WOW air, Iceland’s low fare transatlantic airline, announces the launch of its flight operations in India from December 7, 2018 with incredibly low airfares that will enable everyone to fly. The airline will have five direct flights a week between New Delhi and Keflavik airport in Iceland that will connect to multiple destinations in North America and Europe.
To be offered in 4 exciting fare options: WOW basic, WOW plus, WOW comfy & WOW premium, the airline will introduce never-before seen fares to their transatlantic destinations for Indian travellers.
A one-way ticket to Iceland, US, Canada and London in economy category called WOW basic will start from INR 13,499/- (including taxes) while the business class fares termed as WOW premium will be priced from INR 46,599/- onwards (including taxes). The introductory fares would connect passengers from New Delhi to any of the 15 North American cities – New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto – and London that are part of $484-million WOW’s current network. There will be a stopover in Reykjavik (Iceland). The airline also gives a spectacular, cost-effective opportunity to break-up long-haul journeys across the Atlantic and simultaneously enjoy some breathtaking scenic destinations or outdoor adventures in Iceland. The basic product doesn’t include check-in baggage and meals.
WOW is already negotiating with GMR to get five slots per week, preferably departure slots at around 6am, for its wide-body Airbus A330neos. “We are going ahead with the sales with the assumption that we will get the slots that we have requested.”
WOW air will be the second European airline in the world to deploy the most modern long-haul aircraft, Airbus A330neo for the route from New Delhi.
Announcing the launch of its India operations, Skúli Mogensen, Chief Executive Officer and founder of WOW air said, “We are thrilled to launch our operations in India, a diverse country with tremendous potential. Our launch is in sync with India’s aviation growth story and we look forward to being part of it with our very affordable fares to North America and Europe on board brand new Airbus A330neos. It is also a major milestone for WOW air as we are now connecting Asia with our extensive network in North America and Europe, making Iceland a global hub. WOW air also plans to add more flights to India in the future as the country strongly moves ahead to become the world’s third largest tourism economy in the next ten years.”
Entrepreneur Skuli Mogensen founded WOW air in 2012, four years after selling his last venture – Oz Communications – in the mobile software space to Nokia. Mogensen says that he was almost in the retirement mode when he decided to start an airline in his native country Iceland. In a span of six years, WOW air has reached a scale where it’s almost neck-and-neck with legacy carrier Icelandair, an airline started in 1937. “We will overtake them by next year in market share,” he says.
About 20,000 people fly between India and North America every day. “We will be the first long-haul low-cost airline to fly into India. It’s a huge market with a huge potential. I think India is underserved when you look at flights between India and North America. We are exploring possibilities to open stations in more Indian cities. Our target customers are smart travellers – people who are value conscious,” says Mogensen.
It flies to 35 European and North American destinations, and it would be competing with aggressive Middle-eastern hubs like Dubai and Abu Dhabi which are catering to a large international traffic originating from India. “We will offer a shorter total trip time than if you go to Dubai. Shorter flight time means less engine usage, less costs that translates into less ticket price. In our case, it takes 18 hours to reach East Coast (in the US) from India, including a two-hour layover in Iceland,” he says.
With crude oil prices rising, Mogensen says that he’s not that worried unless the prices go beyond $100 a barrel. “Oil is last century’s commodity. We will be operating A330neos which are 15 per cent fuel efficient [than the old engine] and will help in keeping costs under control. The other reason we can offer low fares is that we offer more services beyond selling seats. When someone comes to Iceland, we can offer best prices on hotels, car rentals, and restaurants. We will extract revenues from other sources,” he adds.
WOW air looks forward to welcoming its guests on board from December 7 onward this year subject to final completion of regulatory formalities
The purple airline flies with Airbus A320, Airbus A321 and Airbus A330 models. WOW air boasts one of the world’s youngest fleet, with an average aircraft age of just 2 years. WOW air was ranked as the 7th best low-cost airline in Europe at the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Skytrax World Airline Awards and was the youngest airline in the top ten.
