The Business of Passenger Experience
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.
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.
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 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.
Premium economy disappearing from an airline?!? It is certainly uncommon these days but Icelandair appears to have at least two good reasons for making the move.
The next generation of transatlantic aircraft took flight for the first time this morning. Airbus’ A321LR will soon be plying the skies between Europe and North America, filling a gap for single-aisle long(ish)-haul service.
