fun. You can start your excursion by visiting the Harewood House. It is located in West Yorkshire and spans over 1,000 acres. The estate is known to be a member of the Treasure Houses of England. An interesting location that would engage you is the National Coal Mining Museum for England. You can actually learn more about the industry and its relevance to the Leeds economy. Temple Newsam is actually one of the popular sites and part of the Leeds Museum and & Galleries. The estate does have an interesting brown building with green expanses making the place's vibe serene. You should also check out the intriguing ruins of the Cistercian monastery called the Kirkstall Abbey. The picturesque ruins paint quite a picture and have been attracting photographers and artists. The National Science and Media Museum is the perfect place to explore more of Leeds' exhibitions of animation, photography, video games, television and everything related to media and science.

Things to do in Leeds

You have got to visit the Roundhay Park, which is one of the most extensive gardens in the city. The popular tourist attraction does accommodate a huge crowd and is perfect for picnics and other fun activities. There are lakes, woodlands, gardens and parklands that easily manage to attract the tourists. RHS Garden Harlow Carr is a public garden which has waterfalls and exquisite flowers and other plants. It recently merged with the Northern Horticulture Society. The place also has coffee shops which serve amazing food and beverages. If you are interested in art, then you should directly check out the Leeds Art Gallery. It has been recognised to be of national importance by the British government. The structure is also quite Victorian and has a fantastic architecture that would marvel you. You should also visit The Hepworth Wakefield to check out some of the best works of artist and sculptor Barbara Hepworth. You should also check out the Macao Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. While you're at it, do not miss Senado Square and A-Ma Temple in the city.

Food and restaurants in Leeds

Leeds is touted to be one of the culinary gifts of the United Kingdom. The city, with its impressive array of restaurants and quality kitchen, takes food rather seriously. You will be thoroughly amazed to find the diversity in Leeds' restaurant culture. Do not be surprised by the plenty of curry houses in the city as they do have a slew of Indian restaurants. From basic budget restaurants to upscale Michelin-starred establishments, you will find food for all kinds of mood in Leeds. From Italian trattorias to Thai restaurants, you will find them all, and you will fall in love with them too. You can start your food expedition in the city from Aagrah. The best thing about this place is it raves Kashmiri dishes and also has room for the famous Hyderabadi-style food. It is quite famous among the Yorkshire locals. To engage in a more elegant setting with wood-cooked food, you can try OX Club. As stated, wood-fired cooking is phenomenal, and the barbeque grills just bring forth a beautiful smokey flavour. It's especially perfect as you relish the lovely spring weather in Leeds.

Another upscale establishment is The Man Behind the Curtain. The setting of the place is rather compelling, not to mention how the food that borders pretence works well for them. It is undoubtedly an experience worth engaging in. The city also indulges in South American cuisine as they have the Brazilian steakhouse, Fazenda, as its jewel. The establishment is the kind which doesn't just offer exquisite skewered meat but also falls in the budget. Sukhothai is a cute mid-range restaurant which boasts classic Thai food. It actually has many branches within the city and offers authentic dishes from the South-East Asian kitchen. If you do miss home and wish to indulge in some Gujarati vegetarian food, you can find that here as well. Hansa's is a popular restaurant in Leeds that has often earned many accolades in the culinary world of Leeds for being the best vegetarian restaurant hub. The Gujarati thalis, especially, are a rage. You can further check out places like Roots and Fruits, Tharavadu, Nation of Shopkeepers and Prashad.

How to reach Leeds (Transportation)

There is no direct way to reach Leeds from India and flights is the only way out. Sadly though, there are no nonstop flights that fly to Leeds from Indian cities. Even though the demand to visit Leeds is quite a lot in the country, there are no dedicated flights from any of the Indian airlines. Luckily though, the flight connectivity to Leeds is impeccable as there are many international airlines that have regular services to the city. Airlines such as KLM Royal Dutch, Air France, Swiss, Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, to name a few, have excellent services and connectivity to Leeds. The most popular route to reach Leeds is via Amsterdam and London. Many flights often connect to KLM Royal Dutch to fly to Leeds. Aside from Amsterdam, London and Paris are other famous international routes chosen to fly to Leeds. Since European cities are considered to be the best way to reach Leeds, a Schengen transit visa is required. You will have to apply for a transit visa for flight connectivity. This can be done online or by visiting the embassy.

The duration of flights varies from 13 hours to 15 hours, depending on the layover, change of flights and weather in Leeds. The UK weather is famed for its eccentric and untimely monsoon. Hence, this often disrupts with the flight behaviour and causes delays too. The flight tickets to Leeds are actually quite reasonable. As long as you make prior bookings of flights to Leeds, you will be able to avail some of the benefits. There is a slew of online flight deals to Leeds that can be availed, provided you make prior bookings. Even though the flights are cheap and affordable to Leeds, it would be better to get more discounts from the rates. The pounds saved can be instead spent on luxury accommodation. Speaking of, you can also make your hotel bookings in Leeds. Once again, prior booking of hotels in Leeds would help you as you will be able to get some discounts and online deals. You can opt for some budget rooms or even luxe hotels in the city. The best way to save money would be to book flights and hotels in Leeds together.

  About Widerøes Flyveselskap AS

Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, traded under the name of Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline which has its operations in the Nordic countries. It is the largest regional airline in the area and caters predominantly to the Nordic countries such as Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The airline serves over 41 domestic route destinations as well as six international route destinations. Widerøe is also one of the most profitable airline ventures of the Nordic countries with a turnover of a whopping 4 billion kr. The airline has the capacity to carry about 2.86 million passengers and also accommodates a staff strength of 3,000. Widerøe's services are mainly conducted from the airports in Northern Norway, from Sandefjord Airport in Torp and Bergen Airport in Flesland. Some of the other international services conducted by the airline are from Oslo/Gardermoen, Trondheim/Værnes, Kristiansand/Kjevik, Stavanger/Sola, Sandefjord/Torp, and Bergen/Flesland. Widerøe's headquarters is located Bodø, while a large part of the administrative activities is from the centre in Lysaker in Oslo.

As an airline that majorly caters to regional and domestic routes in Norway, Widerøes' main bases are also spread out in the country with its main bases being Oslo Airport in Gardermoen, Tromsø Airport in Langnes, Sandefjord Airport in Torp, Bergen Airport in Flesland and Bodø Airport. The operations of Widerøes are strategic and focussed on point-to-point transit. This essentially means that the airline does not have layovers or other stops but directly caters to the destination from the starting point of the journey. Widerøes has also accommodated interlining agreements and has also acquired EuroBonus, a frequent flyer mileage programme. The mileage programme is only available for its international flight operations. The airline came into existence in 1934 and was founded by a renowned Norwegian aviator, Viggo Widerøe. In the initial days of its establishment, the airline was involved in a bunch of activities related to general aviation. Two years later, Widerøe acquired seaplanes and scheduled flights of the same. The airline also accommodated ambulance flights from 1940. Between the 1940s and 1950s, Widerøe increased its seaplane routes and even established a fleet comprising of aircrafts such as de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter as well as Noorduyn Norseman.

Further, in 1968, Widerøe started providing services to STOLports that were built in the northern and western regions of Norway. Further, in the 1990s, the airline's fleet underwent a massive transformation as all its aircraft were replaced with Dash 8 aircraft. Eventually, in the 2000s, Widerøe was bought over by Scandinavian Airlines Group (SAS) which resulted in SAS Commuter's taking overall operations of northern Norway. However, that didn't end Widerøe as in 2010, the regional SAS services were taken over. In 2013, SAS Group ended up selling 80 per cent of its shares in Widerøe to WF Holding, a Norwegian investment company that is controlled by Torghatten ASA. By 2016, the SAS group further transferred the rest of its 20 per cent shares to WF Holding. With this move, SAS' ownership of Widerøe was terminated, and they went back to being regional air partners. Ever since the airline has regained its ownership, Widerøe has been expanding to the dedicated Nordic countries to enhance the regional and domestic route connectivity.

Fleet size of Widerøe

The current fleet size of Widerøe, as of 2020, stands at 45 aircraft. The airline only has versions of de Havilland Canada aircraft which include 23 De Havilland Canada DHC-8-100, three De Havilland Canada DHC-8-200, six De Havilland Canada DHC-8-300, ten De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 and three Embraer 190-E2. With a fleet that entirely comprises de Havilland Cana/Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, the airline was named the world's largest operator of the Dash 8-100 series. Widerøe has all variants of the de Havilland Canada Dash 8 series. The airline has reserved Dash 8-100, Dash 8-200 and Dash 8-300 for short runway airports within Norway where Widerøe is the primary airline operator. The main concern with Widerøe's fleet is the fact that the aircraft are ageing and need to be replaced. In fact, some of the aircraft manufacturers have even stopped manufacturing parts and specific aircraft that the airline is currently utilizing. A direct replacement for the fleet cannot be found, but a possible replacement with ATR can be accommodated. It might be tricky, but with STOL-modified turboprops, the engines could work. The airline is yet to make a statement on whether they intend to replace their fleet altogether and acquire newer and better-equipped aircraft to join its fleet.

Baggage Allowance

The baggage allowance policy of Widerøe is the same for the domestic route and international route operations. For checked baggage, the airline allows passengers flying from the economy, flex and full flex to carry one piece of checked baggage for free. The weight of the baggage should not be more than 23 kg. The airline has also shared the dimension that the baggage should comprise of. Passengers cannot carry dimensions of baggage that exceed 158 cm. In case passengers fail to follow this protocol, the airline will charge extra for the same. While the economy light and economy youth ticket type passengers can carry only one checked baggage, ticketholders of flex and full flex are allowed to carry two pieces of baggage along with them. For the hand baggage rules, Widerøe has stated that they will allow one baggage provision for carry-on luggage. However, the weight cannot exceed 8 kg, and dimensions should be within 55 cm x 40 cm x 20 cm. Along with the carry-on baggage, the airline also allows passengers of all ticket type to carry an accessory bag which should be small enough to fit under the front seat.

In-flight services

Widerøe's in-flight-services are quite basic as they are predominantly a regional airline. With a majority of its destinations within the borders of Norway and a few Nordic countries, the airline only uses narrow-body fleets. In-flight facilities that passengers can enjoy have been accommodated keeping these things in mind. The aircraft of Widerøe does have great lounge seats which recline. One of the highlights is the excellent legroom that the airline offers. Passengers can also avail their delicious in-flight snacks and beverages.

Popular routes and top cities for Widerøe

Widerøe is known for its excellent domestic route connectivity within Norway. The airline has its main domestic operations from the base at Sandefjord Airport in Torp. There are dedicated services that take place from the hub airports of Widerøe, including services that are provided close to five times in a day to destinations such as Trondheim, Stavanger and Bergen. It also has seasonal services to cities such as Tromsø and Bodø. Some of the top cities that Widerøe connects to include Alesund, Alta, Bodø, Berlevåg, Florø, Haugesund, Kirkenes, Kristiansund, Mosjøen, Oslo, Rørvik, Sandefjord, Stavanger, Tromsø, Vadsø and Vardø. As for its international operations, the airline caters to the destinations from five of its domestic airports to seven international airports spread across Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Specific airports in Norway are used by Widerøe to connect to other Scandinavian Airlines' hub at Denmark's Copenhagen Airport. The top international cities that Widerøe has flight services set for include Aberdeen, Billund, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Liverpool, London, Munich, United Kingdom and Stockholm. The airline shares codeshare agreements with a handful of airlines such as Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Finnair and BRA Braathens Regional Airlines.

Why travel by Widerøe?

Widerøe has received a few accolades for its exceptional performance and has also been awarded the public service obligation contracts, as handed out by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. As an airline with a strong social compass, Widerøe has involved itself in several relevant projects and charitable activities to help uplift the lives of others. Their social responsibility sphere is quite strong.

What makes Widerøe's services top-notch is how it is ideal for passengers who need all kinds of updates regarding the airline as well as the country. The airline's website has a dedicated updates section where all details regarding the airline's destinations, booking details and transportation booking pages are present. Further, Widerøe's official website also provides travel tips for first-time visitors. They have got details that are destination-specific and also have interesting tips with respect to the hotels and restaurants, along with tourist spots.

In case you are travelling to various destinations within the domestic route of Widerøe, booking a flight ticket from their website is quite convenient. All the details can be found on the website pertaining to the passenger's ticket. Similarly, the airline has also updated the website with a web check-in option. Passengers can get flight status and Widerøe flight schedules on the website too. It is quite the perfect place to get all updates on Widerøe and its list of destinations and services. Passengers who are also members of the airline's Eurobonus mileage programme are eligible for more benefits with respect to booking a Widerøe flight ticket for a cheaper cost, the luxury to avail airport lounge facilities and more such in-flight services and perks.