Last year Icelandic low cost carrier WOW Air began flights between Iceland and the US, and they’ve been growing like crazy in North America ever since.
Last March, WOW Air launched flights between Keflavik (just outside Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik) and Boston, while last June they launched flights to Baltimore.
Their expansion in North America has been quick, as this year WOW Air has launched flights to Montreal, Toronto, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Furthermore, the airline will be adding flights to Newark as of later this month, and flights to Miami as of April 2017.
Well, WOW Air has now announced their seventh US destination, which will be Pittsburgh. WOW Air will fly between Pittsburgh and Iceland as of June 2017. The flight will operate 4x weekly year-round using an Airbus A321 aircraft.
Per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a formal announcement is expected later today.
The airline is getting quite some monetary incentives to launch the route, though the exact amount hasn’t been disclosed:
To get Wow, the airport authority is offering the airline two years’ worth of monetary incentives as well as the usual marketing support and waiver of landing fees. Ms. Cassotis declined to divulge how much money is being paid, saying the agreement had yet to be signed.
One-way fares between Pittsburgh and Iceland should start at $99, while fares between the US and the rest of Europe should start at $149. While that has the potential to be a great deal, keep in mind that WOW Air is as “no frills” as they get, as they charge for everything, including bags, seat assignments, food, etc. So be sure you crunch the numbers before booking, so you can figure out if you’re actually getting a good deal.
As mentioned above, WOW Air isn’t just useful if your final destination is Iceland, but is also useful if you’re trying to travel to Western Europe. They offer connections to over a dozen destinations in Europe, so they’re a cheap way to fly from the US to Western Europe with a stop.
Last May, Gaurav was kind enough to share his experience flying WOW Air between Boston and Iceland, and had positive things to say overall. If you come in with the right mindset, they’re a pretty unbeatable option.
Bottom line
Typically when an international airline starts flights to the US, Pittsburgh isn’t the seventh city they launch service to. However, I suspect WOW Air has a lot more mass appeal than many other airlines, given their low fares, and the concessions they’re getting from the airport probably made this route worthwhile to them.
This is a very nice new route for Pittsburgh, which has otherwise been weak on the transatlantic front for quite some time.
We even got Condor coming next summer to FRA! Talk about a who's who of second-rate European airlines! http://condor-newsroom.condor.com/en/us/news-article/the-expansion-in-north-america-continues-with-pittsburgh-pennsylvania-condor-is-now-flying-to-16-destinations-in-north-america-1/
I bought WOW tickets from Los Angeles to Reykjavík and then on to London and two weeks before our flight WOW canceled the flight offering no other alternatives. we had to book another airline's flight at a substantially higher price. it was little satisfaction that WOW gave us a refund. People should know that they are not dependable. WOW.
PIT was the closest airport to me growing up and through much of my young adult life. I end up fling to PIT a couple times a year. This service is needed badly. I am happy to see PIT getting creative and expanding their destinations significantly lately.
PIT has the best layout of any airport in the US. transfers where super easy, It is such a shame USAir dehubed PIT and kept PHL
Great pick for a route. Minimal flights to Europe from pit so it's a great option to Europe as it's a stop in kef vs a stop in JFK/ord/iad, etc.....
WOW.
I've lived in Pittsburgh for over 2 years now and you can see the growth in the region. A year-found flight to Europe has been sorely needed. The seasonal Delta flight to CDG just isn't enough. The airport management has done a great job getting new routes in. Wasn't expecting this route but I'll take it! Now we just need AS to SEA!