Iceland is a destination I plan to visit at some point in the near future. I’m interested in seeing the Northern Lights and visiting the geothermal Blue Lagoon, among other interests. Its relative close proximity to the East Coast also makes it a very convenient destination.
Inevitably, the topic of WOW comes up. For those who are not familiar, WOW is a low-cost carrier that offers with cheap flights from the east coast to Iceland. From the East Coast, WOW flies from Boston and Baltimore to Reykjavik. Wow! seemed to be rapidly expanding as well. Newark was added last month, and they will be adding Tampa and Pittsburgh to their routes in 2017.
Needless to say, the airline has been generating a lot of buzz whenever it offers its cheap promotional $99 flights to Iceland.
Why I’m Not Inclined to Fly WOW
People always want to know why I don’t want to fly WOW. A recent conversation went this way:
Person: (well-meaning): There are some cheap fares to Iceland. Have you heard of “WOW” airline?
Me: Well, yes, but I don’t want to fly WOW to get to Iceland…
Person: How come?
Me: Well, it’s a low budget airline…
Person: It’s not all bad, Jetblue is a low budget airline too.
Me: Yes I know, but that’s not the reason. I’ve flown Jetblue. I am just not a fan of an airline that nickels and dimes you for everything, and WOW is one those airlines.
(Jetblue is a low-cost carrier, but it never struck me as a carrier that nickel and dime their customers. They operate much like legacy airlines except with newer fleets).
Person: Hmm, so why do you dislike low-cost carriers? Did you have a bad experience?
Me: “Yeah…”
Everything is Fine…Until It’s Not
I then mentioned my experience with Jetblue when we had to deal with a flight delay due to weather. Knowing that the weather would cause issues, I preemptively called to re-schedule my flight. Sadly, Jetblue’s phone support couldn’t handle the call volume and my call simply disconnected (multiple times) without a chance to talk to a live person. Instead, we ended up having to trek to the airport and wait in extremely long lines to get our flight re-scheduled.
In a similar situation with a larger, fully staffed legacy airline, I have been able to get a live person on the phone, even if it meant an extended wait time. Jetblue is absolutely wonderful when things are going fine. However, it was decidedly not a good experience when things go wrong. This is one of the areas where the legacy airlines shine.
It’s Not Personal against WOW
To be fair, it’s not just WOW that I’m not inclined to fly, though it is the most well-known low-cost carrier to Iceland. Generally speaking:
- Bundled Services: I prefer bundled services. I don’t like to fly on carriers that try to nickel and dime you for everything (WOW has a schedule of fees). I don’t want to worry about a low luggage weight threshold or smaller than usual dimension for carry on bags. I’d also generally avoid airlines that charge ridiculous fees, like charging a fee to select a seat. I am paying to buy a seat on a flight; I should be able to pick a seat.
- Safety: Yes, reputation matters. If an airline nickel and dime their customers, how confident am I that they won’t skimp on other areas to save on costs? While this is an unfair assumption to make against low-cost carriers, it’s an association that low-cost carriers will have to overcome to convince potential passengers to fly with them.
- Frequent Flyer Programs I like to earn miles for my flights. If the cost differential is minimal, I like to choose my preferred/partnered airlines over other airlines.
A Good Value for Some Travelers
I am sure WOW offers a tremendous value for some people (see a trip report). I’m also confident that with the right expectations and no unexpected operational issues, it’s all going to be fine. Obviously, the low-cost pricing is an amazing selling point, though keep in mind that you won’t be paying the advertised base price after fees and taxes.
Interestingly, I don’t personally know anyone who has flown on WOW as most people I knew who recently visited flew via Icelandair. It’s possible that I may change how I feel about WOW airlines down the road. Never say never, as I’ve been wrong before. That said, I don’t anticipate that I will be flying WOW to Iceland anytime soon.
Do you have any hesitation flying on WOW or other low-budget airlines? If you have flown on both Icelandair and WOW to Iceland, what has been your experience? Which airline would you choose again?
Sorry to be a pedant, but why do you insist on calling them WOW! Airline? They are quite clearly just WOW. It’s a stupid enough name without the need for an exclamation mark to be added.
That’s a good call. I removed “airline” in most places except for the title, for a slightly better context. I actually chuckled when I read your comment. You are perfectly in the right regarding the exclamation. In my mind, WOW is always tied to some insanely good deals (WOW, its only $xxx!). I somehow associated the exclamation with the carrier without even realizing I was doing it. Apologies. All fixed now; thanks for the feedback!
I think it’s a matter of setting expectations. Do your homework beforehand, be aware of the fees and work around them/budget for them, and don’t go in expecting a lobster-and-caviar full-service experience.
I echo Jorge Salgado below. Why not actually give them a try and report back? Don’t knock it ’till you try it, as they say.
I flew WOW for the first time this past September from LA- Reykjavik- Copenhagen and back again, and I’ve already booked my entire family to fly back to Reykjavik on WOW this March. The planes were clean and the crew was very helpful. On my way back from Reykjavik to LAX our plane had a technical difficulty. Not only did they commission another plane from another airline and get us off the ground only 1 hour late, they also provided drinks, a full dinner and in- flight entertainment all for free because of the inconvenience. When I looked to book… Read more »
My family and I have flown WOW multiple times to Iceland and on through to Europe. They are wonderful, great to travel, incredibly clean and efficient, and we’ve never had any issues. Yes, they have quite the fee schedule, but if you can work within the parameters then you can find some incredible deals on flights to Europe. Might be great to give them a shot and take a flight with them and then post a review afterwards.
Edited to add that we’ve flown both Icelandair and Wow, and we’ll go WOW everytime from now on.
You have a better track record than I do with IRROPs then. The last two times I had to deal with it, I couldn’t get an agent with AA during bad weather and had to trek to the airport to wait in a long line, and the second time Lufthansa was on strike and couldn’t get through to them. I again had to trek to the airport to change my ticket, at which point I found out that the airport’s office hours posted on lufthansa.com were not correct and spent 2 hours waiting for the counter to open.
Interesting. I’ve not had a problem getting an agent on the phone with AA, though I definitely experienced longer than normal wait times on the phone. When I had to deal with an IRROP on a flight coming back from Greece (due to a strike at the time), I was just so grateful to be able to re-arrange my flight at the last minute. It just so happened to be with BA. Maybe I’ve just lucked out with legacy airlines? It’s something I’ll keep in mind, and thanks for sharing your experience!
“we had to deal with an irregular operations due to … ”
“In a similar irregular operations … ”
Do you even grammar?
Fixed. I had initially planned to use IRROPS (“Irregular Operation”) but decided to call it out for those who may not be as familiar with the terminology. It’s fixed now, so it’s hopefully a little easier to read. I do review my posts and try to minimize mistakes through rounds of
drafts/editing, but sometimes a mistake or two can still slip through.
Thank you for the feedback, though there is really no need to be condescending. There is a “kind” way of giving people constructive criticism.
I’m not a big fan of low cost carriers either, but I don’t entirely agree with the seating comment. A lot of so called legacy carriers also charge a fee for seat reservation (if you don’t want to wait till online check-in where it can be done for free). To name some: Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, SWISS, British Airways, Emirates and SAS.
You are absolutely right. Thank you for pointing out that some legacy carriers also charge for seat selection. I really think the pay-to-select-a-seat is a frivolous fee that should have been included in the cost of the ticket. It’s merely an additional revenue stream for the airlines. If an airline wants to block all the premium or economy plus seats, that’s fine. However, I think that passengers should be allowed to choose regular seats at the time of purchase. I say this in jest, but there’s a reason why I haven’t flown on the many of the airlines you listed,… Read more »
You’re welcome.
And I totally agree that regular seat choice should be free/included in the base fare of the ticket :-).