WOW Airlines Review: Should You Book That Cheap WOW Air Flight?

Update as of 3/28/19: As of last night, WOW airlines lost funding and has shut down. This airline is no more, and the following blog post was written in October of 2018. For more about the collapse of WOW, see here. If you’re interested in booking a flight to Iceland, try IcelandAir.

Let’s get right into it. That familiar travel itch is back and you’re looking to get outta here, stat. It’s more affordable than ever to hop a flight to another continent lately, provided you know where to look. And even though it’s possible to find lower fares across most airlines, budget airlines are still very much part of the mix. But, are they right for you?

While I lived in Madrid, my main mode of transportation around Europe was budget airlines like RyanAir and EasyJet. Living on a stipend a couple years out of college, determined to see the world through 3-day weekend adventures, I had no trouble at all making my peace with them. Anywhere I was going was only a couple hours away, anyway. My biggest gripes were the super strict baggage restrictions, and sometimes flying into less central airports. Neither caused me any real trouble.

Still, when I moved back to the states I thought I was done with budget airlines. They were a relic from my expat life when I hopped country to country, not to be brought back to a land of domestic travel.

Fast forward 5 years to the present. I’m now a married, travel-obsessed woman who very badly wanted to take a milestone 30th birthday trip mere months after her wedding and honeymoon in Croatia. Budget airlines were very much on the table, and when I saw nonstop, roundtrip flights to Iceland for about $300 a piece I couldn’t resist. Flying WOW Air allowed us to justify a weekend jaunt to the land of fire and ice and, while it wasn’t the most comfortable, I’d certainly do it again.

Trying to decide whether or not you should book a flight with WOW Air? Here is our WOW Airlines review.

WOW Airlines Review – Consider This

Baggage

Are you a notorious over-packer, or do you travel light?

We were only going for a weekend, and were both able to stick with the free personal item vs having to pay for a separate carry-on or checked bag. We each brought a backpack and that was it. If you’ll need anything beyond that it will add to your overall cost which is definitely something to keep in mind when flying a budget airline — does it remain “budget” after all your add-ons?

You’ll need to make the baggage decision early on because the closer you get to the flight itself, the higher the prices to add on bags. If you think you’ll need more than the included personal item (17x13x10in) then your best bet is to add it on as part of your initial booking. For more details on bag restrictions and pricing for WOW Air, check out their site.

Comfort and Convenience

Seats

Alright, I’m the kind of person who will grin and bear it for travel and that’s more or less what I did on our way to Reyjkavic. What I liked about WOW Air is that it didn’t feel small or cramped when we walked onto the plane. The seats seemed just as spacious as on other airlines.

One major difference? The seats are THIN.

On our overnight flight to Iceland, I was squirming around in my middle seat the whole way. I woke up frequently to change positions, and spent most of the flight using my puffy winter coat for added cushion!

It was also very hot, the hottest flight I’ve been on. So, make sure you mess around with the fan settings (aka blast all the air onto your seat) to find what makes you comfortable.

On the plus side, there are charging outlets! Buuut, I blew mine out because apparently my Surface tablet/laptop was too big for the power source to handle. Shrug. Make sure your devices are fully charged before you hop on the plane (a good tip for any airline).

Our return flight to Chicago was not a full flight, which meant we got a whole row to ourselves. This was SO much more comfortable. We could get up and move around with more ease, put our feet up on the middle seat for a bit and generally splay out.

And the best part is there’s a tip floating around on how to increase your chances of getting a row to yourself (provided you’re traveling with a buddy). When selecting seats, choose the aisle and window seats in a row vs the two seats directly next to each other. Others are less likely to take that middle seat, and if they do one of you can always ask to trade your coveted aisle or window seat. Voila!

Food

If your favorite thing about international flights is the free wine and hot meals, you’re sure to be disappointed with WOW. Nothing is free on this airline, not even water. Of course, they have food and beverages on board but everything is for purchase.

There are several easy fixes here:

1. You could bring your own sandwiches and snacks from home
2. Purchase meals and snacks at the airport to bring with you before boarding the flight
3. Plan to buy the food and drink offered on the airline itself. The pricing is not much different from what you find in an airport, anyway. Though I can’t speak to the quality of the airline food as we went with option 2.

Entertainment

Unless you want to reread your airplane safety card 539754 times, plan to bring your own entertainment. Magazines, books, shows or movies downloaded onto your tablet, etc.

Or, you can annoy your husband for six hours. That’s pretty entertaining!

Customer Service

Sometimes, budget airlines sacrifice service. I didn’t find that to be the case with WOW. Everyone we came across, from the ticketing desk to the flight attendants, were pleasant and kind. This makes a huge difference in helping you feel like a human vs like cattle being herded through the air in a metal tube, wouldn’t you agree?

Overall, WOW Air did what we needed it to — it got us to and from Iceland safely and on time (no delays!) so we could make the most of our weekend trip. Six hours is a long time to fly on any airline, and it’s made slightly more uncomfortable on budget airlines. But, if you set your expectations and make your preparations ahead of time you should experience smooth flying.

If you’re looking at a WOW Air flight and wondering whether or not to book, I say go for it. Don’t wait too long, because it’s unclear what the future of the airline will be. Recently, they stopped service to several US airports (you can still fly them through later in 2019, so book now). On the flip side, they’re adding routes to Vancouver and interested in eventually tapping the Asia market. WOW Air also has plans to go public. All that to say, they want to stick around and are still finding what works for them.

Take your chances and satisfy that itch for travel. We hope this WOW Airlines review was helpful! What are you waiting for? Get booking.