--- Tuesday, 10 Jan 2017
WOW Air Announces $69.99 Daily Flights From The US West Coast To Europe, from Jan. 15.
"Other airlines have been talking about offering these fares," ----- "But Iceland's WOW air is actually doing it."
A trans-Atlantic fare war could be brewing as airlines that already offer some of the cheapest tickets between North America and Europe get set to do battle.
WOW Air's California routes are serviced by three new Airbus A330 aircrafts, the first wide-body jets in the WOW air fleet. The airline operates the youngest fleet in Iceland with the lowest emission.
Icelandic discount carrier WOW rolled out $69.99 one-way fares on Tuesday - Jan 10 for its flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco to four destinations in Europe.
The fares—good for flights from Jan. 15 through April 5—are now being sold on connecting itineraries
to Stockholm; Copenhagen; Bristol, England; and Edinburgh, Scotland.
WOW billed the fares as "its lowest airline prices yet" for customers flying between California and Europe.
But it's the $69.99 fares from California that are most likely to grab headlines Tuesday. CEO Skúli Mogensen told Today in the Sky he aimed to make the rock-bottom prices a regular offering.
"I don't want to introduce this as a sale," CEO Mogensen said. "It's really setting the stage for what is coming."
What is coming is a potentially bruising turf battle with Norwegian Air, another fast-growing "ultra low-cost carrier" that's also rapidly expanding on routes between the USA and Europe.
It's likely no coincidence that WOW's just-announced $69 fares came after Norwegian Air officials spent much of the holiday season on a European media blitz promising $69 fares between Europe and the United States " sometime in 2017 ".
"Other airlines have been talking about offering these fares," WOW Air said in a press release, adding: "But Iceland's WOW air is actually doing it."
Mogensen was slightly more measured when asked directly if WOW's $69 fares were in response to the chatter from Norwegian.
"What I would simply say is that I am thrilled to be introducing these fares on the trans-Atlantic market," Mogensen said. "I think there's going to be fierce competition on all routes."
The company will add two new U.S. destinations later this year, adding service to Miami in April and to Pittsburgh in June.
WOW began flying in 2012 and now flies to more than 30 destinations, including seven in the United States and two in Canada. WOW is already flying from its hub near Reykjavík to Baltimore/Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, Newark Liberty and San Francisco.