Icelandic budget airline WOW air has ceased operations.
According to the airline, as of March 28, all of its flights have been cancelled.
Stranded passengers are being advised to check available flights with other airlines.
“Some airlines may offer flights at a reduced rate, so-called rescue fares, in light of the circumstances,” reads WOW air’s website.
Icelandair has already posted reduced fares for some passengers.
“As a result of WOW air’s operational halt, we have set up discounted Economy fares for stranded passengers en route to, from, or through Iceland,” states the airline.
“These fares will only be available for passengers who have already embarked in their journey a return ticket with WOW air between 28 March and 11 April 2019.”
The discount fares are available from the following airports, according to Icelandair:
Europe: London – Copenhagen – Frankfurt – Amsterdam – Berlin – Brussel – Dublin – Paris – Hamburg – Glasgow – Helsinki – Oslo
US & Canada: New York – Washington – Boston – Toronto – Edmonton
Icelandair
WOW air has been struggling over the past year.
In February, just months after its announcement, the airline cancelled a planned Vancouver route.
According to a statement from the airline at the time, WOW air “had to stop the Vancouver route due to restructuring of the airline and aircraft availability.”
In November, WOW air had announced that Icelandair was purchasing all shares of WOW air. But following the initial announcement, the deal was cancelled by both parties.
Back in October, WOW air, the ultra-low-cost airline based out of Iceland, stated that a Vancouver route was slated to begin in June 2019. It was said that the service would fly six times weekly.
Then in December, WOW air sold Air Canada four Airbus A321 aircraft that they had leased since 2014. The sale, said the airline, was a part of WOW air ongoing restructuring and to ensure the maximum utilization of its remaining fleet.
WOW air said that 2018 was a “challenging year.”
See also
- WOW air cancels Vancouver route before it even launches
- WOW air announces Vancouver as its next Canadian destination
The company began restructuring in December, and reduced its fleet from twenty to eleven aircraft, all single-aisle Airbus. They also said that in January 2019, WOW air would be implementing a new flight schedule.
The airline laid off 111 permanent employees at the time as well.
“This is the most difficult day in the history of WOW air. We have dedicated people who have worked hard to make WOW air a reality and it breaks my heart to downsize the company. However, in order to ensure our future and preserve WOW air in the long run, we unfortunately must take these drastic measures,“ said Skuli Mogensen CEO and founder of WOW air.
At the time, WOW air was set to continue its operations out of both Toronto and Montreal.
The Icelandic airline was founded in November 2011 and served 36 destinations across Europe, North America, and Asia.
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