Iceland: now accessible via WOW Premium
Iceland: now accessible via WOW Premium

When it came time to book my flight back to Los Angeles from Reykjavik, Iceland, I decided to take a gamble and fly WOW air for the first time. It turns out there’s more to the airline than its low-cost, no-frills reputation.

These days when flying more than six hours I tend to fly business class to my destination and premium economy on the way home to save a little money without destroying my body completely. My options for this Reykjavik-L.A. flight worked out to Icelandair and WOW. The price difference was significant (WOW’s being lower). WOW offered a non-stop flight (total: nine hours) while Icelandair’s option included a stopover in Seattle (total: 12 hours). The WOW option was attractive, but I was still very tentative to book. How no-frills, I wondered, was this airline really?

As it turns out, WOW has begun offering a premium class option called WOW Premium. A WOW Premium ticket includes:

  • One (1) personal item
  • One (1) carry-on bag
  • Two (2) checked bags
  • A BigSeat, which includes more legroom and extra width
  • Cancellation protection
  • An in-flight meal
  • Fast-track security
  • Priority boarding
  • No change fee

(See more here.)

A seat in WOW Premium
A seat in WOW Premium

My meal included a cold drink as well as hot beverage. I had an outlet at my seat, which made it easy to watch movies on my Amazon Fire on which I rented several movies from Amazon for about $5 a piece in advance to download. There’s no Wi-Fi on WOW air, but if you forget to bring your own entertainment they do rent iPads on the plane—so all hope is not lost!

Legroom in WOW Premium
Legroom in WOW Premium

Overall I was extremely happy with my decision to fly WOW Premium. The seats were comfortable, with lots of leg room and a leg rest. My only complaint was that the seats reclined too far back. Unfortunately, the five-foot man in front of me felt the need to recline his seat as far as it could go, which almost put him in my lap. In truth the only time I was truly inconvenienced by this was when I had to get up to use the restroom.

A reclined seat in WOW Premium
A reclined seat in WOW Premium

This is not your traditional business class, so don’t expect to spend time in a lounge prior to your flight or be greeted with a glass of champagne upon boarding. But I will definitely fly WOW Premium again, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a comfortable flight to Iceland (etc.) at an extremely reasonable price. Strong work, WOW air!


For more on WOW Premium and WOW air, visit wowair.us.

 

1 Comment On "WOW Air Delivers Big With New Premium Class"
  1. Rick|

    Don’t know about specific itineraries and pricing but Wow’s “BigSeat” in PE doesn’t come close to Norwegian Air Shuttle’s PE product when it comes to pitch and legroom. On the A330-300 V2, Wows PE pitch is up to 37″, while Norwegian offers 46″ pitch in their 787-8’s and 787-9’s. It also offers lounge access (One World Lounge @ LAX), free cancellation, free alcohol in lounge & during flight, and 2 checked bags. Flying LAX-FCO (11 hours- nonstop) next year. Two adults, one-way $2,500.

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