Editor’s Note: WOW Air ceased operations in March of 2019.
Travel blogs have been abuzz in the last few weeks in the wake of Iceland-based WOW Air’s announcement that they will be offering summer 2015 transatlantic flights starting at $99.
How is this possible? Is it really possible? There must be a catch, right?
Before we dive into the analysis of these deals, let’s take a moment to review Iceland’s recent and rather exciting low-cost passenger airline history.
Related: Creative and cheap ways to fly from the US to Europe
A little bit of history
Before there was WOW Air there was Iceland Express (2003-2012), which also flew transatlantic routes. The airline flew from Iceland’s Keflavík Airport (near the capital, Reykjavík, and the country’s main international airport) to Chicago, Boston, Orlando, Newark and Winnipeg.
Iceland Express ran the most irreverent in-house airline blog around and was a generally very appealing airline. The airline encountered serious logistics turbulence in 2011 when its operator abruptly terminated flight operations, and it turned to a Czech Airlines charter flight subsidiary for replacement aircraft. I flew the airline once after this shift occurred, and the experience was very uneven. The safety information on seats was in Czech, and the experience felt drained of any kind of branded Icelandic personality. It sort of felt as if the airline was in freefall; a few months later, Iceland Express was absorbed by WOW Air.
WOW Air was established in 2011. Like Iceland Express, it’s been cheeky from the start, though its brand has been more self-consciously stylish (just check out those flight attendant uniforms) and flashy than the older low-cost airline.
The transatlantic low-cost mini-boom
This year two airlines—Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet and Norway’s Norwegian—began selling inexpensive no-frills flights across the big pond for as low as $240 roundtrip. Let’s take a quick look at what the two airlines offer.
WestJet flew a seasonal route from Toronto via St. John’s, Newfoundland to Dublin this past summer, which it will reintroduce in 2015. This fall, deepening its reach into Europe, WestJet announced a Halifax-Glasgow route for 2015.
Norwegian’s assault was a bit broader from the get-go. The airline launched direct flights between four European gateways (Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm and London Gatwick) and several US destinations: New York, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Oakland and Los Angeles. (Note that Oakland can only be reached from the three Scandinavian hubs as of yet.) As this investigative piece by Patrick Collinson in The Guardian shows, a return journey at the lowest advertised fare is all but impossible to snag.
WestJet and Norwegian’s forays provide a context for understanding WOW Air’s new routes. All three airlines’ lowest fares are incredibly cheap, though they also go quickly. In the established tradition of low-cost airlines, they’re also perk-free.
So what’s the WOW all about?
WOW Air will operate flights between Baltimore and Keflavík (with connections on to Copenhagen and London sold as single fares) from May through October 2015; flights between Boston and Keflavík (and also on to Copenhagen and London) begin in March 2015. Starting outbound single fares are advertised at $99, while fares returning from Europe will start at $125.
Availability is the kicker. I searched about a dozen dates on WOW’s website to find available flights from Baltimore and Boston in the US and Keflavík, London, and Copenhagen. Every April itinerary I looked for was fully booked, and itineraries into the summer and autumn were all well over the lowest $99/$125 per-sector fare advertised.
The best alternative that I came up with: a $327 roundtrip from Boston to Keflavík. This is, it must be said, a very good fare, even with additional charges of $100 or so roundtrip. (It is also plainly over the lowest $224 return fare.) WOW’s lowest fares clearly went very quickly, so the early birds scored the best deals.
Last month, Jaunted published an exhaustively detailed report on nabbing a $99 fare, which came to $164 once additional charges and “perks” were taken into account, and did not include in-flight costs like food and beverages.
Speaking of perks and fees…
Flying on today’s transcontinental low-cost airlines require a shift in attitude. For many major carriers, from Air France to American Airlines, everything—meals, snacks, water and a seat reservation—is included. So if you don’t consider it acceptable to shell out $4 for a bottle of water, then you might not be ready for the low-cost air experience, where everything extra will cost you.
Want to bring a checked bag? Expect a steep fee. Want to choose your seat so you can grab a window view? Be prepared to have your credit card ready. These fees can quickly add $25, $50 or even $100 to a one-way ticket. On the flip side, if you don’t need many comfort amenities and are just looking for a seat, airlines like WOW and Norwegian could be just up your alley.
Is it worth it?
Yes. Well, probably—with two big caveats. First, research actual (as opposed to advertised) costs. What other add-ons (checked luggage, meals, reserved seats, seats with extra legroom) will be charged on top of your base fare? How heavily will these charges add up? Will they transform an apparent bargain into an average fare?
Secondly, do you want to end up in one of the destinations these airlines serve? If not, price out your connection onwards. Is the resultant fare less expensive than a direct fare on a conventional airline? Do your research and think seriously about your goals and intentions as a traveler.
WOW Air, Norwegian and WestJet’s routes provide new ways to chart out budget-friendly transportation to Europe. For most potential customers, the resultant bargain will be higher than the lowest advertised fare, though it will probably still be less expensive than a legacy carrier fare.
View these fares as tools. They might work swimmingly; they might not quite cut it. But they’re now part of your cost-cutting arsenal, budget warrior.