Breaking out of the mould
Many, if not all airlines choose safe, boring names- United, Southwest, Air France, British Air, Iceland Air and the list goes on. Budget airlines sometimes like to break out of the naming-the-baby mould with more slightly unusual names such as Jet Blue in the U.S., Blue Air from Romania and the Hungarian low-cost airline, Wizz Air. (On their online booking site you can choose options like ‘My Wizz’). Despite the name, Wizz Air is doing just fine. 😉
A Name to Live up to
In an exceptionally bold departure from bland and boring names, Iceland’s budget airline decided on the name Wow Air. As we know, the word wow can have an interesting range of meaning, but it also forces this airline to deliver the goods and that is not necessarily a bad thing.
New Routes, New Destinations
Two new destinations were recently added to the airline’s growing roster of destinations. The Boston – Reykjavik route will begin operating on 27th March and its Washington D.C – Reykjavik route begins on May 8. Both operate right up to the end of the year, (not the case for all of its routes) but the company has some surprising direct flights to places slightly off the beaten track, such as Lyons (France) which is handy if you get a sudden craving for some French gastronomic delights.
Crazy prices!
Wow Air’s recent $99 promotional flights from D.C. and Boston sold out quickly of course, but there is a good chance that these prices will be offered again at various times throughout the year, according to their head office in Reykjavik. Always good news! Hear, hear!
This is one airline to watch
While researching this article, I phoned Wow Air’s head-office in Reykjavik, and was pleasantly surprised to hear their CEO Skúli Mogensen introduce himself on the recorded message. I thought this a rather brilliant strategy for winning customer support. His impeccable, yet casual English (delivered in an American accent) was friendly and down to earth and it feels like this is one company trying hard, and succeeding as an airline ‘of the people, for the people, by the people’. Skúli then went on to give the usual blurb, in Icelandic and in English, you know…press 9 for English in a refreshingly authentic way. Kudos to this guy! How many CEOs get right down to the front lines of customer service?
