Wow! Airlines suddenly stops operating, stranding passengers
 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/28/busin...ntl/index.html

We flew them twice. I had even considered flying with them for a 2019 summer trip because they are so low cost and had so many European options. Glad now we went with a different trip.

Sorry to see that they went belly up and even sorrier for all the passengers. Hope no one here is affected.

As I said over on the Europe thread my son and his partner flew to Iceland with Wow. They are supposed to return tomorrw. He Whatsapped to say they have booked another flight, but they can ill afford the extra expense. His partner is on duty again on Sunday!

Wow was accepting bookings as late as 7am (UTC) this morning, proving them to be morally as well as financially bankrupt.

I honestly don't think I would feel comfortable flying on an airline named "Wow".
Maybe that's foolish but I think an Airline should at least try to sound professional.

Oh heti, that totally stinks. I am sorry for your son. Wow's ethics are totally lacking--they didn't let passengers know they ceased operations even as they were waiting at gates for flights they were told were "delayed." Totally awful.

Did your son perhaps pay with a credit card that has some travel insurance as a feature?

IIRC, back in the day when I would have considered a low-cost airline or a charter they were going out of business on a regular basis.

It always left dozens, if not hundreds of people stranded.

((I))

Icelandair is offering "rescue fares" for those stranded, and some cheap fares for those booked to travel in the next two weeks. My son may have managed to get those fares, I don't know.
They are off riding Icelanders tomorrow, so obviously have had to add some time to the trip. They both love horseriding (it's how they met), and are looking forward to seeing things from horseback and experiencing the tölt. His partner's boss sent her a message saying not to worry about work, he would cover it for her.
They are in a camper and the rental period was longer than their planned stay so that isn't a worry.
It was cheaper to rent it for longer and turn it in early than rent for their original stay.

Ahh, not too disastrous for them then, heti. I'm glad.

Ira, I had never heard of such a thing happening.

My husband and I were texting about it this morning and joking that if we had been stranded it might have been the "push" that gets us to move to Iceland (it's one of our life fantasies). "How'd you come to live here?" "Oh, our flight out was canceled."

When I went to Iceland 2 years ago we priced Icelandair and Wow. When we added a few reasonable amenities - seat selection, carry-on, 1 checked bag - it was only minimally more on a real airline. I feel sorry for those who are stranded and can't afford the added expense.

That brings this to mind:

Jahoulih thanks for that link, it's priceless.

I had heard WOW had been struggling, back in the late fall of 2018 there were reports that WOW made major staffing cuts and fleet cuts in a bid to stay afloat, that they were looking for a new investor or a buyer( everyone from Icelandair to the guys who own Frontier was mentioned) also a bid to take it public with an IPO, but despite this the CEO was talking about huge profits expected in 2019.

And after all that, Wow is now "Ow".

well that was interesting. Tried to edit and deleted instead.

Jahoulih, thanks for the link, that was priceless.

about WOW: I saw reports back in late fall of 2018 that they were 'restructuring' - staffing cuts, fleet cuts, and lots of talk about 'in talks with a new investor/buyer" (Icelandair and the guys who own Frontier were both mentioned.) Also talk of going public with an IPO.

And after all that, WOW is now 'ow.'

"When I went to Iceland 2 years ago we priced Icelandair and Wow. When we added a few reasonable amenities - seat selection, carry-on, 1 checked bag - it was only minimally more on a real airline. I feel sorry for those who are stranded and can't afford the added expense."

And that kind of simply explains the reason for the demise of such an airline. Some may fall for it once, probably not twice, and the sensible people catch on very quickly.

I heard on the TV news that Wow is advising passengers to request refunds from their credit card company. But while that might cover the cost of the unused ticket, I can't imagine that it would pay for the new "last minute" ticket.

I'm hoping that those who continued selling tickets until the last moment didn't know what was about to happen.

This is proof positive that that "cheap" fare might just end up costing you a lot of $$.

As others have pointed out, Wow had been in the financial news for months concerning their financial troubles. If you insist on taking a LCC, you need to:

1) Keep abreast of the financial news concerning their operations. Usually, most airlines that have gone under have been reported about well in advance of their D-Day.
2) BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE! Remember, not just if they cease operations, but if they cancel your flight, they do not usually have agreements with other airlines to absorb their passengers. You could potentially wait for a seat on another flight for DAYS. As many Wow passengers are finding out, they not just need replacement air travel, but hotel rooms, clothes, toiletries, etc.
3) Always purchase your ticket on a credit card, and use/get one with some good travel insurance/protection.

When I went to Iceland 2 years ago we priced Icelandair and Wow. When we added a few reasonable amenities - seat selection, carry-on, 1 checked bag - it was only minimally more on a real airline.

Iceland Air and WOW were competitors. Iceland Air is the flag carrier of Iceland, founded in 1937, I'd hardly consider it in the same category as WOW.

We've flown Iceland Air four times, and while we had our share of issues with them (cancelled, but rescheduled flights, limitations due to their small fleet, chaos at KEF), they've never charged us for luggage or seat assignments (although they did change our seats on one flight). They do however charge for food and fly single aisle 757's (at least from Denver) on long international flights.

I suspect Iceland Air's fares (which while less expensive than direct flights, certainly aren't cheap in my experience) will be going up now that the competition is gone.

They're certainly not my favorite carrier, but either is United, who has screwed me over more times than I can count.