WOW air

✅ Trip Verified | I was flying with my husband and 2 babies (age 1 and 2) back from Tel Aviv to Baltimore Washington via Keflavik. Our first flight was first delayed by 55 minutes. Then, we boarded and waited for another 2 hours before taking off (we were told that the original route was not approved and a new route was being submitted for approval). 6 hours into the flight, we were casually told that we were stopping in Edinburgh, Scotland to refuel. The stop ended up taking 2 hours, and then we had a 2 hour flight to Iceland. By the time we arrived, we had been on aircraft #1 for 12 HOURS. (My kids were not delighted). We obviously missed our connecting flight, so we were put up at a hotel overnight, and told we'd be on the next flight to BWI the next day. We get to the airport the next day, only to be told we'd be flying first to Chicago, then to BWI. This is after travelling with kids for 36 hours. Our kids were falling apart, and we were too. We asked to be put onto an IcelandAir flight directly to Washington Dulles Airport. We knew that other WOW Air travelers with our exact itinerary were put on that flight. At this point, the WOW Air employees became extremely rude. Two employees deliberately hid their name tags after we politely asked for their names, one even yelled at my husband "never to do that again!". WOW Air employees lied to us, telling us that IcelandAir was no longer selling their tickets to WOW, and that the only way home was via a (WOW Air) flight to Chicago, then a (Spirit Air) flight to BWI. As this was all happening, I get a text message from WOW Air, telling me that my flight to Chicago was delayed. We ended up going to the IcelandAir desk and asking if they still had tickets on their flight to Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. that day (in 4 hours time). They said yes, and they were happy to sell them. We asked if they'd sell to WOW Air, and they said yes- but they were selling them at full price at this point (which obviously WOW didn't want to buy). After a lot of begging, pleading, and arguing with WOW Air employees, we told them we were just going to buy our own flight home, and then seek reimbursement and then some. One WOW Air employee agreed that this was the best thing to do. In the end, we spent over $1800 buying tickets on IcelandAir just to get home in the most straightforward, timely way possible. When we boarded that flight, I was physically and emotionally exhausted, nauseated, and had to ask the crew for painkillers. I could not imagine another baggage claim, security check, and flight home after that just to spare WOW Air a few bucks. We ended up arriving in Dulles at 6pm on 04/12. Our original arrival was scheduled for 7 pm on 04/11. If we took the Chicago flight home, we'd have arrived at 12 am on Friday, 04/13. We know because that happened to our friends. If WOW Air had been helpful we would not be so embittered. But they were not at all and that's why we'll never fly WOW Air again.

✅ Trip Verified | Gatwick to Keflavik. I must express how ineffectual WOW Air have made my claim by responding to me 13 working days after the fact; that is 19 days altogether. The result is that I was forced to, grudgingly, pay for additional flights at a greater cost to me and for fewer days on my trip. In the mean time, £190.46 of my money is out of my hands and I am struggling to reclaim it. I paid for WOW air's service on the 19th March, the funds were removed from my bank account but no error was brought to my attention by WOW air. I was not receiving an email with confirmation or a booking number. As my emailed inquiry yielded no response, I contacted WOW air's customer service line by phone, where I was told that no money had been received and the whole transaction had timed out. Where was my notification about this? No additional help was offered, certainly no offer of discount or priority to be seated on flights of similar dates. I simply had to purchase new flights. The last injury was to be charged an additional (approximately) £80 at the airport in Keflavik, moments before the flight as our hand luggage was assessed by WOW air's staff members and deemed to be far too large to be considered a carry on (it won't fit under the seat, therefore it must go in the overhead storage)- the difference being a matter of centimeters larger than the example cage available. We had no choice but to pay, or to abandon our luggage. An absolutely unreasonable policy, as the website states clearly that assigning luggage before the flight will cost much less than to do it at the airport, yet what is the justification for this price difference? The system is computerised, that's why we the customers are typing in all the information that WOW air needs to arrange flights, and the staff member that charged us this outrageous price (whilst apologising, stating it was the worst part of her job to enforce this) simply took our passport information and entered it into her computer. Was that typing what we paid for? We were blocked entry until we paid so I can only see that it was WOW air generating more labour for itself in this occasion. The perfect punchline to this experience was discovering that there was no more space in the overhead storage anyway. Our carry on bag that was apparently too big to fit under the seat, remained under the seat for the entire flight. I am so dissatisfied and frankly irritated by my experience with WOW air that I will make it a personal endeavor to avoid its service until some recompense and apology is offered. A budget airline indeed.

✅ Trip Verified | Tenerife to Washington via Keflavik. Very rude unprofessional get agents no respect for elders. We fly from Spain to Keflavik and then we were asked to pay extra for small wallet size hand bag on our connecting flight from Keflavik to Wasington which we end up shoving it on the side pocket of our carry on luggage . We were disappointed by the inconsistent, unprofessional, cold and rude behavior of the agent. She even said "you will not board this plane if you don't behave" just for trying to explain that we had the same carryon items that was allowed on our flight from Tenerife to Keflavik. My overall experience with this Airlines was very bad. What seems a cheeper price at the begging ended up being more than the other airlines. This was the worst experience I ever had.

✅ Trip Verified | Copenhagen to Montreal via Reykjavik. Absolutely terrible customer service, the flight staff was rude, did not assist passengers and were hard to find at the airport. The first flight was mildly better than the second, but both were delayed by a couple of hours and I almost missed my connection in Montreal. Also, no issues with my baggage on the first flight and then was charged ~$130 CAD for my next flight with no explanation and there was more than enough space (even empty spaces in the overhead compartments). I get they are a discount airline but they are BY FAR the WORST airline I have ever travelled with. My first and last time travelling with them. Save yourself the headache and avoid them at all costs. Oh and $3.50 for 500ml of water on a 5&1/2 hour flight is ridiculous.

✅ Trip Verified | Worst airline ever. I thought Ryanair pulled some questionable tactics in the past but Wow Air goes beyond that. I'm 6'3" (1.90m) and I couldn't fit in my seat (Glad I had the aisle seat, so I can put my legs to the side, although it's not pleasant to seat for almost 5 hours sideways). They don't even offer refreshments for long flights and the charged us 88CAD to carry our carry-on on board. Which wasn't big and had no issues with it in any other airline. Just avoid it at all cost, it's not worth it, really. They also don't have any kind of in-flight entertainment. Cabin crew was good and kind.

✅ Trip Verified | Beginning this review with "Worst Airline Ever" would be injustice to what WOW air actually is. Incapable, uncaring, rude, unprofessional and overall, exhaustingly disappointing. I had purchased my ticket a month in advance, checked in 24hrs in advance (3rd person to check in) and I was denied boarding. First reason I was given by the ground staff "Aircraft has been switched, the seat you were assigned does not exist on this plane." I called WOW, on hold for 30 minutes, to be told that the exact same thing by the agent over the phone. They were offering to book me on the next WOW flight, which was two (2!) days later. I refused. Told I had to wait 60 minutes and follow up then. Spoke with another agent 60 minutes later (after being on hold for another 30 minutes), to be told I was denied because the flight was overbooked. Put on hold multiple times, for the call to be "dropped" and for me having to call again. The third phone agent I reached asked me for the same information, and then proceeded to tell me that the reason was because I had misspelled my middle name on the boarding ticket. I do not have a middle name. They were grasping at straws trying to find an excuse. I emailed my passport information to them as well as the boarding pass so that the agent could review it. After 1.5 hours I was finally told I was denied because it was overbooked. No fault of my own, next flight was in 2 days, I could be booked on that. I refused and wanted a refund, as well as WOW covering my hotel charge due in Brussels. "We are not able to refund you sir". Overall, absolutely horrible experience. Awful customer service, both in person and over the phone. Irresponsible. Mistakes happen, but you should take ownership in them. In one word - awful.

✅ Trip Verified | Toronto to Amsterdam via Keflavik. Although I didn't have the worst experience with this airline, I was still quite unhappy with it. I know that airlines are now moving towards charging for carry-ons and bags separately, but the costs with WOW are absurd. I cannot say for certain, but it also looks like their carry-on measurements are below the average so be aware of this. They will measure your bag, and if it is over, they will not allow you to bring it on and you will need to pay a hefty fee to check it in. We saw them reject several carry-ons. The seats on the flight were tiny, and they do not provide any refreshments on-board. Considering the flight from Toronto to Reykjavik is 5 hours, not providing passengers with even a glass of water or a soda is unreasonable, especially because you cannot bring liquids through the gate. Since you are stuck at the Reykjavik airport, this is your only option to purchase food and drinks where a sandwich alone will cost you 20CAD. Our flight home was also delayed, so you end up spending more time in the airport than you plan to. Their business model sounds good in theory, since they offer cheaper flights with flexibility on what exactly you want to pay for, but the experience is just not worth it. The hidden costs add up quicker than you think, and your "cheap" flight only ends up being 100-200 less than a non-budget airline. Just pay the extra money since 1) you won't have to worry about showing up to the airport with a carry-on not up to their standards 2) you'll receive at the very least water so you don't dehydrate on board 3) the plane will be larger and more comfortable 4) you'll land in a bigger and cheaper airport if you have a stopover, but we often find direct flights with comparable prices. We travel oversees at least 3 times a year, and this experience was definitely the most unpleasant and uncomfortable, and took us an entire week to recover. Bottom line: if you really want to save a few extra bucks or travel very short distances sure. But if you want a smoother, efficient, and positive experience, I recommend another airline.

✅ Trip Verified | Keflavik to Los Angeles. People complain about no wifi or in flight entertainment but it is a budget airline. So as long as you know ahead of time that there are no TVs. You have to pay for anything you want including water ( the water was cheaper on the plane then in the airport!) You shouldn't have a bad experience. The flight was smooth. Flight attendants were nice. Plane was clean. Seats were comfortable. This flight was 60% cheaper than the next airline was. I would fly again in a second. No hesitation!

✅ Trip Verified | I was apprehensive to fly WOW air after all the bad reviews I read. However I was pleasantly surprised flying from Newark to Reykjavik. Flights were on time and smooth. Cabin crew were very nice. The only complaint I had was the seat got uncomfortable after a while. I will bring a cushion next time or upgrade to a nicer seat. All in all a pleasant experience.

✅ Trip Verified | This is by far the worst airline I have ever dealt with and that is a very hard title to get. My son booked the the return tickets for me, himself and his 6 year old daughter about six weeks prior to the flight. We were going to visit my other son and his three children on spring break. In Ireland much to my horror we were refused entry to the flight because the name on my ticket was Gary C King and the name on my passport was Gary Charles King and my son had the same problem as the name on the ticket was Matthew Simon King and on the passport was Matthew King. On their web site is does not clearly state that the passport name must be used exactly on the ticket Had their system checked at any time prior to flight, they would have see the difference and could have and should have notified us to change the data. At the airport I pointed out that I had four pieces of picture ID, three government issued and my son had three. WOW's response, these do not count are we will not correct these tickets - call this number in Iceland. My son spent 1/2 hour on hold till he got an operator and another 3/4 hr trying to get Wow to correct the data. They refused and we thus missed the flight. We were not the only ones. A least 5 other people had the same problem and I presume some missed the flights. I was told from WOW'S staff in Montreal it is your problem not ours, Montreal never changes anything, if Iceland want to it is their decision; you should have read the fine print. Lastly when I asked to see the person in charge she at first refused to see me, and after insisting, she finally showed her face and said she could do nothing. She also as a parting comment stressed that we should have read the fine print and then pulled out a blow up of that data underlined in yellow to prove her point to us customer with this problem. Obviously WOW Is totally aware of this problem and does nothing to solve it. At no time did they offer to change the tickets to a later date and when I asked to go "standby" as at least our three seats were now open, they refused. So my conclusion is correct. They now have the title as the worst airline I have dealt with in my entire flying life starting in 1963.