Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > Other European Airlines
Reload this Page >

Wow: travel and turmoil, one traveller's experiences LGW-KEF-BOS

Wow: travel and turmoil, one traveller's experiences LGW-KEF-BOS

Old Nov 29, 2018, 12:33 pm
  #1  
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,475
Wow: travel and turmoil, one traveller's experiences LGW-KEF-BOS

I am committing this thread to the Other Airline forum without a clue how it will all end up. As noted in the British Airways forum - rarely a place entirely fixated on BA issues - I have a trip from LGW to Boston, via Keflavík, tomorrow Friday, on WOW, the Icelandic low cost carrier founded by a charismatic businessman, Skúli Mogensen, in 2011. Much of the initial history of the company came out of a take over of Iceland Express, whose planned business model WOW still uses. Namely to run KEF as a hub, vaguely on the path between Europe and USA, with two banks of aircraft arriving early morning and early afternoon. Passengers would be going eastwards in the morning, westwards in the afternoon, and interchanging between aircraft to create a large variety of travel options, including to places like St. Louis and Pittsburgh, which legacy airlines would struggle to operate. So flights like Berlin to St Louis are as straightforward as Dublin to Chicago, just a bit of mixing and matching.

How come I'm flying Wow? Well I may develop this as the thread develops, but just before Primera collapse, back in August 2018, I was somewhat surprised at some of the extremely low fares they and other carriers were offering between UK and USA. The more I dug around - and looking at some discount codes sent in round robin emails from the airlines - I found myself looking at a rock bottom fare from my home airport (Edinburgh) to Boston via Wow's hub for Ł239.04 return - approximately US$300. To put that in context, when the late Sir Freddie Laker launched the SkyTrain in 1977, his each way fare in the days before APD and high security, was Ł59, which is about Ł350 in today's money - each way. That fare included what for me is an essential, a window seat, so in that fare is an optional charge Ł16.96 for 4 sets of window seats. That is, of course, a hand baggage only fare, and indeed at that level the bag is one personal item only, maximum dimensions of 42x32x25cm/ 17x13x10in (10kg / 22 lbs). Now surviving on that for a few days isn't unusual for me, and with a bit of careful planning and packing I went ahead and booked it.



And the purpose of the trip? Well I've never been to Buffalo at the top end of New York state, and I fancied a weekend there.

Fast forward from August to early October and Wow announces that it is cancelling EDI-KEF services. The email was unclear as well as misleadingly worded, the cancelled flights weren't removed from the website, and no public announcement had been made, but I guessed what had happened, and I called Wow's customer service centre, which I think was in India. The agent was very helpful, but in the end it boiled down to a full refund or rebooking from LGW (London Gatwick). Now starting from Gatwick removed one of the novelty factors for me, but actually it wasn't so unhelpful since I had a reason to be in London on the return date. So I agreed to that change. After an hour on the call, I was duly reticketed and a comprehensive PDF with full details arrived shortly afterwards. Even my seats had been transferred correctly.

Now we get to the end of November, and things aren't looking great for Wow. It is clearly in deep financial trouble, a merger with Icelandair has collapsed and by coincidence the airline's previously agreed restructuring led to the return of 4 aircraft to the their leaseholders. Here are some threads that I was looking at:
WW "airlines to go bust"
(post 270 and on) plus
Icelandair just acquired WOW

And the news feed that concerns me most is one stating that Wow's staff will get their monthly salary on the day of my travel (30 November) as normal. That question doesn't arise in pleasant circumstances.

Right now I'm on the train from Tweedbank to Edinburgh, about to take the Edinburgh - London Gatwick service on British Airways, in preparation for my Wow flight tomorrow, and I haven't a clue where this will end up. It's unknown territory for me, I've had airlines go bust on me before but I've never been this close to the wire. Well, Wow haven't actually gone bust yet, and looking at their aircraft status all seems normal:
https://wowair.co.uk/travel-info/flight-info/

Some observations:

1) I am surprised bow uncomfortable I feel about this. As BA forum members will appreciate, I have significant air mile balances on all 3 major alliances, there are plenty of other flights, mostly in the Ł500 plus area but some are below that. I know where to find information and which search engines to use. I would say that I am an experienced and well informed air passenger. So in terms of ability to get out of trouble, I'm much better placed than most travellers. Still, I do find the current situation quite irksome, and that's not quite the right word. I'm over-checking the news feeds to see if there are any developments, with a slight sense of foreboding. For less regular travellers, should they be aware of this potential bankruptcy, I imagine it will be a lot more worrying.

2) Practicalities 1: I've looked up options and have Plans B to D lined up - so a Norwegian flight from LGW, a BA Avios redemption options to one of several USA locations and a cash ticket on BA. I've got other options via TAP, Iberia, KLM but one doesn't wish to disturb one's breakfast if one can avoid it.

3) Practicalities 2: As a UK resident, I know that if my airline goes bankrupt, I am covered under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, where my credit card (Post Office Bank of Ireland) is also liable for the purchase. So I'm in no danger of losing the fare, it just could get a bit messy sorting it out. I haven't contacted them yet (what is there to say?) but I have got the relevant information on the transaction and the credit card company's contact details, so that I can contact them while travelling. My insurance - in common with most UK schemes - doesn't cover airline bankruptcy directly, but will cover related costs such as extra accommodation.

4) Practicalities 3: I tried online check-in (OLCI) on Wow's website, but I wasn't surprised that it didn't work. Check-in opens at 24 hours before the USA flights (not the LGW-KEF sector) in order to get the handshake from the US authorities to allow passage, and that's based on ESTAs and North American passports. I'm using a UK passport, but with a visa rather than an ESTA. Wow uses an OLCI module provided by Travelport, which is also used by other smaller airlines.

5) It may never happen! Hopefully I will at least get to Boston, the return next week will be another issue.

I will update this thread as things progress.
msm2000uk, PETER01, wrp96 and 6 others like this.

Last edited by corporate-wage-slave; Nov 29, 2018 at 3:56 pm
corporate-wage-slave is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2018, 3:21 pm
  #2  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,721
Good luck. I've been through this as an employee where the situation slowly - and then rapidly - descended. The last day was horrible, as was the day after.

If you do get to fly, I've no doubt you'll be mindful of the crew and will help to keep them in good spirits.
Ldnn1 is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2018, 10:07 pm
  #3  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Arizona
Programs: BA (GGL G4L), AA (Gold), HH (Diamond); Marriott (Gold)
Posts: 3,011
dylanks is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2018, 2:26 am
  #4  
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,475
So far so good. I've checked in at the desk (it seems like years since I've had to do that) and the queue was fairly short, so it took about 10 minutes. It was quite well done, in that they had 2 document validation staff members working the queue with a tablet, so that was sorted out before getting to the desk itself, and there was no repeat of the usual security questions there. I appear to have been given an exit row window seat due to the full flight and all seems ok. They visually OK'd my bag, someone in front was pinged for a wheelie too large but she seems to have half expected it. It was the wheels that stopped it going in the gauge.

No Fast Track! No Lounge!. Well, Premium Gatwick is available by paying Ł5 but it would have saved no time at all, I was through in just a few minutes in line with Premium Gatwick's (usually excellent) performance. And I was admitted into No. 1 Lounge on my Priority Pass - family groups were being denied admittance behind me and I wasn't expecting access, this is peak time for the lounge and they often decline admission. It gets quieter from 10:30 onwards, however my WW811 departs at 10:35.

But no problems or evidence of problems so far.

I'll put up some photos later when I've got more time,
msm2000uk and aidy like this.
corporate-wage-slave is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2018, 8:24 am
  #5  
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,475
And effectively an easy back to back at KEF, it's the same aircraft taking me on to BOS. No security and no passport control so this is a very easy transfer.

Judging from the announcements in KEF, something has gone badly wrong with the luggage on the DUB - KEF service. Over a 60 connecting passenger names were called out on the PA.

Wow's problems are being discussed between passengers and crew - and the latter have been told very little it seems. But one aspect had shown up here, there are only 140 passengers on this service and so I have a block of 3 seats to myself!
corporate-wage-slave is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2018, 10:04 am
  #6  
Moderator: Qatar Airways
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: LHR/NCE/MIA
Programs: BAEC GfL & GGL, SQ Gold, Amex Centurion, Mucci des Chevaliers des Bons Mots et Qui Savent Moucher
Posts: 8,915
Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
And effectively an easy back to back at KEF, it's the same aircraft taking me on to BOS. No security and no passport control so this is a very easy transfer.

Judging from the announcements in KEF, something has gone badly wrong with the luggage on the DUB - KEF service. Over a 60 connecting passenger names were called out on the PA.

Wow's problems are being discussed between passengers and crew - and the latter have been told very little it seems. But one aspect had shown up here, there are only 140 passengers on this service and so I have a block of 3 seats to myself!
Is 140 out of 200 so terrible for a Wow flight?

M
msm2000uk is online now  
Old Nov 30, 2018, 11:48 am
  #7  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,721
Originally Posted by msm2000uk
Is 140 out of 200 so terrible for a Wow flight?

M
Well if that's the norm, it would help explain why Wow isn't making money. 70% LF really doesn't cut it these days.
msm2000uk and wrp96 like this.
Ldnn1 is offline  
Old Dec 1, 2018, 8:53 am
  #8  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver, ZSL Silver
Posts: 2,539
I've only just discovered this, and only due to a passing remark on another thread. I seem to remember the 'CWS goes Y' trip from a few years ago was on a 787 to BOS?

Anyway, looking forward to reading all about it.
gustavmahler is offline  
Old Dec 2, 2018, 2:08 am
  #9  
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Peterborough, UK
Programs: BA Silver; IHG Spire; Avis P+; Global Entry
Posts: 1,504
Originally Posted by gustavmahler
I've only just discovered this, and only due to a passing remark on another thread. I seem to remember the 'CWS goes Y' trip from a few years ago was on a 787 to BOS?

Anyway, looking forward to reading all about it.
I remember the 787 from YYZ too!

im also looking forward to the updates on this
aidy is offline  
Old Dec 3, 2018, 5:40 pm
  #10  
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,475
Report on LGW-KEF-BOS
departing 10:35, arriving BOS 17:00
(KEF arrive 13:55, depart 15:50)

Overall this was a good set of flights, everything went pretty much as expected. Only it was exceedingly good value. The flight from LGW to KEF was totally full, the flight from KEF to BOS was nothing like full, and I imagine everyone on board paid very little for their flights since, as part of my searches in case of airline failure, I had checked fares the night before and Wow was by far the cheapest option, it was still available as a Ł300 ticket.

Pre-departure
I stayed the night before at the LGW Hilton, which thereby, as a Diamond, allowed me to have as big a breakfast as I could manage, given that it would have been counter-productive to start spending money on extras en route. Because the online check-in wouldn't accept my non ESTA / visa travel to the USA I had to check in personally, in zone H, and as you can see the queue wasn't exactly massive. There were 3 check-in agents at the desk and a couple of people doing the document check while people waited in the desk. It only took a few minutes to get through this, and it would have been quicker still but for the fact that twp of the three agents seemed to be tied up with complex issues.



The baggage check was cursory in my case, I wasn't asked to check it, however the night before I made sure it was OK. The gauge used by Wow is fractionally more generous than the website dimensions.


However the agent - who I think was very experienced - did spot that this black bag in the centre of the photo wouldn't go into the rear gauge slot - it was a bit too fat and the wheels also took over the dimensions, so the owner of this bag had to check it in.



Security was a doddle so I was through into airside very swiftly despite not having fast track (Premium Gatwick). Then I tried the No 1 Traveller Lounge and was surprised to be admitted as a Priority Pass member, no issues there, and I have a few drinks waiting for boarding.



And to help with free water, I had bought an empty water bottle for security for this handy water pump in the lounge.



Then as departure time drew near I went towards the gate, stopping first to get my executive lunch, and this basically came to about Ł10 all in including sparkling water.


The departure was from gate 3, which is the extension to the left of the airport / BA lounge, rather than on the main piers. Departure was on time at 10:35, boarding started around 10:00 and took rather lounger than needed because only one agent was staffing the gate - I think the second scanner + screen had IT problems judging from the engineer trying to get it to work. Incidentally in the gate picture below, that entire luggage train was filled up with Royal Mail postal items heading to Iceland, clearly it's not something BA are doing on this route.



XXL Seating
At the check-in I was offered an extra large seat for free because of a late aircraft change. I accepted it, but later wish I hadn't done so. Here are some photos of it, and yes it certainly had plenty of space in front of it.



and from the seat itself:


Now there were several reasons why this wasn't a great idea. As I well knew, this exit row seat meant I couldn't have a bag at my feet during take off and landing. What I didn't know was that there is zero other storage provided - so no side pouch as you would get on BA. So you really do have to sit there with water / phone tightly grasped. And as it happens, the aircraft was filled with beautiful young short slim travellers - except of course the only two ugly heffa-lumps on board had been placed next to each other. In other words while I had the window seat (10F), there was someone of a similar "muscular" build to me in 10E and was slightly taller too. It got better after take off since I could have a bag at my feat and use the tray table, but this wasn't a good start. Thinking it through, you have to consider who else is going to specifically want an exit row seat - it won't be someone petit(e).

Incidentally one thing I found really odd: because there is no storage room at all, those in emergency rows have their safety information cards in the overhead compartment! So if stuff happens, you're well strapped in waiting for a bad situation to happen, you're in charge of the exit door, you have a few minute to refresh yourself on safety procedures - well you can't! It's out of reach.

There are actually 6 seating groups for sale on board. Normal seating - however they charge a bit more for being sat in the middle/front area. I had gone for row 30 originally which was cheaper. Then at the other end there were also their Big Seat, for which I don't have a photo, but these look like the old First seats on USA airlines - wide across and heavily cushioned. These are not available on all aircraft. There are the XXL seats at exit rows, as shown in the photos above. There are also some XL seats (as opposed to XXL) which have slightly more space between rows. It didn't seem a lot to me, but some of them - not all - had a guaranteed middle seat block, like this, which seem to be better value all round.



It's quite a complex array of seats. Now if you buy a seat at first ticket purchase then you get a slightly discounted rate on most categories - some were slightly more expensive but that could be a currency glitch. But having done that you can't change your seat until Online Check in, not even for the same category of seat. And at OLCI - assuming it works - they charge a Seat Change Fee of $10 to $15 per leg! If you don't select your seat at first purchase I believe you can alter your seats since there isn't then a pricing differential to calculate.

Standard seating
For the KEF-BOS section I was back in my originally selected window seat, and this was my original LGW-KEF seleciton too - and I had no-one else in my row. There were others at the back also in the same position. Most single travellers seem to have had the middle seat clear at least. It was vastly more comfortable an experience than the XXL seats, due to access to bags, storage pouch and power, plenty of legroom and of course no-one next to me. The magazine rack on top was perfect for wedging my phone in to catch up with some BBC iPlayer programmes. The middle arm rests can be kept raised after take off. Some photos to illustrate.







The seat dimensions were width between arm rests: 46cm
Length of seat cushion back to front: 43cm
Edge of seat to back of seat in front: 28cm
Pitch: 79cm (31 inches), so that includes the depth of the seat itself (8cm)

Given that KEF-BOS is not much longer than some of BA's shorthaul services such as LCA and Greece, this was a comfortable enough experience for me, and I'm taller and wider than most.

Keflavík transfer
This was dead easy. Because the UK and USA are not in Schengen (Iceland is) then it's a simple gate to gate transfer, no security, no passport check, and it turned out my LGW-KEF service was continuing on to BOS anyway, so it was even at the same gate. This is all in the C gates at the end of the main KEF pier and it has recently been upgraded. It was a fairly miserable day in KEF, here are the Royal Mail bags being offloaded.







The toilets are on the floor below the lounge area, and there are water fountains there to restock with the great tasting Icelandic water.



The seating has plenty of power sockets (Europe and USB plugs). There are shops and restaurants but apart from bottled water (about Ł1.50) everything is quite dear, and even a basic sandwich is about Ł6 there. So given there are no controls at KEF you would be best to stock up in LGW and bring water bottles with you.

Reboarding at KEF was non eventful, and quick, and we were soon on our way again to BOS. They started boarding about 50 minutes before departure, and had it mainly completed in about 15 minutes, but we had to wait for some late connecting passengers, we still left a few minutes early.

Inflight Service
The crew made one trolley pass from LGW-KEF but were very willing to sell products via the call bell or visits to the galley. On the KEF-BOS sector there were at least 3 trolley runs, Again it isn't cheap, a cheese baguette - quite a large one admittedly - is Ł8. They also sell duty free items. The crew were clearly a bit preoccupied by the developing situation but were professional and helpful throughout, no complaints there, if not particularly willing to engage with the passengers.

Arrival into BOS
We arrived a handy 30 minutes early at 16:30 due to the wind conditions, and entered into E terminal in BOS - the terminal used by BA and other overseas airlines - well before the main transatlantic bank of arrivals from 17:30 hrs onwards. This meant an empty CBP hall - a rare luxury - and with Global Entry (the only passenger on the aircraft to have it) I was through in seconds.

Window watching
I never get tired of looking out of the window and this flight was good for this. Iceland had low cloud, so that wasn't so good but much of the rest was clear skies, This is the coast of east Greenland as we approached.



Conclusion
The main flight was effortless and short, and given the very low cost, it was certainly very good value for money at Ł239. Just be aware of the XXL seat limitations! One interesting alternative would be perhaps to travel to KEF via BA or easyJet albeit on separate tickets, and then connect on Wow flights from there, given the easy transfer. However that assumes that Wow has a future, and that remains a very open question.
Yllanes, wrp96, klmml and 1 others like this.
corporate-wage-slave is offline  
Old Dec 3, 2018, 9:46 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYZ/MGA
Programs: AA 1MM Lifetime Gold, AA Platinum, WS Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 7,607
Thank goodness the toilets were on the floor.

Still luckily it all works but the OP and all the worries are why these super budget airlines to me seem to be too much stress even if they don't go bust.
ricktoronto is offline  
Old Dec 4, 2018, 8:38 am
  #12  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,124
Cheers for that, CWS, and a useful addition to the “totally different” TR collection. I can’t see me/us doing it, but it must have appeal to those who don’t mind an intermediate stop to save money.

It was clear early on that this was a leisure trip, as you weren’t timing things to the second!
T8191 is offline  
Old Dec 4, 2018, 9:56 am
  #13  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,721
Thanks for the report c-w-s.

One thing’s for sure - whoever they returned those aircraft to is going to need some new carpets!
Ldnn1 is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2018, 3:19 am
  #14  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Munich, Algarve, Sussex or S.F Bay Area
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, A3*Gold, AA Plat, HH Gold, IHG Plat Amb, Marriott Plat
Posts: 4,126
Wow. CWS back in Y again. I thought the Dreamliner experience would have settled that for good.

The report does make it out to be quite a painless experience. I have boarded aircraft recently where Wow aircraft were boarding at neighbouring gates (CDG, MCO) and can remember how happy I was not to be travelling with them as boarding looked like a scrum. You were obviously far more fortunate.
Tafflyer is offline  
Old Dec 5, 2018, 7:13 am
  #15  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: London, Sth Africa or LAS
Programs: VS Silver, BA Blue - finally; but hotels.com Gold :)
Posts: 1,856
Thanks CWS, a very interesting trip and report. I am wondering what the Plan E was had the airline gone kaput while in KEF? This type of routing is very tempting for the Y traveller that likes to keep individual flight legs below 5 hours or so. Nice weather over East Greenland, always such a bonus.
littlefish is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.