By Andy Cline | March 28, 2019 Estimated reading time 1 minute, 55 seconds.
Icelandic ultra-low-cost carrier WOW Air ceased flying operations on March 27. Many of its flights were grounded at destination airports, including Toronto and Montreal, due to the airline’s inability to pay fuel and airport bills. The carrier announced on the morning of March 28 that all flights had been cancelled and that passengers should rebook on other airlines.
Founded in November 2011, WOW Air used Keflavik International Airport in Iceland as a hub to for flights to and from North America and Europe. American destinations included Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The Toronto and Montreal routes were announced in October 2015 and commenced the following May. WOW operated five flights a week to Montreal and six to Toronto using Airbus A321s.
WOW Air had been undergoing financial issues since late 2018. Attempts to negotiate deals with Icelandair Group and private equity firm IndiGo were unsuccessful. The airline cancelled some flights on March 25, after two aircraft were repossessed by lessors. Final attempts to liquefy bonds for cash flow were not enough to sustain operations, and all flights were grounded at their destinations on March 27.
There are currently six WOW aircraft stranded in North America, including one each in Toronto and Montreal.
Four of WOW’s Airbus A321s had previously been returned to lessor VEB Leasing, which subsequently leased them to Air Canada for its Rouge low-cost division. They are now undergoing modifications to integrate them into the Air Canada fleet.
