Count Bobulescu Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Since most of my air travel is trans-atlantic rather than domestic thought I would start a thread on a little known Icelandic LCC WOW AIR that flies out of BWI. I've used them about 10 times, for no reason other than to save money. First thing to know is they have been in financial difficulty, but are currently being purchased by a private equity outfit that has stakes in several LCC, so hopefully they'll bring some expertise. Round trip they can be $200 to $500 less expensive than the next best. Maybe that's why they are in trouble. They've really tightened up their baggage limits, so you have to be prepared to pack light, and use a cheap laundromat. In October I flew for $380 round trip that was booked 4 weeks out. To Ams, Dub, Frank, Lon, Paris etc.you have a 90 minute layover in Keflavik, time to stretch your legs etc. which suits me because I never sleep. All told it adds about three hours to a direct flight to NW EU. They are no more or less comfortable than any other LCC. Once when flying to Barcelona we had a 6am to 6pm layover and used it for a quick day trip to the city, an hour away. https://wowair.us/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Wow collapsed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 6 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said: Wow collapsed. But they served pizza before the demise. "Wow Air Failure: They Gave Us Pizza - Then Canceled Our Flight" by Rebecca Marston on bbc.com "Iceland's Low-Cost Airling Wow Air Just Collapsed" on cnbc.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Flown WOW twice and both experiences were perfectly fine. 1,100 people are out of a job. It’s a big bummer. This is a good explainer. "WOW Air - The Spectacular Crash of the Purple Airline" by Value Grettisson on grapevine.is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 32 minutes ago, stevem said: Flown WOW twice and both experiences were perfectly fine. 1,100 people are out of a job. It’s a big bummer. This is a good explainer. "WOW Air - The Spectacular Crash of the Purple Airline" by Value Grettisson on grapevine.is Did you know they only had ELEVEN airplanes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Owned or operated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 7 minutes ago, stevem said: Owned or operated? That's a good question, and I don't know the answer - I heard that on ABC News tonight, and it is ambiguous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 My guess is that the North America - Iceland routes were profitable but the shorter European flights were not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bobulescu Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 Bummer! I did at least note at the outset that they were in financial difficulty. Ever the optimist.......maybe Norwegian will take up the opportunity at BWI. they mostly fly direct nonstop. They have full service out of JFK and Newark on 787's and discount service out of Stewart, 60 miles away, on 737's, plus service out of CT and MA. Norwegian has now overtaken BA and Lufthansa as the leading non US airline on the North Atlantic. They have 130 aircraft, 93 destinations, but they too have shaky financials. Michael O'Leary, boss of EU competitor Ryanair, and no shrinking violet, says he's amazed they haven't gone belly up yet. He claims they're losing "heroic" amounts of money due to over expansion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bobulescu Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 12 hours ago, stevem said: My guess is that the North America - Iceland routes were profitable but the shorter European flights were not. Every time I flew, the planes were 90% + full, on every leg. Think it was more a case of all fares being too low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Losing money and making it up on volume is not a good long-term scenario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 3 hours ago, stevem said: Losing money and making it up on volume is not a good long-term scenario. Reminds me of First Citiwide Change Bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 2 hours ago, Al Dente said: Reminds me of First Citiwide Change Bank. The Hawaiian skit after that is funnier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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