Wow Air shutters abruptly

I have frequently debated using WOW for a direct connect into Reykjavik, or as a springboard into Europe, because of their low fees - albeit with no frills. I was fully prepared to pay for luxuries like water, access to the lavatory, and of course for oxygen. Imagine my surprise and horror when I came across this article. The fact that an airline that has found amazingly inventive ways to reduce basic services to a la carte choices is in danger of filing bankruptcy is fascinating and I’m wondering what went wrong (sarcasm implied). I also find myself wondering whether the fate of WOW awaits other no-frills airlines, or whether this can be dismissed as a series of bad business decisions. Either way, as I said in my post from a few days ago, always travel with a backup plan. Travel Safe.

Another example of how competitive the airline industry currently is. Especially tough if you target the low end of the market. https://lnkd.in/eYJE-ED

Today is a sad day, I will miss all the great people I met along the way and went on to proudly call them friends. WOW air has been my favourite account to work on throughout my whole career. For many in CAE Parc Aviation, the WOW air journey started back in June 2017, however for me, it started about 10 months previous. Many meetings, phonecalls, discussions and negotiations followed until we got to the point of recruiting for WOW. I was delighted to sign WOW air to CAE Parc and it will remain one of my proudest achievements. For the 18 months of active recruitment, we hired well over 100 pilots for WOW air and had over 80 pilots on contract at any one time. To all the pilots/staff who I didn't have the pleasure to speak with over the last 2.5 years, good luck with your careers and I hope you find your next position as quickly as possible. To all the great friends I have made, you have made working together a pleasure. I am gutted personally that the airline has gotten to this point as I know you all worked tirelessly to grow, nurture and eventually try to save the airline. Your devotion to the cause has not gone unnoticed. Best of luck with whatever comes next and I hope and pray our paths cross again and we get to work together again in the future. #WOW #CAEParcAviation

Even the deep pockets of airline investor, Bill Franke @indigopartners couldn't save Wow. Has the low-cost bubble burst? Or maybe a low seat occupancy rate + the lack of a cash-cow, in the form of the lucrative business travel market, contributed towards high operating costs that were impossible to offset? The exit of WOW certainly creates a gap in the market for a no-frills long-haul carrier. #airlines #travel

Wow! Guess they didn’t have an effective business continuity plan.

Another huge loss to the Aviation Industry. Lets hope the rest of 2019 will be kinder to airlines and aviation companies! Like always, the team at AeroProfessional are on hand to help with anyone this tragic loss has effected. We have plentiful opportunities on the Airbus with dedicated Airbus specialists on hand for pilots who need a quick transition. Get in touch with George Henson or Abiodun Banji-Kelan to find out about our flying opportunities. We do also have suitable positions for those ground staff who are not involved with the flying side of things. Please get in touch with myself for a high-level, confidential discussion about the next step in your career. kitty.higgins@aeroprofessional.com

So WOW Air has finally ceased operations. Over the past couple of years I have discussed their strategy and never could understand how there was ever going to be sustainable profits in offering long haul transatlantic connecting flights to primarily leisure travellers, albeit with the possibility of stopping over to take in the beauty of Iceland. It really does emphasise the need for focused, strategic thinking and planning in the airline industry - something we havn’t been very good at.

WOW air has just announced that it has ceased operations. The company earlier on Thursday said that it was postponing flights as the company was “in the final stages of an equity raise with a group if investors”. Conditions in Europe are deteriorating with fuel prices trending upward and overcapacity in the region; it seems that the big airlines are getting stronger while the small airlines are getting weaker. Wow failed to reach an agreement with Icelandair Group on both merger and acquisition talks, or Indigo Partners, the PE firm with stakes in multiple LCC/ULCC airlines, on a proposal for Indigo to take an equity stake in the airline. Wow’s business was a novel approach to low cost transatlantic travel: using Reykjavík–Keflavík Airport in a hub and spoke model to connect cities in Europe to East Coast USA via Reykjavík on highly efficient Airbus A320neo/A321 Aircraft. It offered a big % reduction in the cost of travel, but ultimately passengers don’t want to forfeit the direct flight. In the last twelve months European consumers have seen the failing of Primea Air, Small Planet Airlines, Skywork Airlines, Cobalt, VLM Airlines, Germania, and FlyBMI (among others).

https://lnkd.in/gqiZzfu WOW air