Wow Air

Wow Air, stylized as WOW air, was an Icelandic ultra low-cost carrier operating between 2012 and 2019. The airline was headquartered in Reykjavík and based at Keflavík International Airport. It flew between Iceland and the rest of Europe and North America, and also flew to India as part of a wider plan to expand in Asia. The airline abruptly ceased operations on 28 March 2019, when its operating company WOW air hf. went out of business.

The airline's assets were acquired by United States–based holding company USAerospace Associates, which announced in 2019 and 2020 that the airline was relaunching service; however, flights did not commence, and the media was unable to independently verify the company's statements about its business plans or find evidence of an application for an air operator's certificate.

History

Early developments and expansion (2012–2019)

Iceland's geographic position has made it an attractive stopover point for flights across the Atlantic. In the 1960s, flag carrier Icelandair established a stopover scheme to encourage tourism that continues to this day. Icelandic Airlines, also known as Loftleiðir and remembered by the nicknames "Hippie Airline" and "Hippie Express", also used this approach along with a number of expense-lowering measures to become the first low-cost transatlantic carrier before it merged to form Icelandair. The collapse of the króna due to the Icelandic financial crisis in 2008 and the publicity brought by the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull to its natural features led to a significant rise in tourism there.