jetsflier

38 hours in Iceland the LCC Way: PHX-KEF via NK/WW Y

Hello everyone and welcome to my fourteenth trip report. You may remember me from my other trip reports:
[FIXED] A Birthday Trip to Remember: Calgary via AC/AA in Y/Y+
A 5-Day Cali Jaunt via WN Y
Flying Solo: A Broke College Student Takes the UAE via DL/KL/AF Y
Austin, TX via UA/AA Basic (oh no!) Y
D.C. on a Dime: The Nation's Capital via UA Basic Y+ (Seriously!)
MAXimum Chicagoan (Mis)adventures via WN Y
Viaje a Vienna via DL/AF/KL Y
VXFarewell: An avgeek's first VX experience on the last ever VX flight!
A Fine City: Singapore (+Malaysia) via DL/AA/CX/JL/WN Y/MCE
Denver Weekend via WN/AA Y
LA Birthday Daytrip via DL Y
Hop, Skip and Jump! WN Y and JetsuiteX
El Sueño Oaxaqueño: Mexico via DL/AM Y

If not, welcome! My name is Jeremy and I’m a junior at Arizona State University.

Introduction
As most of these flights start, I was just checking my Twitter notifications when I found a sale on WOW Air for flights to Europe through the end of their seasonal flights to the US. I had one weekend free in October, and that weekend happened to have flights from DFW to KEF for $199 roundtrip. A quick Google Flights search showed me tickets from PHX to DFW were $100 roundtrip on Spirit. So it was settled: I was off to Iceland for 38 hours via two redeyes on the super-LCCs for a mere $330 roundtrip (I booked seats on the WOW flights at $15/piece).

In this trip report:
I. NK972 PHX – DFW
II. Layover in Dallas
III. WW192 DFW – KEF
IV. 38 Hours in Iceland
V. WW191 KEF – DFW
VI. NK971 DFW – PHX

Day One: Friday
Friday started off, unfortunately, with work. We were doing a practice run as if our computer systems were all malfunctioning. Luckily, since I came in at the ridiculous hour of 5AM, I was free to leave by 10AM! I went through my daily routine and before I knew it, it was time to leave for redeye #1 to Dallas.

[b] I. NK972 PHX – DFW
DEP 00:50 // ARR 05:00
Airbus A320

I had taken this flight once before and it was, perhaps, the most brutal flight I have ever taken. Whoever thought that an hour and fifty minutes was sufficient for a redeye must be executed. I don’t know why I volunteered to be miserable but, alas, there I was.

Fortunately, the flight attendants on the flight knew everyone was miserable! The purser welcomed us with “Remember, your seats don’t recline, so welcome to Spirit Airlines!” The flight attendant serving our section of the cabin (a man with a side ponytail, if that helps) made several jokes during the safety demo, even putting the oxygen mask on like a party hat and saying he didn’t actually know the safety features of the aircraft. The seat was standard and not too uncomfortable. I drifted asleep quickly and woke up on descent into Dallas.


[b] II. Layover in Dallas
Upon arrival in Dallas, I felt as though I had been hit by a train. I limped out of the aircraft and slumped over into one of the recliner chairs near the gate. I felt so exhausted and unable to carry on, I actually was searching for ways to get home. I fell asleep in that chair for three hours, and woke up finally feeling refreshed enough to be a human being.


I had one goal for the trip: see the George W. Bush Presidential Museum. I hopped on the train to the city and took it to the Southern Methodist University Campus. But first, breakfast. I went to Bubba’s, a little order-at-the-counter, country-style joint. I had an incredible biscuit sandwich and coffee.


In my walk to the museum, I noticed a very busy donut shop called Mustang Donuts. I, of course, had to stop there, and actually found their donuts to be some of the best I’ve ever tasted. No wonder they were so popular. Then, I wandered over to the museum, which was quite well done.


While there, a friend of mine from SJC messaged me that he was on a plane heading over to DAL and asked to meet up. We grabbed some BBQ and he took me back to the airport for my flight.

III. WW192 DFW – KEF
DEP 16:10 // ARR 04:45
Airbus A330-300

Our flight boarded swiftly, though my boarding pass would not scan because I didn’t have my passport verified. I was very concerned about flying WOW; I figured they would be worse than Spirit. What I found inside the boarding door was a roomy seat (though the padding could be improved), bright cabin and happy crew. Not having anyone next to me was also a special treat.



I didn’t purchase anything onboard and ended up sleeping through almost the entire flight. We landed a little early! My second redeye was done, and I actually felt (mostly) energized.

IV. 38 Hours in Iceland
I spent a little time exploring the airport and charging my phone before heading to the city. I had prebooked a FlyBus to the Central Bus Terminal, with onward transportation to Hallgrimskirkja. As soon as I stepped out of the airport, I realized I was not prepared for the cold. I was chattering in the 35 degree weather with 40 knot winds within just a few seconds. Uh oh.


I was in the city around 8AM, which is when most things start to open, even though it was quite dark. I visited Reykjavik Roasters for a latte and a scone, and to pass the time before my 10AM Golden Circle Tour.


I went into the church as well, which was filled with the most beautiful organ music, and understandably so.


I then made my way to the Central Bus Terminal for my Golden Circle Tour. Organized tours are not usually my thing, but they were a necessity in this case since I didn’t have a car. It was quite nice, starting at Þingvellir park, continuing to the hot springs, and wrapping up at Gulfoss Waterfall. Everything was stunningly beautiful. I booked a combo Golden Circle + Northern Lights tour through WOW Air itself for a much better price than I could find elsewhere.




Afterwards, I went to my Airbnb, which, as everything is in Iceland, was quite overpriced. I had a quick snack and then went back to the Central Bus Terminal for my Northern Lights Tour, where we unfortunately saw nothing due to the snow and rain. I had seen them on a flight before, so it wasn’t too big of a deal to me. Strangely, I was booked on a different one than the WOW ssite indicated, but they didn’t even give my ticket a second glance.

I went back to the Airbnb, exhausted, and went to sleep immediately. I woke up the next day to my alarm, and had to find a time to use the one shower in the Airbnb, shared by all six of us there. Yikes. Luckily, it all worked out, and I left on time. I took a free walking tour with Citywalk which was absolutely incredible. I had a lot of fun doing it and learned quite a bit too. I went to a small restaurant and had some excellent lobster soup and skyr.

I finished with my own little walking tour of some areas in the city, including Harpa Hall and another stop at the church.



I wrapped up my experience there and went back to the Central Bus Terminal to catch the FlyBus back to the airport. The Keflavik Airport is incredibly beautiful and designed so beautifully.

V. WW191 KEF – DFW
DEP 18:15 // ARR 22:00
Airbus A330-300

Our aircraft was parked at a remote gate so we were bussed over, which I always love because of the views. I settled in again and tried to get some rest (with nobody next to me again).



It was a comfortable flight yet again, though the winds were quite fierce and we managed to land an hour late despite our on-time departure. On this flight, I ordered the WOW meal which had a baguette (not too good), bottle of water (Icelandic, at least), and licorice chocolate (delicious!) for $15.99. Not the best deal but I was in desperate need of some food!

Though I had read reports that DFW’s Global Entry was typically closed by the time our flight arrived, luckily they still had it running. I sped through it and then struggled to get to the terminal out of which Spirit operates. I couldn’t get through security because the AA terminals had shut down which meant I had to take the shuttle bus over, not the little train link. I sat around and waited.

VI. NK971 DFW – PHX
DEP 23:21 // ARR 23:49
Airbus A320 NEO

As soon as I discovered this flight would be operated by a NEO, I was quite excited – my first one! Unfortunately, it was my most uncomfortable flying experience to date. The seat was a strange shell-like thing, where it almost encases the passenger in hard plastic. The padding is quite honestly nonexistent. It is the only airplane seat I have ever sat in and felt immediately and overwhelmingly uncomfortable. The tray table, too, was smaller than the average prison meal tray. Good luck accomplishing anything on those things. The flight attendants weren’t even humorous either.


The trip was amazing except for the first two hours and last two and a half hours. Spirit really does know how to kill the love for flying! But, I’m sure I’ll be flying them again soon when, yet again, they’re the only affordable option.

Hope you enjoyed this report; I welcome any and all feedback!