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Transportation
Alison Millington
Updated
2019-03-28T11:46:00Z
- Budget airline Wow Air halted operations on Thursday, stranding thousands of passengers.
- The 7-year-old Icelandic carrier, known for its bright purple planes and cheap prices, had been struggling with debt.
- In August 2017, we took an in-depth look at what it was like to fly on the now-failed airline.
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Budget airline Wow Air halted operations on Thursday, stranding thousands of passengers.
The Icelandic carrier, which had been operating for seven years, became known for its bright purple planes and too-good-to-be-true ticket prices, including one-way tickets from the US to Europe for as little as $69.99 (£57).
However, it had been struggling with debt.
Read more: Wow Air just went bust in yet another blow to the struggling budget airline industry
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After that particular $69.99 sale was announced in 2017, we took a look at what it was really like to fly on the airline.
Some of the amenities typically included with a plane fare — including bottled water, food, and even entertainment — weren't part of the deal. The airline, however, was up-front about its no-frills flights.
"This way you won't have problems with expectations," Wow Air founder and CEO Skuli Mogensen said. "That's why we tell them to bring their own food, water, and download a movie on your iPad or laptop ahead of the flight."
In August 2017, we asked two travel experts who had flown Wow Air, James Dozer of Travel Codex, who bagged a $99 one-way flight from Los Angeles to Reykjavik, Iceland, and frequent flier and travel expert Gilbert Ott, who runs the air-miles site God Save the Points, to share their experiences.
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From quirky purple sick bags to iPads for rent, see what it was really like to fly with the now-failed budget airline Wow Air.
An earlier version of this article was published on August 31, 2017. Dozer originally reviewed the flight here.
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According to James Dozer, who booked a $99 one-way flight from Los Angeles toReykjavik, buying tickets with Wow Air was "actually pretty easy."
"Their website was simple and functional and allowed me to search several days at a time to find the cheapest fares," he wrote on Travel Codex. "Once I found my flights and travel dates, I paid for my flight tickets and had the option of purchasing additional services such as checked bags and seat selections. Their website even allows you to book tours and airport transfers."
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The check-in counters were open early, assisting passengers three hours before the flight. However, this didn't prevent issues with seat selection.
"If you already pre-paid and selected your seats, now would be a good time to double-check your seats as Wow Air's IT systems are notoriously horrible," Dozer said. "Even though I confirmed our seats that morning for our flight, when we arrived at LAX, our seats were screwed up. We were no longer assigned to our seats and someone else had already checked into one of our seats. Unfortunately for us, the only two seats together were located in the back of the plane."
He added that two other passengers seemed to be facing the same issue, and that there have been many reports of the same problem online. However, the Wow Air Station Manager was "awesome" and helped to resolve the issue.
"Seeing that we were disappointed with our re-assigned seats, she proactively paged the passenger that was assigned to my selected seat and politely asked her to switch seats with us. Luckily, the girl didn’t care and we were back to our original purchased seats. Fortunately, this worked out in this case but I don’t know what would have happened if the girl said 'no'."
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A small carry-on bag, measuring 42 x 32 x 25cm including wheels and handles, and weighing maximum of 10 kg, could be taken on board for free. Dozer also said you could take a smallpersonal item — like a purse or a backpack.
Guests could pay extra for a larger carry-on bag, which, for flights over four hours, could cost from £30.99 ($40.57) depending on when it's purchased. They could also put a 20kg bag in the hold from £37.99 ($49.74) online (or £52.99 ($69.37) for flights over eight hours), though again, this price went up at check-in or at the gate.
Gilbert Ott, who runs the air miles site God Save the Points, said: "When they first launched you were virtually forced to pay extra because the carry on allowance was so low. Now they’ve doubled it. You really can fly one of these unreal deals without paying extra."
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After the problems at check-in, Dozer wasn't surprised when boarding and departure were delayed by about an hour.
"Boarding started with those needing special assistance, followed by seats in reverse order (higher numbered seats boarded first). Despite the late boarding, the entire boarding process was smooth and orderly and we were ready to push back within 20 minutes," he said.
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If you didn't pay ahead, you were assigned a seat, and you could even get lucky with an XL or XXL for free if your flight wasn't busy. However, if you were travelling with a group, there was no guarantee you'd sit together.
"If you're travelling with a partner you’ll want to pay for the seat assignment, but for a solo traveller it’s amazing value," Ott said.
The seats were in a 2 x 4 x 2 layout. According to the website, it cost a minimum of £7.99 ($10.46) to pre-book a standard seat (31 inches of leg rooms) online for a flight over four hours, from £30.99 ($40.57) for an XL seat (32 inches of leg room) and £37.99 ($49.74) for an XXL seat, which offered 35 inches of leg room. These prices went up for flights over eight hours.
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According to Dozer, not all Wow seats were created equal.
"In fact, not even all of their Airbus A330s are configured the same way, so don’t even bother with the seating chart on SeatGuru.com. Just follow the seating chart on Wow Air’s own website when selecting your seats," he said.
Dozer suggested picking a window seat if flying to Iceland at night. "On my flight, we were able to get a glimpse of the Northern lights from the windows."
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According to Wow Air, the planes had "agenerous seat width and pitch."
Dozer said the legroom "wasn't bad" andthere was more than expected.
However, he said: "Storage-wise, other than the single, seatback pockets, the seats lacked storage spaces for your small electronics/personal items. I had to store the majority of my things in my backpack underneath the seat in front of me. And lastly, the seats did not have adjustable headrest to provide your head and neck with any support throughout your flight."
He also said the seats were hard and uncomfortable, meaning people were often walking around the plane.
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However, food and drink weren't included in the price, despite being a necessity on a transatlantic journey.
"During the flight, the flight attendants did walk the cabin frequently and conducted several passes with the food and beverage carts," Dozer said.
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A range of items could be purchased from the duty-free catalogue on board, which included a rather extensive in-flight menu including the likes of sandwiches, pizza, snacks, and both soft and alcoholic drinks.
"The food and beverage prices weren’t too terrible if you wanted to buy some food onboard," Dozer said. "My friend and I ate prior to boarding but we got hungry about four hours in."
"We each ended up buying a hot chicken risotto dinner which was quite tasty. The chicken was moist and the risotto was a little soggy but the seasoning was flavorful."
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There was no personal in-flight entertainment or WiFi on board. However, travellers could rent iPads preloaded with games and films.
"The selections looked pretty outdated so you’re better off sleeping or making friends with the other passengers," Dozer said.He suggested coming prepared not only with water and snacks, but with your own iPad full of movies.
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Electrical outlets were provided underneath the seats.
However, no pillows or blankets were provided.
"The climate controls did fluctuate frequently during flight," Dozer said. "It would go from Arctic cold to mildly hot every couple of hours. I would recommend packing a light jacket in your carry-on bag just in case."
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Before you booked, there were additional fees and costs to add up to see if your total price would even be cheaper than travelling with a traditional carrier, according to Dozer.
Whilehis ticket price may have been $99 to Iceland, there were no $99 fares for his return.
"The cheapest return fare I could find for a day that worked for me was $279.99." With all fees and food included, his $99 flight to Iceland ended up costing$512.96 return.
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At the end of the day, Dozer wasn't sure if the experience had been worth it.
"Don't get me wrong, that’s still an incredibly cheap price to get to Iceland, but I don’t know if it was actually worth it," Dozer said.
"It was extremely annoying having to pack so lightly and worrying if my bags were gonna fit within such size constraints. The seats were not that comfortable and the in-flight experience wasn’t all that great. But most importantly, even though it was only a few bucks here and there, I really hate being nickeled and dimed for everything. For me, I value the convenience of not having to fill up my water bottle beforehand or paying extra for a cup of coffee (or two) on-board."
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But Ott felt that if you knew what to expect, Wow Air was a "cheerful" way to fly cheaply, particularly if you made use of their stopovers in Iceland.
"I find the greatest value in the ticket to be in the free Iceland stopovers. Being able to see Europe or the US while also crossing off one of the trendiest destinations for free on the side is pretty damn cool," Ott said.
"It’s a short flight from virtually anywhere so eat in the airport, download some shows, settle in, and enjoy a cheap but very cheerful ride."
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