WOW Air
WOW Plane at SFO
It seems like many people are headed to Iceland these days. A part of the reason may be due to fantastic marketing by WOW Air and their super low fares - we're talking $70 to Europe from the US! But as the age old adage goes... if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Disclaimer: I did take Wow Air, however, I'm not getting paid by them (or by anyone else to write this). This account is based on my person experience and is to help others gather information to make their own decisions. With that out of the way....
My experience with WOW Air was not bad! I always wanted to see northern lights but honestly never had Iceland on my bucket list until I stumbled across the one of WOW's super low fare promotions. I was hesitant at first - because if you do any initial search for reviews you get really polarizing results. The biggest flag that you'll see are the fees - you see, since they are a discount airline, they have additional charges for essentially everything including carry-ons (your standard 21" roller), picking out seats, water, food, etc. And, on top of that, they charge you per leg of the trip and their fee schedule is based on country of origination and destination - so it's not quite so easy to determine exactly how much you'd be paying in advance. You can find the full list of fees here: WOW Fees & Charges. Also... they have a very strict cancellation policy, so once you're booked, you're in. The other flag are the delays. There is enough information out there to know that you'll likely experience some delay. The extent varies and can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour to upwards of 3-4 hours.
For my trip, I flew end of December from SFO to KEF (4-day stopover) then KEF to AMS. For the return, it was AMS to KEF to SFO. My party of 2 each had a person item (free), 1 small carry-on (free), 1 large carry-on (fee), and 1 checked bag (fee). We also wanted to pick our seats, so we paid the extra $8-15 per leg per seat. All said and done, we did end up getting fares (including fees) that were cheaper than competitors.
Quick assessment:
- Pros: Cheap, even with added fees; food on board not bad; seats on large planes comfortable; onboard power.
- Cons: FEEs - you pay for EVERY LITTLE THING including water; seats on smaller plans tight; DELAYS & potential cancellations; little communication, no discernible process or protocols
- My Trip Delays: Arrival - 90 Minutes at SFO, 30 Minutes at KEF; Departures - 30 Minutes at AMS, and another 30 Minutes at KEF
- Lost Baggage/Items: NONE! :)
- Other Nuances: No food service outside of basic snacks on our flight. The crew indicated that since we were already delayed an hour, waiting for caterers would add an additional 2-3 hours and opted against it. Passengers were asked to purchase their own food at the airport prior to boarding. Also, on one of our flights, our pre-selected seats got re-assigned and I was split from my party. This was a bit frustrating given we PAID to pick these seats. It was easy enough to resolve at the desk (but we were near the front of the line and got pretty much our pick of open seats).
Verdict:
Go if your travel plans are somewhat flexible (I recommend checking with your credit card company to see if they have some travel protection and under what circumstances) and/or if budget is an issue. If you have some flexibility in your budget and/or if you just want better assurances/service/communication - try an alternative airline until WOW improves their 1) online systems 2) communications 3) traffic patterns/contingencies. Sometimes the savings isn't worth the hassle.
The Long Story:
Hello seat.
"The West Wing"
WOW is a relatively new airline... only about 2 years old or so. They have a very small fleet and limited staff. Their online ticketing/check-in system is still messy and is often hard to navigate. I'm pretty technologically savvy and had to call for support twice just to complete forms. At least 72 hours prior to your departure, WOW asks that you input your passport information (they tell you if you don't, they may deny you access to the flight). However, their prompts online are wacky and you may have to call in to do this. At the airport, they partner with other service providers so the agents you see may not be dedicated "WOW" staff. They also only open their desks for limited hours (3 hours prior to boarding and closes about 1 hour from departure). This means if you need to check bags and miss this window, you're out of luck until the next scheduled flight.
Plenty of room for me.
It's my Wonderwall! :D :D
Getting to the Airport & Checking In
My party and I arrived at SFO early because we had to check our bags. When we packed, we measured, remeasured and weighed everything carefully to make sure it was within the allowable limits. We were about 4th in line and the ticket desk had not opened yet (this was approximately 3 hours prior to our scheduled departure). While waiting, we encountered another traveler who proceeded to tell us that he was scheduled to fly out the day before (Thursday flight) but after checking in, boarding and sitting on the tarmac for 4+ hours, his WOW flight was canceled due to mechanical issues. At this point, I started to panic. If our flight gets canceled, we miss our NYE celebration! .... Keep it cool Binh... Keep it cool. He then told us that the agents told the passengers their flight would likely be rescheduled for around 10 am the next morning (Friday morning - same day as my scheduled flight). So, he went to the hotel (WOW covered this) and went to sleep. When he woke the next morning, he saw that an email had come in at 11 pm the night before indicating that the rescheduled flight was going to take off at 6 am and for passengers to arrive at 4 am. Since he was asleep, he missed this notice and therefore missed his rescheduled flight. We soon found out that there were at least a dozen or so in this same boat. Many were angry (rightfully so, IMO) and wanted to get re-booked. However, the ticket agents didn't seem to know much about the situation at first since they were really contractors. By this time, I was able to check my bag, and got myself ready to go. They tagged all the carry on to indicate it had been checked and I left the ticket desk and proceeded to security and the gate.
At the gate, I saw the dreaded notice.... delayed 60 minutes. I was trying desperately to keep calm. I thought to myself, "That's not too bad." I fly often and flights get delayed all the time. 60 minutes for an international flight is not too terrible. However, during this delay, I made the mistake of looking at WOW's Twitter account. All you saw were complaints after complaints of delays, spoiled holiday plans, lost luggage and no communication. UGH. Why did I do that?
Closer to the rescheduled departure time, it looks like everything is going to be ok. The only hiccup during this time was the announcement that they would not have food service on this long flight (take off around 12 pm PST for a 9 hour flight). Passengers were told to purchase food at the airport and bring it on board. This was my plan all along, so no disruption for me here.
Travel survival kit: chocolate and a blanket scarf!
Boarding
Boarding was a bit hectic. At SFO they board from back to front. Groups were called up by rows. It felt a little chaotic, but perhaps that's because I'm used to falling in line with Southwest. Stowing carry on was pretty standard. From here... it's off we go! We took off about 90 minutes after the original time but were seated happily in a standard no-frills seat. After boarding, we saw that many of the stranded passengers from the previous day's flights also made it on board. :) So that's a good thing.
En-Route
Brr. First taste of Iceland!
Onboard, you'll find no entertainment (you can rent an iPad for a fee) and all snacks including soda and water come with a fee. So, bring a water bottle and fill it prior to boarding and bring some snacks. There is power on the large flights, so load up your personal devices with movies and music and you'll be set.
During the flight, the attendants were pretty attentive. They responded to the bells and did make several trips down the aisle for refreshments and duty-free items.
Arrival in Iceland!
When we arrived at KEF (Keflavik International Airport - Iceland's Main International Airport) we deplaned and headed into the terminal. It was pretty straight forward. Customs/entry was simple and took no more than 5 minutes. There's a nice duty-free shop before you get to baggage claim and easy access to facilities, food, and transfers. Oh, there was no skyway - we deplaned old school down the steps into the freezing temperatures and walked into the building. Ha!
Getting to Reykjavik from KEF
We bought advance tickets on the FlyBus to take us to Reykjavik (BSI Bus Terminal), which was also easy and hassle free. It was a 40-minute ride - and depending on what time you arrive, can be pretty uneventful. Good news is, there's Wi-Fi on the bus! BSI is a central bus terminal in Reykjavik. There are plenty of taxis here or if you're traveling to a central hotel, you can get a transfer to drop you off. Also, if you need to store any luggage, you can do so here at the BSI Station.
Leaving Iceland
We ended up taking the FlyBus back to the airport. We considered a taxi since we had a pretty early flight and wanted to make sure we would miss it, but it was estimated the taxi from downtown Reykjavik to KEF would cost about $130+ so it was the bus for us! The Flybus does have pickup service at many hotels, however, we did opt to schedule a taxi to the station to ensure we wouldn't miss the bus. If you're on a tight time schedule, this is the only time I recommend opting for a taxi. The FlyBus depart the stations as they get filled and a lot of people are headed to queue in the lines.
Back at KEF, we checked our bags (same procedures - desks open limited hours) and went easily through security. Since we had some time, we grabbed a quick bite to eat (overpriced!) and walked around some of the shops before getting to the gates. There are very limited seats at the gate which was a bit of an annoyance. Also, boarding procedures here were non-existent. Essentially, if you were at the gate, and the agent opened the doors, you could get in. I didn't hear any announcements, there are no pre-boarding procedures, just go.
The plane for KEF to AMS was smaller, and we ended up in the first row seats meaning some leg room, but no storage for small personal item. Those had to be stowed away for take-off and landing (like any other flight). We arrived in AMS (Amsterdam Airport Schiphol) found our way to baggage claim, then worked our way to the train station to get to the tram terminal to get to the city.
Waiting lounge at Schipol
Schiphol
Departing was also pretty straight forward, except Schiphol is a HUGE airport. Make sure you check the airport website to help you find the proper desk to check-in. Once you're checked in, you're asked to go to a waiting lounge instead of going directly to your gate. There are a few shops and food venues in the waiting area, but nothing special. If you have a lot of time, you may want to hang out in the main area of the airport where there are a lot more shops and food options. About 40-60 minutes before departure, you'll be summoned to your gate. We found that many people found their way out to the gates early. Anyways, boarding again was messy, people just crowded to the front with no protocols. It got the job done, but just feels messy. The flight was pretty much the same, although we got seats near the middle of the plane and there was a lot less legroom here. We got to KEF, freshened up a bit and walked through the gift shop one last time. During the layover at KEF, we thought we had more than an hour, but agents decided to board the plane EARLY. We later realized it was because the plane was parked further out and this was a larger flight ... so we had to bus over to the plane to board. It took several trips to get all the passengers to the plane. We also had to wait about 10-15 minutes for a connecting flight that was delayed coming in. But once everyone was on board, we had an easy take off and it was goodbye Iceland :(
Back at SFO
Nine hours later, we arrived back in SFO. This was probably my least part of the travel. SFO re-entry was insane and unnecessarily complicated. They're now using an Automated Passport Control System which means you scan your passport and enter your declarations of goods, if any at an automated kiosk. You also take this nifty mug-shot then are handed a ticket. You use this ticket at several stations with actual agents to move through this weird maze of checkpoints until you finally get to baggage claim. Baggage claim took over an hour (why???). Once I had all my belongings, it was a final check with the mug-shot ticket to the final agent. We were finally free to go home.
WOW.
