WOWair to offer transatlantic connections from Dublin (via Keflavik)

Idbatterim · 05-02-2015 02:16PM #1

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0205/677940-wow-air/

An Icelandic airline has announced plans to offer flights from Dublin to two US cities for prices beginning at €149 one way.

WOW air says it is the first low-cost airline to fly transatlantic from Dublin.

It plans to begin flights in October to Boston and Washington, from Dublin Airport via Icelandic capital Reykjavik.

Fares are to start at €149 one way, including taxes.

WOW air says flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Announcing the new route, Skúli Mogensen, CEO of WOW air, said: "We are thrilled to be able to offer our WOW prices for Irish passengers travelling between Dublin and North America.

"Our aim is to transform low-cost transatlantic flights and make travel to the US affordable for everybody," he said.

However, Mr Mogensen said that US customs pre-clearance will not be available for WOW passengers at Dublin airport due to the Reykavik stopover.

He said that the stopover will be no longer than two hours.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Mogensen added that the airline expects to expand its service from Dublin next year to other destinations.

"So far the reaction has been very good. We fly to a number of major cities in Europe to and from Iceland already," he said.

"Based on the reaction we will be adding at least three new destinations in 2016."

Aer Lingus are already flying to Boston and starting to fly to Washington shortly. There is not a chance in hell living in Dublin that I am going to ad an extra 2 hours each way on the flight (even more so if you have to get off the plane in Reykjavik. Unless you were saving at least E100 per leg, the existing fares on the route are already fairly competitive IMO... The pre clearance here is also out the window if you go via Iceland...

05-02-2015 02:35PM

Idbatterim wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0205/677940-wow-air/

Aer Lingus are already flying to Boston and starting to fly to Washington shortly. There is not a chance in hell living in Dublin that I am going to ad an extra 2 hours each way on the flight (even more so if you have to get off the plane in Reykjavik. Unless you were saving at least E100 per leg, the existing fares on the route are already fairly competitive IMO... The pre clearance here is also out the window if you go via Iceland...

It's about €100 each way that you will be saving.

I find this whole thing of airlines claiming they are flying "transatlantic" from Dublin to be ridiculous; technically BA, Air France, Lufthansa etc do the same.

Now that fuel prices have dropped has EI's fuel surcharge been lowered or dropped, nah I doubt it. Just checked it and it's €75 one way to Boston for fuel also

The fuel surcharge is non-refundable

Idbatterim · 05-02-2015 02:50PM

It's about €100 each way that you will be saving.

I find this whole thing of airlines claiming they are flying "transatlantic" from Dublin to be ridiculous; technically BA, Air France, Lufthansa etc do the same.

Now that fuel prices have dropped has EI's fuel surcharge been lowered or dropped, nah I doubt it. Just checked it and it's €75 one way to Boston for fuel also

I checked the current figure given by aer lingus and it is E498, you are correct, in their sales, I believe they go down to E229 each way. Either way more competition is a good thing, at the E100 I might be tempted to do it. Another poster on bargain alerts has said those prices dont include a bag, which I am assuming Aer lingus does...

05-02-2015 03:06PM

Competition for the consumer is good, EI need a bit on the Boston route.

They really need to address the fuel surcharge it's not valid any more.

Zonda999 · 05-02-2015 03:23PM

To put this into perspective too, they're talking about another 540 seats per week available out of DublinDublin. It's welcome as a new route of course but the amount of publicity it's getting today has been ridiculous versus say Emirates going double daily on 77W's which in reality is a lot more meaningful

highlydebased · 05-02-2015 03:31PM

I looked at dates in October to Boston. €527 with Wow including baggage. You're also only allowed 1 5kg bag in the cabin

€557.03 direct with EI for same dates! I guess if you were really desperate to save €30...

05-02-2015 03:34PM

Zonda999 wrote: »

To put this into perspective too, they're talking about another 540 seats per week available out of DublinDublin. It's welcome as a new route of course but the amount of publicity it's getting today has been ridiculous versus say Emirates going double daily on 77W's which in reality is a lot more meaningful

WOW and the DAA did their jobs then, the better these routes do the more likely there will be an increase in frequency and it'll draw in more routes as well.

Idbatterim · 05-02-2015 03:38PM

often when I go over for only a few days, I can do without a checked bag... I literally sit on my cabin bag and can get a large amount of stuff into it...

RebelButtMunch · 05-02-2015 03:57PM

Idbatterim wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0205/677940-wow-air/

Aer Lingus are already flying to Boston and starting to fly to Washington shortly. There is not a chance in hell living in Dublin that I am going to ad an extra 2 hours each way on the flight (even more so if you have to get off the plane in Reykjavik. Unless you were saving at least E100 per leg, the existing fares on the route are already fairly competitive IMO... The pre clearance here is also out the window if you go via Iceland...

I'd be tempted to use the trip to spend a couple of days in Iceland!

Idbatterim · 05-02-2015 04:04PM

I'd be tempted to use the trip to spend a couple of days in Iceland!

yeah that would be great, I wonder if there is an option of taking a different flight though, i.e. a few days later when you make the booking or if it has to be straight through...

I looked at dates in October to Boston. €527 with Wow including baggage. You're also only allowed 1 5kg bag in the cabin

€557.03 direct with EI for same dates! I guess if you were really desperate to save €30...

Edit. I have just seen the above, so basically if you can only have a 5kg bag and it is strictly enforced, going via Iceland, unless you had the option to take the US leg a day or two later and spend some time in Iceland, is effectively a waste of time. But with the low headline fares, I reckon it will pull in a lot of people who are less than the astute posters on the aviation and aircraft forum

Chris_5339762 · 05-02-2015 04:16PM

Aren't WOW doing a flight to Keflavik from this year though from Dublin?

LXFlyer · 05-02-2015 04:20PM

That's what this is!

Perhaps a mod could change the thread title to:
Wowair to offer transatlantic connections from Dublin (via Keflavik)

arubex · 05-02-2015 04:42PM

Plus ça change! 51 years ago... busting the IATA cartel fares.

NOBODY likes the little Icelandic airline Loftleidir except the travelling public and the US Civil Aeronautics Board.

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1964/1964%20-%201064.html

Stop-over in Keflavik, naturally; that was the 'hack' in the system, since the IATA fare levels only applied between Iceland and Europe. Breaking the journey allowed the airline to change sub-IATA fares on the US sector and therefore come in substantially cheaper on the overall journey.

Started with the DC props, then CL-44s and onto DC-8s.

dogcat · 05-02-2015 10:14PM

It's not too bad one way pricewise, it's just their return.

Idbatterim · 05-02-2015 10:51PM

I just went onto their website to check it out, they allow you to bump up the 5kg free cabin bag to 12kg for an extra E14 each way. I got a return fare for E385 including the 12kg bag.

Thinking about it, say you dont have a bag to check in and you dont have to pre clear in Dublin, the time loss by stopping in iceland isnt actually that bad. You could rock up to Dublin about an hour before the flight is due to depart unless you are travelling at peak times, when you might want to leave a little more time. With the USA pre clearance in Dublin, I would be showing up at least 2 hours early without a check in bag and 2.5 hours with one. Also the time for a lot of the US flights are an absolute killer currentl

jimbis · 06-02-2015 01:12AM

Would love to know if a few days stop over in Iceland can be done. Always wanted to visit there and a trip to Washington at the same time could be on the cards too........ http://airandspace.si.edu/visit/mall/

Razor44 · 06-02-2015 01:42AM

I know Icelandair sell stop over tickets

FWVT · 06-02-2015 05:17AM

We got rid of the Shannon stopover, so why would anyone want it again, this time a bit further north? What planes will they be using? Any in-flight entertainment?

fits · 06-02-2015 08:28AM

A 2 hr stopover is nothing and its a nice enough airport for a wander. And the option for a stopover could be cool. The loss of pre clearance would put me off more than anything else. Also not a fan of Aer Lingus short haul although maybe they are better long haul.

L1011 · 06-02-2015 08:34AM

FWVT wrote: »

We got rid of the Shannon stopover, so why would anyone want it again, this time a bit further north? What planes will they be using? Any in-flight entertainment?

A320 family and I think none

Tenger · 06-02-2015 10:36AM

jimbis wrote: »

Would love to know if a few days stop over in Iceland can be done............[/url]

Razor44 wrote: »

I know Icelandair sell stop over tickets

Icelandair used to sell T/A flights vis KEF. You were allowed to change you connection to have 1-2 nights stopover at no additional cost.

I always thought it was a great idea, extra income for the Ielandic economy. Personally I think the Irish Tourist Board should offer EI some incentive to mde the same offer for DUB. Some of their inbounds to DUB have 70% transfer pax, it would be good if only 10% of those pax decided to stop for a night in Dublin. Good for tourist revenues.

jimbis wrote: »

Would love to know if a few days stop over in Iceland can be done. Always wanted to visit there and a trip to Washington at the same time could be on the cards too........ http://airandspace.si.edu/visit/mall/

The museum on the Mall is very good......but the Udvar-Hazy museum locatd near Dulles is amazing:

Udvar-Hazy Museum by tearbringer, on Flickr

L1011 · 06-02-2015 12:06PM

Tenger wrote: »

Icelandair used to sell T/A flights vis KEF. You were allowed to change you connection to have 1-2 nights stopover at no additional cost.

They still do - its their main business model.

LXFlyer · 06-02-2015 12:09PM

For the record, you can indeed still travel with Icelandair via Keflavik to North America from various European locations, and stop over there.

I have to say that I do find this a rather misleading thread.

This is no different than saying that you can fly with say British Airways to somewhere in Asia via Heathrow or Lufthansa to somewhere in Africa via Frankfurt or Munich.

These are not direct flights, they require a change of aircraft. They are connections via their Keflavik hub.

Wow Air have got huge publicity out of this, but it could be argued that for example Turkish Airlines should have got the same break by virtue of the additional destinations that are now feasible by virtue of their second daily flight to Istanbul.

Tenger · 06-02-2015 12:33PM

lxflyer wrote: »

I have to say that I do find this a rather misleading thread.

This is no different than saying that you can fly with say British Airways to somewhere in Asia via Heathrow or Lufthansa to somewhere in Africa via Frankfurt or Munich.

These are not direct flights, they require a change of aircraft. They are connections via their Keflavik hub.....

I agree, which is why I changed the thread title to include (via KEF)
But airline always do this. I have seen lots of adverts for Emirates "fly to Sydney from Dublin with Emirates" no mention of the DXB stop off either.

But it is a new carrier ex-DUB and it is a new way to get to the US so probably deserving of its own thread. Its also a new route to Iceland when previously we only got summer charters. I know of 2-3 guys who used to have to fly DUB-CPH-KEF to get there, they are very happy with this announcement.

LXFlyer · 06-02-2015 12:41PM

Tenger wrote: »

I agree, which is why I changed the thread title to include (via KEF)
But airline always do this. I have seen lots of adverts for Emirates "fly to Sydney from Dublin with Emirates" no mention of the DXB stop off either.

But it is a new carrier ex-DUB and it is a new way to get to the US so probably deserving of its own thread. Its also a new route to Iceland when previously we only got summer charters. I know of 2-3 guys who used to have to fly DUB-CPH-KEF to get there, they are very happy with this announcement.

Indeed but the thread title is still misleading. They are not flying transatlantic from Dublin.

They are offering a transatlantic connection via Keflavik, that requires a change of aircraft.

That's two completely different things.

I think it is important to be clear about that - people may be barking up the wrong tree.

Believe me I wish them well, and I think that the Dublin-Keflavik route will do very well for the sheer novelty factor alone of travelling to Iceland. It's great to see another destination from Dublin.

Rawr · 06-02-2015 03:51PM

I've done a trip to Iceland with Icelandair, and I can certainly see the appeal of breaking the trip there.

The island itself feels more like visiting the moon or Mars, than landing anywhere terrestrial. The vast seas of volcanic rocks make the whole place seem very alien.

Reykjavik itself is a very small city, reachable from KEF by Airport bus, which takes about an hour. It's a nice city, easy to walk to nearly everywhere, although seems to be regularly blasted by cold winds. Worth the visit.

One popular thing I've noticed for transferring passengers, is a trip the Blue Lagoon volcanic spas. This isn't all that far away from the airport itself and you'll find a good few passengers breaking their trip there. I've been to the lagoon, and it is indeed very relaxing. May be a very good way to get ready for the second leg of the journey.

If WOW do the same as Icelandair, and try to promote the 'stop-over' trip between DUB and the US, then they might do very well. Also from what I see on Wikipedia, they only have 3 A320s in their fleet. I'm going to guess that direct DUB to US flights are beyond their abilities at the moment

Halfbaker · 06-02-2015 03:57PM

The CEO of WOW air was on the radio yesterday. He said they hoped to get a lot of business from people interested in spending time in Iceland on the way to or from the US. I doubt there'll be any extra charge for adding stopover days.

Idbatterim · 06-02-2015 04:00PM

The CEO of WOW air was on the radio yesterday. He said they hoped to get a lot of business from people interested in spending time in Iceland on the way to or from the US. I doubt there'll be any extra charge for adding stopover days.

That will be what makes the difference IMO. I dont know if I would be interested in the messing around for E57.50 each way to be honest, it would depend on a few factors (mainly the times Wow's & Aer Lingus would leave Dub) Thing is, it is E57.50 now saving each way based on the cheapest fares, typically, but if Aer Lingus dropped prices down to even E449 from E499, all of a sudden I see no appeal, unless as has been mentioned, you get added value from a day or two stop in Iceland...

FWVT · 06-02-2015 09:05PM

DUB-KEF: 811 NM
KEF-IAD: 2432 NM
Total: 3233 NM

DUB-IAD: 2958 NM

Difference: 275 NM (around 45-60 mins extra travel time, taking into account taxiing in and out at KEF).

So up to an hour longer travel time taking the KEF option, not to mention the extra hassle of waiting in an airport, queing up again for boarding, etc. Not worth it imo.

L1011 · 06-02-2015 09:22PM

FWVT wrote: »

not to mention the extra hassle of waiting in an airport, queing up again for boarding

And landing as an international passenger rather than cleared.

06-02-2015 09:29PM

FWVT wrote: »

DUB-KEF: 811 NM
KEF-IAD: 2432 NM
Total: 3233 NM

DUB-IAD: 2958 NM

Difference: 275 NM (around 45-60 mins extra travel time, taking into account taxiing in and out at KEF).

So up to an hour longer travel time taking the KEF option, not to mention the extra hassle of waiting in an airport, queing up again for boarding, etc. Not worth it imo.

+m.78/79 for the A320 versus m.82/83 for the A330 longer flying time as well.

WOWair to offer transatlantic connections from Dublin (via Keflavik)

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