Icelandic low cost airline WOW Air landed in Israel last week. In addition to direct flights to Iceland, the airline is offering flights to North America and Canada via Iceland from September at prices starting from $150 one-way to New York and $200 one-way to Los Angeles for certain dates and times (luggage not included).
A check of the company website showed that the starting price is indeed low, and is expected to push down market prices. Charges of $50-70 for a suitcase and $10 for seat selection in each direction should, however, be taken into account.
As promised, a flight to Los Angeles begins at $200 in one direction (on September 13, for example), while the cheapest flight we found at a reasonable time interval starts at $325 - in both cases with no suitcase. Adding a suitcase costs $70 in each direction, so that the round trip price including a suitcase and seat selection will cost $685. This is still a competitive price in comparison with airlines such as Alitalia and Turkish Airlines, which are offering connection flights to the US in September, for example, starting at $900, while a direct El Al flight will cost $1,100. Either way, the main significance for the industry is intensified competition.
WOW is offering a new fleet of airliners that enables the company to save on fuel, in addition to frequent operation of fully occupied airplanes on routes from Iceland. This enables the airline to offer cheap rates in which the passengers pay for the service they use. Like the other low-cost airlines active in Israel, the cheap price being offered is a function of total flexibility on the travel date and the length of stay. The bottom line in comparing prices to the other airlines should take into account the final price, including the additions that are emerge when making a reservation.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on May 21, 2017
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