Posted on 03/28/2019 4:11:53 AM PDT by ConservativeStatement
Reykjavik, Iceland -- Icelandic budget airline WOW Air ceased operations on Thursday, stranding passengers across two continents. In a statement on its website the airline, which had earlier suspended all its flights, told passengers there would be no further flights and advised them to check flights with other airlines for ways to reach their destinations.
WOW grounded at least six planes in North America that were set to leave late Wednesday from Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Detroit, New York and Baltimore.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Unreal. I have flown this airline before and was planning on flying again at some point.
Unreal or just wow?
Spent a week in Iceland just 2 weeks ago, Boston to KEF. We used IcelandAir. However, the WOW aircraft, prominent in their striking plane paint job, were picking up passengers in the nearby gates both in BOS and KEF.
Happened to me this January. Was scheduled to fly to ST. Louis out of Keflavik on the 15th. They stopped that route on the 9th. Rebooked with Icelandair to Newark, then United to ST. Louis.
Tickets were cheap but the luggage fees appeared to be a show stopper.
Went from WOW to OW.
I suppose the strategy of offering the bus experience in an aircraft doesn’t always work.
Wow! I hope they’ll reorganize...
I flew Icelandic Air, round trip, once. Everything with them was fine, other than the schedule which is in part due to the time difference and the length of the flight. We left JFK around nine PM or so, and landed in Iceland about sun up. As someone who does not sleep well on an airplane, it makes for a pretty tiring first day. Thank goodness our first stop from the airport before we got to the Hotel was a hot springs spa.
Already updated at wikipedia, apparently there was a bond holders dispute.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOW_air
How will we get to the blue lagoon now?
In the late 80’s I had 30 soldiers fly into Rochester NY the night Eastern Airlines went on strike, what a mess. Only 4 got bags which put a big strain on our mission.
Luckily that was back in the day of paper tickets so after 4 hours at the airport I got everyone rebooked on other airlines. Before I went to the airport the SATO travel Office rebooked everyone to leave on a different Eastern flight, they got a commendation for their support on the crisis.
Imagine if they had lost your luggage...
Sounds like they should have gone with the 737 MAX instead of the Airbuses
Yes, the bondholders unreasonably expected to be paid per the agreement.
Which they had a right to ask for. But at the same time they refused to allow liquidation of some of the bonds to keep the operations going. Now they have nothing, the bonds are worthless and they lost all of it rather than compromise to keep the company alive. They lost much more than they gained.
I sort of eased up derogatory comments related to cattle car/bus airlines after about 2 weeks of commuting from Kwajalain to Meck Island on a Caribou. At least they issued us hearing protection.
The secured bondholders have their collateral to look to. If they had given up their bonds and taken stock, they would then have been last in line when the airline liquidated.
" More than 60 million euro of bonds issued in September 2018. That investment gave the bond holders a number of rights and secured their debt above other WOW investors....The new agreement leaves the bonds wholly unsecured and subordinated to shareholder debt" Source: https://paxex.aero/2018/12/bonds-remain-a-sticking-point-for-wows-future/ (December, 2018)(Discussing the proposal then on the table).
Is there a re-po guy for jet planes?
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