A few years ago my boyfriend and I took a WOW Airlines flight to Scotland. The flight was inexpensive and included a 17-hour layover in Iceland, where we spent the afternoon at the Blue Lagoon.
Now it looks like those cheap European flights, at least those run by WOW Air, will be a thing of the past. WOW Airlines announced that it has ceased operations Thursday and that all WOW Air flights have been canceled.
If you have an upcoming vacation planned on WOW that’s a bummer, and means you’ll need to find a new way to get to your destination. If you’re already on that vacation it’s an even bigger issue, because now you have to figure out how to get home.
What can you do?
The tl;dr on this front is that you’re on your own, for the most part. Since WOW is no longer an airline, you’re not going to get any help from them in figuring out your travel plans.
This is one of the few instances where buying travel insurance would have been a great idea. If you purchased a WOW Air flight and purchased travel insurance for it, then contact your insurance provider to see what they can do for you.
If you purchased your ticket using a credit card, then you should contact your credit card company to see if you can get a refund for your ticket from them. In most cases, a credit card company will be able to get you a refund.
On the page announcing the shutdown, WOW notes that passengers that purchased their ticket from a European travel agent (within the European Economic Area) as part of a package tour that included flights, as well as things like hotels and tours, are protected by the Package Travel Directive.
All that said, some airlines are also offering rescue fares that can make rebooking slightly less of a nightmare.
What’s a rescue fare?
If you’re mid-trip right now, then finding a new plane ticket is probably your biggest obstacle. It’s also likely to be a big expense.
If you’re in Europe, then a few different airlines are offering “rescue fares” that make replacing that lost plane ticket a bit less expensive. While you’ll still have to purchase your ticket at a last-minute flight price, the BBC notes that Wizz Air, Easyjet and Norwegian are all offering discounts to make the hit more bearable. Contact those airlines directly to see what they can offer you with your specific destinations. I’d recommend trying the phone first over standing in line at the counter at the airport.
Norwegian specifically has said it would offer fares at a 25% discount for passengers that have had their flights canceled by WOW. In order to get the discount, you’ll just need to show the airline a valid WOW Air booking. The discounted fares are available until April 8th.
Icelandair is also offering a discount fare for stranded passengers. The fares are only good for passengers who have already begun their trip and have a return fare booked between March 28 and April 11, 2019. It is offering flights at flat rates. Specifically, flights to/from Europe for $60, to/from North America for $100, and Europe/North America/ North America-Europe for $160. Fares also include one piece of carry-on luggage up to 23 pounds and one checked bag up to 50 pounds. Its site has more info on how to obtain one of those.
And like every other airline problem, try to stay calm and be as friendly as possibly to airline representatives. This is an unusual event, and while being stuck somewhere or having your vacation plans canceled sucks, yelling at a stranger isn’t going to make that problem any better, if anything it could make things worse.
