Cheap International Flights Set To Take Off From Upstate Airport

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- You won't need to a multi-million jackpot to afford a flight to Europe any longer. A no frills airline is getting ready to offer trips for as low as $69.

But there's a catch -- as in, you'll have to "catch your flight" more than an hour north of the city.

As CBS2's Tony Aiello reports, Norwegian Air is coming in for a landing in Orange County, New York. They'll announce Thursday a service that will finally put the "international" in Stewart International Airport.

New flights will begin in June with non-stop service to Ireland, which will eventually expand to England and Scotland according to Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus.

"I think it's going to appeal to a lot of people," he said. "LaGuardia, JFK, Newark are very busy, very congested, and there's a lot of moving parts to get there. Here, it's very convenient at Stewart."

Critics maintain that the upstate airport is in the middle of nowhere compared to the three airports closer to the city.

"You're really far from New York City," founder of CrankyFlier.com Brett Snyder says. "Even in Westchester, people are still often going to choose JFK over going up to Stewart."

The airport is 70 miles north of Times Square, so Norwegian Air is counting on the no-frills fares to attract fliers. One-way to Ireland will start at $69. The airline says its average round trip fare is between $300 and $350.

Still, experts like Snyder say the rock bottom fares will pressure competitors to keep their fares as low as possible.

"Certainly for consumers, this is going to be great news in the short run," he said. "It should mean lower fares for people."