How many chances does WOW Air get to survive? Indigo Partners walked away this week, leaving significant uncertainty over the future of the carrier. Further clarity is expected by Monday.
Icelandair
MAX grounding impact across the inflight connectivity market
With the bulk of the global 737 MAX fleet grounded the impact to passengers is very real. Canceled flights, delays and rebookings will affect hundreds of thousands of travelers each day. Inflight connectivity providers will also be impacted as their systems are grounded.
Bonds remain a sticking point for WOW’s future
Can $75 million in loans and direct investment save WOW Air? That’s the amount Indigo Partners appears set to invest, with a lot of strings attached. Interim cuts might keep the carrier alive while it waits to learn of its future.
WOW loses Icelandair as suitor and savior, future uncertain
Thus begins the death spiral of WOW Air.
Icelandair will no longer purchase its struggling neighbor after indicating it “unlikely that all of the conditions in the share purchase agreement would be fulfilled by the shareholders’ meeting on November 30th.” With WOW unable to sort out the conversion of its recently issued bonds and warrants into a form that Icelandair can purchase (for pennies on the dollar) the deal is off. This leaves very little chance of a positive outcome for WOW Air.
WOW wins as it faces mounting troubles
Can a collapsing operation still win awards? For WOW Air the answer is a resounding yes. The CAPA Low Cost Airline of the Year award was announced as the carrier shed 20% of its fleet amid a cash crunch and dropping utilization.
Shipping ATG out to sea
Air-to-ground connectivity networks do not work over water. The word ground is right there in the name. Not ocean, not sea. Ground. And yet, Deutsche Telekom has its eyes on changing the rules of ATG networking, bringing the technology to some overwater flights to further support Inmarsat’s European Aviation Network (EAN) operations. The idea might not be as crazy as it sounds.
PaxEx Premium: Shipping ATG out to sea
Air-to-ground connectivity networks do not work over water. The word ground is right there in the name. Not ocean, not sea. Ground. And yet, Deutsche Telekom has its eyes on changing the rules of ATG networking, bringing the technology to some overwater flights to further support Inmarsat's European Aviation Network (EAN) operations. The idea might not be as crazy as it sounds.
Icelandair gobbles up WOW
WOW Air is dead. Long live WOW Air. The Icelandic LCC is set to be purchased by hometown rival Icelandair at what can only be described as a fire sale price.
Icelandair comes up short on revenue, loses its CEO
Icelandair faces a significant revenue shortfall in 2018 owing to growing competition and mistakes in growing its route network. The parent company of the airline also needs to find a new CEO. Björgólfur Jóhannsson took full responsibility for the missed numbers and tendered his resignation to the Icelandair Group Board of Directors.
Airline stopovers: Big business or marketing malarkey?
Stopovers arguably built the Icelandic tourism economy and its position in the North Atlantic aviation market. But are such programs a guaranteed success? More and more airlines are trying, often with outsized expectations and limited success. Here are a few examples of such…