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WOW Airlines Is Practically Giving Away Flights From California To Iceland

By Val Powell
Published on: 13:55 PST, Jan 14, 2016

The Iceland-based airline WOW Air announced on Tuesday that their $199 flights from L.A. and San Francisco to Europe and $99 one-way flights from California to Iceland are now available.

In fact, WOW Air has started offering $99 flights from Los Angeles to Iceland last year. One-way flights from LAX to other European destinations are priced as low as $199, including taxes, with a one-hour stopover in Iceland.

Although the company is offering cheaper fares compared to other airlines, the destinations are major European cities like Paris, London, Berlin, Dublin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam.

According to WOW Air’s recent press release, tickets went on sale on January 12, 2016.

WOW Air will also have inaugural flights starting in San Francisco on June 9, and in Los Angeles on June 15. Flights from Los Angeles to Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavik, will operate four days a week with connecting flights to a number of European locations, while services from San Francisco to Iceland will run five days a week.

The airline may be offering budget-friendly tickets, but it is important to note that there are extra fees that come with their promotional rates. Because they are a low-cost airline, WOW Air will charge passengers for other services. The company will charge $48 for a large carry-on bag, $67 for a first checked bag, and $10 to $12 for seat reservations. There will be no extra charge for a small carry-on luggage with a maximum weight of 11 pounds.

Even so, travelers have been excited about the offer since the airline’s service expansion into California last November. As of Wednesday, $199 flights were available from LAX and SFO to Berlin, Reykjavik, Frankfurt, and Paris for select dates all throughout 2016. The company has also started offering $99 fares from Boston and Baltimore to Iceland last March.

WOW Air now connects 27 destinations in the U.S. and Europe, all via Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, since its launch in 2011. The airline’s annual passenger capacity is projected to double this year to over 1.8 million from last year’s estimated passenger capacity of 840,000.

Watch the CEO of WOW Air talk about plans to expand in North America in 2014

The Iceland-based airline will be using three new Airbus A330-300 aircrafts for its West Coast travels. Each Airbus is designed to service 340 passengers.

“This is a game changer for WOW Air, and arguably the travel industry, making travel to Iceland and other European countries both easy and affordable from California,” founder and CEO of WOW Air, Skúli Mogensen, proudly said in a recent press release.

“We are thrilled to add Los Angeles and San Francisco to our fast-growing network. With the addition of our new long-range A330-300 aircraft to our fleet, we will be able to offer fares from Europe to the West Coast of the United States far cheaper than our competitors whilst maintaining great service with a smile, as we did with our routes to Boston, Baltimore/Washington D.C., Toronto, and Montreal. I look forward to welcoming Californians to Iceland and Europe with our super low fares to Europe,” Mogensen added.

The company has also been giving away tickets through a contest on Snapchat and Twitter using the hashtag #WowInCali, in celebration of WOW’s service expansion in California. The airline recently announced the winners using snapshots of Mogensen and flight attendants at famous California destinations, including the Hollywood Sign. The airline crew are showing their wacky side as they promote WOW Air on social media, and many people are amused by the strategy.

WOW Air has been awarded as the seventh best low-cost airline in Europe at the Skytrax World Airline Awards for three consecutive years.

[Image via YouTube]

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