Wow. WOW Air is Really Falling Apart

Iceland-based WOW Air is reportedly struggling to maintain operations after last ditch takeover negotiations with Iceland Air fell apart. The ultra-low-cost carrier has already cancelled dozens of flights. Delayed and stranded passengers say Wow has left them with very little information and almost no customer support.

In November, Iceland Air CEO Bogi Nils Bogason certainly sounded like the bid to take over WOW Air was a done deal. The news offered something of a reprieve for the struggling Reykjavík–Keflavík International Airport (KEF)-based budget airline.

“WOW Air has in recent years built a strong brand and enjoyed great success in the company‘s markets to and from Iceland and across the Atlantic,” Bogason said at the time. “There are many opportunities for synergies with the two companies but they will continue to operate under their own brands and operating approvals.”

A few short weeks later, the takeover deal was looking less and less likely, but WOW once again earned a last minute reprieve – this time in the form of a $75 million cash infusion from Indigo Partners which already boasted a number of low-fare carriers in its portfolio. Until recently, there was still some hope that a deal could be reached for Iceland Air to take over the embattled ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC). This week, however, Iceland Air made clear it would not be stepping in to rescue its one-time rival.

“Icelandair Group has decided that its possible involvement in WOW air’s operations, as announced on 20 March 2019, will not materialize,” Iceland Air officials told The Sun in a statement. “Therefore all discussions between the parties have ended.”

Now, it appears that WOW Air’s luck may have finally run out. Social media and newspaper reports paint a picture of an airline in chaos, as dozens of flights are cancelled with little notice. Stranded passengers complain that they have been left to their own devices upon arriving at the airport only to learn their travel plans have been dashed due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

According to The Sun, the airline canceled 20 flights on Monday alone – a significant number of flights considering the carrier has a fleet of just eleven aircraft. The airline blamed at least one of the cancellations on a delayed inbound flight, but it is the carrier’s inability to update passengers in a timely fashion regarding their options, that has left delayed and stranded passengers questioning if the airline will abruptly cease operation in much the same fashion as budget carrier predecessors, Monarch Airlines  and Primera.

“@wowairsupport cancelled our flight this morning, without trying to contact us at all,” one unhappy air traveler wrote in a March 24th tweet.  “Having to wait at the airport for 8 hours for our next flight with no food/compensation or anyone to help. Sort it out!!!!”

@wow_air this isn’t good enough!!!

— LucyMoore (@LucyaMoore) March 25, 2019

Meanwhile, airline officials have done little to dispel the notion that the carrier is in dire financial straights. Passengers on some cancelled flights have been told that a customer service representative will contact them “within a few days” (which is obviously not a hopeful sign in itself).

“A majority of WOW air Bond Holders and other creditors of WOW air are in advance discussions with the aim of reaching an agreement on a voluntary restructuring including an agreement of converting current debt into equity and fund the company towards long term sustainability,” the airline told the newspaper in a statement.

[Image Source: Wow Air]