WOW Air lays off 111 staff, cuts fleet from 20 to 11 aircraft, and cuts LAX and DEL routes from January: https://www.icelandreview.com/news/w...off-111-today/

Update by WOW on their future.

WOW air is restructuring and going back to its roots
Reykjavik, Iceland – December 13, 2018

After a challenging year, WOW air is now restructuring and simplifying its operations to return to its roots as a profitable ultra-low cost airline while discussions with Indigo Partners progress.

WOW air's fleet will be reduced from twenty to eleven aircraft, all single-aisle Airbus. WOW air is in negotiations with its lessors to return some of its aircraft including all Airbus A330s. Four Airbus A321s are being sold in a transaction that will improve WOW air's liquidity by more than 10 million USD.

There will no changes in the schedule in December and early January. In January 2019, WOW air will implement a new flight schedule. WOW air will contact passengers affected by these changes.

Considering this smaller operation, a reduction in WOW air’s workforce is unfortunately inevitable. Today, 111 permanent employees were laid off across the airline. Contractors and short term staff will not be renewed for the time being. WOW air hopes to be able to offer affected employees a future employment opportunity when WOW air starts growing again.

“This is the most difficult day in the history of WOW air. We have dedicated people who have worked hard to make WOW air a reality and it breaks my heart to downsize the company. However, in order to ensure our future and preserve WOW air in the long run, we unfortunately must take these drastic measures“ says Skuli Mogensen CEO and founder of WOW air.

After this restructuring, about one thousand employees will remain with WOW air.

This information is information that WOW air hf. is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 11:00 GMT on December 13, 2018.

Sold it's Gatwick slots and moving full London operation to STN, will that survive with such competition up the road at LTN ?

...Wizz Air.

It was not disclosed and they don't move fully across until April, if they survive that long as obviously a cash generation exercise.

Wow had 2 flights a day to Lgw and daily to Stn during the summer. The schedule for next summer is one daily, a bit of a reduction. Basically, the Stn operation continues as was, the 2 Lgw flights have been cancelled,so not much of a gain for Stn I think, in spite of the press releases.

"Not much of a gain for STN"...

Well at present planning WOW actually return to STN & almost certainly with the downsizing both London airports were not.

The STN ops will now be year round instead of seasonal.

The STN ops will be retimed giving better connections to US/Canada.

STN ops now commence 31st March 2019 as opposed to 25th April this year.

So a little kudos for STN certainly.

If it lasts until then Bobby. All depends on Indigo Partners.

Have Indigo and Wow actually signed a legally binding contract (not some fluffy preliminary in-principle piece with a thousand caveats allowing Indigo to walk away without paying a penny) that would require Indigo invest at least $50m or more into Wow and be enforceable in a court ? Or have Indigo already handed the money over already ?

I know due diligence was taking place earlier this month but nothing seems to have happened with Indigo since then...

Almost certainly not. Nothing would be signed without due diligence, and that would take a number of weeks. I'm pretty sure it's "fluff".

Indigo Partners...

The (perhaps) subtlety appears unperceived or uncommented then...

With a common factor at present being Indigo Partners as lead investor in Wizz & engaged in negotiations/talks with WOW, recently Wizz obtain the 4 daily take off/landing slots currently used by WOW at Gatwick & wef 31/3/19 launch two new daily routes from there.

Coincidence or initial synergy in play?

Indigo Partners with a very large portfolio of single aisle Airbus a/c for future delivery would it could be imagined find another partner airline a very useful addition for the placing of some of those frames.

Not completely correct.

Airport Coordination shows that one of the daily sets slots recently acquired by Wizz at Gatwick came from Flybe. The other came from Wow. Wow's second set has gone to easyJet.

Puts Wow Air in an very weak position. Sounds like Icelandair can pretty much name their terms - and those terms will be inferior to those on offer a few months ago

"Aiming to conclude by Monday 25th March"

WOW

Sounds like there'll be a take it or leave it situation

Fuel bill due maybe??

I was thinking that! Any Airbus airline will have a value to a Boeing one at present.